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What causes a dog to lose hair on its tail, especially near the tip?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed | 17 lbs

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...

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Davis

Veterinarian

Published on November 5th, 2018

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 Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Daisy.

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