so I have heard multiple breeds have the glandular scent mark on their tails, my mal also has some hair thinning in that area of his tail. is this normal? no bald spot but certainly noticable that the fullness of the tail is interrupted at that point and then continues until the curled tip.
Does it irritate him? My last dog, when in her teens developed what appeared to be a sebaceous cyst in this position, (though she did have other smaller ones elsewhere). Despite vet treatment, it caused her irritation and she eventually opened the cyst up overnight. I had her tail amputated because of the proximity of the spinal cord. I would have it checked out by the vet too.
i'll inspect the skin under the fur more closely tomorrow in the light. vets closed till tuesday anyways. thanks for replies.
so its difficult to tell, and the black spot creates the illusion of highlighting this lack of hair density but there is certainly less long hair in that part of the tail. I assumed it's something common but thought i'd ask. the undercoat is too thick to see if the skin is skaley or anything there.. but I felt thoroughally and there are no cysts or uneven bumps in the area.
Ah, in that case I don't think he will be old enough to have a hormone related condition. A patch of black skin could just be a natural skin marking. My female Beagle has lots of black patches that only show up when her white legs are wet. The other thing I wondered about is whether he turns round before he settles in a bed. That can cause a flattened area on the tail - especially a soft puppy tail. Always hard to say for sure at a distance, but I really don't think you have anything to worry about.
he spins around occasionally before bed. you think its a dog tail variation on hat head? the spot even though not active the gland would still be present wouldent it?
There may be a rudimentary gland, but I wouldn't expect it to be obvious in a 12 week puppy - in fact I wouldn't be able to locate it on my own dogs tails. If there is something there that you feel isn't right, follow your gut feeling and ask the vet.
its just the dark spot of fur on the tail. I thought this was common knowledge that it marks the scent gland. i'll do more research i'm net at this.
