Why is my dog losing hair and getting light patches on her tail?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Dog | Labrador Retriever | Female | spayed
My brown Labrador has lighter patches of hair on either side of her upper tail and the hair is drastically falling out in clumps Any advice
2 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on February 26th, 2018
This can be due to a skin infection or allergies. You can check him for fleas to make sure this does not need to be addressed first. You can also get a medicated shampoo to bathe him in weekly to help clean the hair and hair follicle. Adding an omega 3 fatty acid and fish oil supplement to the diet can help with shedding Your vet can check the skin for an underlying infection or a low thyroid as these will need medication to clear
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
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Published on October 17th, 2018
If it’s normal shedding, it’s totally ok. However, if your dog is losing hair in patches (which is what it looks like in your picture), then I would be concerned. Your dog probably has a skin infection likely from external parasites or an allergy. If there are several areas of missing hair and then I think it would be a good idea to take your dog to the vet and be checked out. Your dog may need some antibiotics and anti-itch medication to help clear things up.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Health & Wellbeing
I have a Lab/Pointer Mix who is a year and a half. His name is Buddy. When I resuced him in May, he had 2 patches on his back, near his shoulder blades, where he’s experienced some hair loss. Doctors say it may be scars. But recently, Buddy tail star
Thanks for using Boop by Petco! This may be due to allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing his allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My dog has patches of no hair/ bald spots. I found a small one on his tail, one needs his arm and 2 on his back near his butt. What is that? Is that normal? How do i get his hair to grow back? Picture attached.
This could be due to an allergy, although it could also be an infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment, then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape and similar dermatological tests - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
hi,my ( lab 1yr 11 mth) dog"s fur comes out easily from the side of hind legs and now it has spread into the tail. Although his falling of fur on the side of his hind leg has been replaced by new hair now his tail seem to be losing fur. the hair on h
Great question. Hypothyroidism is very common in labradors but can easily be diagnosed with a simple blood test performed by your local veterinarian. Seasonal alopecia can also occur but typically can be eliminated with routine bathing and grooming. Since your dog is un-neutered, much of your dog's nutrition is going into energy and activity, so be sure to feed a high quality diet with plenty of fat for energy and haircoat production. Usually the better diets are highly digestible and produce low stool volume compared to cheeper diets. Bottomline, if you're worried about thyroid disease, ask your veterinarian to pull blood and rule it out, otherwise feed great diet and bath/groom as needed to control hair loss. If the coat doesn't look right, then schedule an appointment to have it examined to check for other possible causes such as parasites, allergies, or nutritional causes, Good luck and thanks. Steve Popish, DVM
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
Hi my 9 year old pug has developed a bit of a bald patch on her tail She's fit and well so just curious for an opinion as why this could appear
That lesion on Lily could be several things including fleas, allergies, skin mites, bacterial infection, ringworm (which humans can get) or endocrine disease. There are a couple things you can do at home and they can help but they may not address the underlying cause. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing her diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. You can wash the lesion once a day (not her whole body, just the lesion). Also protect the area from trauma by having your pup wear an elizabethan collar at all times. If the lesion is not improving within a week or if it is getting worse, have her examined by the veterinarian. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
my dog has a small bald patch on his tail he does not appear to be licking or biting it, what treatment can i get to restore his hair on the bald spot
A bald spot could be caused by allergies, skin infection, mites, ringworm, etc. You could bath him with a medicated dog shampoo and see if that helps. If not, have your vet examine him to determine the cause. He may need an antibiotic, anti-histamine, corticosteroid, or other medications to help treat the problem. You could also add Free Form Snip Tips to his diet and see if that helps to keep his skin and coat healthy.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
labrador retriever 2 years old, having severe hair loss. given antibiotics several times, during that medication in the first 10 days hair loss gradually stops, after 20 days hair slowly grows. medicines will be for 20 days 1 per day. still after 2 m
It looks as if your dog has a skin infection, most commonly caused by an allergy, a skin mite (Demodex) or fleas. The allergy could be a due to a protein in your dog’s food or an environmental allergy like to dust, pollens, grasses, etc. The allergy causes your dog to itch and chew at the skin which breaks down the skin barrier. This then leads to infection. Skin infections are typically characterized by large areas of hair loss, redness, crusting, flaking, and pustules. A thorough skin examination by your veterinarian should be able to determine the cause of the itch so it can be treated appropriately. A skin scraping and skin cytology should be performed to rule out mites and to determine the type of infection present (bacterial vs fungal). Your dog will most likely need antibiotics/antifungals longterm to help clear up the infection and possibly an allergy/anti-itch medication like Apoquel, Atopica, or Cytopoint to give some relief while the infection clears up. A medicated s
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
Have a mixed breed Doberman and lab. About 3 years old. She is suffering from hair loss and very frybitchy skin. The hair is coming out in patches and where the hair is coming out there is a thick layer of dead flaking skin. Problem started about a
I would recommend that you have Shay evaluated by a veterinarian. Several things can cause the hair to come out in clumps with the scaly material underneath, including bacterial infections, fungal infections. some mites, allergies, among a few others. After examination, the vet may recommend a bacterial or fungal culture or skin scraping to look for mites. Then an appropriate treatment can be recommended, such as a medicated shampoo that treats bacteria and fungus, or the appropriate treatment for the specific problem that they diagnose.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
Cooper has hairfall since two week I took him vet and got injection for hairfall control but still he losses hair he is off 10 months male what to do? Is that normal for lab at that age?
Hello. Hair loss in dogs can be normal (shedding) if it is being replaced by new hair growth. This is normal and will occur, and clean up can be controlled by brushing your dog's hair every day. If patches are being lost and the skin is showing, you should check for fleas/mites. A skin scraping may be necessary. If that is not the cause it could be due to infection, allergies, or other causes.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
Hello, my dog's tail has lost its hair on the top, towards the tip. She is a small dog, so it's about half of the tail. It just happened. What hat would cause this? Thanks...
This can be from an injury, scratching from fleas or an allergy, or may be due to her being hypothyroid. Low thyroid levels can cause dogs to have a rat tail look. I would check her for fleas, see if she’s scratching or rubbing the area due to allergies and consider getting a thyroid panel done to see if she is hypothyroid. If her thyroid level is low which is common in older dogs, then there is a daily supplement that will get the levels back to normal and the fur should fill in on the tail. Thanks for using Boop by Petco to help you care for Daisy.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
I have attached before and after pics, my GSD has lost all hairs even on tail, kindly have a look and suggest treatment
This is probably due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment, then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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