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Why is my dog biting his tail, licking legs, and skin is red?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Male | neutered | 1 year and 7 months old | 40 lbs

Hi there, My Staffy mix has been biting his tail a lot and the skin under his fur looks irritated and red. He's also been licking his legs. He's mostly switched over to Hill's Science Diet Sensitive Skin & Stomach food. It's hard to take a picture of his black tail, but I attached two. What should I do?

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Destini R. Holloway, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on November 12th, 2018

Poor guy. This sounds like he may have a common condition called “happy tail” and likely injured the end of his tail due to hitting it on hard surfaces. Another possible cause is a fungal infection, but typically this causes hair loss as well. The hair needs to first be shaved to get a better look at the skin and also allow the area to be cleansed antiseptically and apply topical ointment or spray if needed. Oral antibiotics will also likely be needed if the infection is deep. This would be best taken care of by visiting your vet. Proper wound management is essential for wounds like this to heal well and since it is the tail area it already proves difficult to shave without causing further harm. Your vet will be able to do this quickly and efficiently and also be able to provide a prescription for antibiotics which is often needed for tail wounds to prevent the infection from seeping into the bone and causing further issues. Until you can get Louis seen, you can clean it with Betadine diluted 50:50 with warm water. Best of luck with your pet Louis and his tail wound. I hope this heals well soon! Take care.

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    Answered By Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    Hi, and thanks for your request. This may be due to an allergic reaction but skin parasites and infections may be present as well. I would recommend in order to treat skin parasites with a good quality, prescription product. Then take him to your vet for a check up to have him checked in case of infection (some skin tests and a physical examination will be needed). If everything comes back negative, an allergic reaction is suspected. Three main type of allergies are possible: food, environmental and fleas allergies. Medication that can be given may include antibiotics and steroids and others against itch. Hope this answer was helpful but please do not hesistate to contact us again if needed.

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