Balding---help!

[Mab]

Anybody know why an otherwise seemingly healthy dog would start losing all the hair on his tail? I have a mini American Eskimo. He's 8 years old. He is a big fluff-ball....except for his tail, which is nearly bare! My poor baby is gonna have a little pink rat-tail soon, and I don't know what to do about it! The vet gave me some pills to help moisturize his skin, and she put him on a diet, but she can't figure it out either.

Any ideas? I don't want the other dogs making fun of my sweet boy!

[Isil Darkmoon]

Anybody know why an otherwise seemingly healthy dog would start losing all the hair on his tail? I have a mini American Eskimo. He's 8 years old. He is a big fluff-ball....except for his tail, which is nearly bare! My poor baby is gonna have a little pink rat-tail soon, and I don't know what to do about it! The vet gave me some pills to help moisturize his skin, and she put him on a diet, but she can't figure it out either.

Any ideas? I don't want the other dogs making fun of my sweet boy!


Fleas, food, or seasonal allergies.

Chewing at the tail base is an allergy issue, the vast majority of the time. Some animals are very allergic to fleas. His metabolism could have changed and he developed a sensitivity to something in his food. What is the special diet she's given you?

Lanolin oil, vit. E (internally and topically), and bag balm will help the actual site applied topically.

[Mab]

He's on Iams weight control---3/4c twice a day. He's not chewing on his tail or anything. Maybe I need to change his diet.....

[Isil Darkmoon]

He's on Iams weight control---3/4c twice a day. He's not chewing on his tail or anything. Maybe I need to change his diet.....

If he's losing fur at the tail base, he most likely is chewing or scratching, even if it's not often when you're not looking. The following is the list of ingredients from your current food--items in bold have been known to cause allergies in dogs:


Corn Meal, Chicken, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Chicken By-Product Meal, Ground Whole Grain Barley, Fish Meal (source of fish oil), Dried Beet Pulp (sugar removed), Natural Chicken Flavor, Dried Egg Product, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of vitamin E, and Citric Acid), Brewers Dried Yeast, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Flax Meal, Calcium Carbonate, Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin,Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), DL-Methionine, Choline Chloride, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), L-Carnitine, Rosemary Extract

That's honestly a fairly high-allergy food--nearly all commercial foods are. The Iams carries the possibility of a gluten allergy, an egg allergy, and multiple chemical (preservative, flavoring) allergies--or even a chicken allergy. And dogs as a species *cannot* digest most grains, which are the main ingredient in most foods. Some can handle rice or barley alright, but wheat and corn are not digested and just pass as extra bulk. I *strongly* suggest switching to a super-premium/"human-grade" kibble.

There are quite a few human-grade brands on the market, and you can find at least one in nearly all areas. Big chain stores don't usually have them, but small local pet stores often do--and feed&seed stores are proving to be incredibly good sources of superpremium pet food as well. If you still can't find them, most can be ordered from the company, online or via phone. Petfooddirect.com also has many of the human-grade brnads.
Some of the most used and recommended brands are:
Canidae
Wellness
Solid Gold
Flint River Ranch
Eagle Pack Holistic
Innova
Chicken Soup for the Pet's Soul
California Natural

I feed my dog and my cats Wellness brand, and have been exceptionally pleased. Our newest girlkitty has a severe flea allergy as well as probable food allergies. Switching her to Wellness did a world of good--her skin stopped being so dry, it healed quicker, her coat grew out fuller and glossier, and she stopped chewing nearly completely.

Since I know Wellness the best since I use it, here are the ingredients from Wellness' three allergy-specific dry kibbles:

Fish & Sweet Potato kibble (excellent for pets with allergies, but quite good to feed normally to animals without)
Whitefish, Ground Barley, Rye Flour, Menhaden Fish Meal, Whole Sweet Potatoes, Canola Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Flaxseed, Beta-Carotene, Potassium Chloride, Zinc Proteinate (a chelated source of Zinc), Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, Copper Proteinate (a chelated source of Copper), Copper Sulfate, Niacin Supplement, Manganese Sulfate, Manganese Proteinate ( a chelated source of Manganese), Sodium Selenite, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Acetate, Riboflavin Supplement, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid.

"Simple Solutions" Venison blend (specifically for dogs with food allergies):
Ground Brown Rice, Venison, Brown Rice Protein, Flaxseed, Sunflower Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Natural Venison Flavor, Taurine, MINERALS: [Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate (a chelated source of zinc), Iron Proteinate (a chelated source of iron), Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Proteinate (a chelated source of copper), Copper Sulfate, Manganese Proteinate (a chelated source of manganese), Manganese Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite], VITAMINS: [Beta-Carotene, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin C, Vitamin A Supplement, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin K Supplement, Vitamin B-12 Supplement].

"Simple Solutions" duck blend (specifically for pets with allergies)
Ground Brown Rice, Duck, Brown Rice Protein, Sunflower Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Flaxseed, Natural Duck Flavor, Taurine, MINERALS: [Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate (a chelated source of zinc), Iron Proteinate (a chelated source of iron), Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Proteinate (a chelated source of copper), Copper Sulfate, Manganese Proteinate (a chelated source of manganese), Manganese Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite], VITAMINS: [Beta-Carotene, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin C, Vitamin A Supplement, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin K Supplement, Vitamin B-12 Supplement].

Super-premium kibble seems somewhat scary at first--it's harder to find and it's more expensive. But honestly, I've found it to be worth every penny. A much greater percentage of the food is digestable to the animal, so they end up actually eating quite a bit less food to get the nutrients they need.

A 30 pound bag of their Chicken dog kibble costs about $37 and lasts me 5-6 weeks with Java (my 18-lb, very high energy Sheltie) freefeeding. Purina Beneful, which I fed before, cost about $25 for a 35 pound bag and lasted no more than a month and had to regulate his food or he'd eat too much and get sick.

A 12-pound bag of the Salmon food for cats costs me about $27 and lasts 3 cats about 5-8 weeks. An 18-pound bag of Purina, for comparison, costs about $12-15 but lasted me about 3 weeks with that many cats.

It may factor out to a dollar or two more per week, but the health benifits I've noticed in all of my furkids, and the way it has helped my allergykitty with her itches, as well as somewhat eased acute gingivitis and cured rapid weight loss in my big male, I'm absolutely sold on the advantages of humangrade kibble.

[Bryony]

It could be a yeast infection, yes, dogs do get them there. Have your vet make a slide of skin samples and check for bacteria, microscopic parasites, fungi, and yeast. It's probably one of those.

[Unorthodox]

Can be worms too.

[AutumnWitchie]

Could be caused by stress. Every Russian Blue mix cat we've ever had would go bald around the tail from stress. Then, months later, the fur would grow back like they never lost it. My vet(been a vet for almost 50 years. he's 77 now) said its not unusual for an animal thats stressed/unhappy to loose fur in odd patches.

[Mab]

Ok...it's not at the base of the tail. It's all along the whole tail. I have a really hard time finding food he can eat. He's got a VERY sensitive stomach, but he turns his nose up at rice & broth, so......

K. Thanks. I'll try changing his diet.

[Isil Darkmoon]

Good luck. GIve him an extra pat for me. Let me know if you need help finding a human-grade food retailer local to you