# Thinning tail



## tobysmommy (Jan 9, 2011)

What could be wrong? My Toblerone is a very fluffy little guy and always had a thick, luxurious tail ... until recently. He blew his coat around June and was a little sleeker looking over the summer, but his tail still had substance. Now his winter coat is coming back in, he's "fluffing up" for the cold, but his tail is going in the opposite direction. It has thinned out almost to the point of looking spiny. The feathers are still there, and they're luxuriously long (the longest almost 10" - yes, I measured! , but it seems as if all the undercoat has gone. Just looking at *Muddypaw*'s signature pic of Darby & Kirby made me so sad - because that's what Toby _used_ to look like from behind. Not anymore.

I did some digging and found that some dogs tear at their tails - out of boredom, etc. - but I have never observed that in Toby, and we're together almost 24/7. I've also seen references to allergies, but I don't think Toby has any. He's on a high quality grain-free food, is bathed and groomed regularly with high quality soap-free shampoos and conditioner, and I inspect his skin at every bath (once a week). He has no skin issues at all. There also haven't been any changes in food/environment/shampoo etc. that he could be reacting to.

I'm stumped. Why would his tail be thinning while the rest of him is fluffing up, and is this likely to grow back, or is it a symptom of a deeper issue?
Thanks in advance for your advice.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

I would have a complete thyroid panel done. All 3 of my dogs who had thyroid issues had thinning tails as one of the first symptoms. 

Both my Casey and my King have/had glorious plumes for tails which returned when the supplementation is right. ETA: Rowdy had a bushier style tail, not so much the glorious plume

Good luck


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## LifeOfRiley (Nov 2, 2007)

Yep, have a full thyroid panel done. Don't wait and don't let your vet talk you out of it. We just found out the hard way that some vets aren't particularly knowledgeable when it comes to thyroid disease.

Riley was showing the same sign - thinning coat, primarily on the tail. Our now previous vet dismissed it as "allergies." He'd also gained quite a bit of weight, which was dismissed as "food" and "too many treats.". He wouldn't run the test, telling me that there's no way Riley is hypothyroid. Well, we went around him, had the panel run ourselves, by Hemopet, and lo and behold... he's hypothyroid! 

So don't let your vet dismiss you and/or talk you out of having the panel done. It may NOT be hypothyroid, but it's better to run the test and find out for sure.


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## tobysmommy (Jan 9, 2011)

:doh: Thyroid! I should have thought of that - especially in a Golden. He seems awfully young for it, but it certainly isn't impossible. I just got off the phone with his vet, and Toby's got an appointment for tomorrow morning. They immediately agreed to do the panel. I hope it turns out fine, but better safe than sorry. :crossfing Thank you both.


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## LifeOfRiley (Nov 2, 2007)

tobysmommy said:


> :doh: Thyroid! I should have thought of that - especially in a Golden. He seems awfully young for it, but it certainly isn't impossible. I just got off the phone with his vet, and Toby's got an appointment for tomorrow morning. They immediately agreed to do the panel. I hope it turns out fine, but better safe than sorry. :crossfing Thank you both.


That's great! Let us know what you find out.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

I came here, just based on the title, to say "a thinning tail is a common first symptom of hypothyroid." I see that several other posters have beaten me to the punch.


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## tobysmommy (Jan 9, 2011)

Thank you, *Tippykayak*. That's another strong endorsement, given your knowledge and experience! 

One more question: with hypothyroidism in humans, there is a sub-clinical range where doctors may be reluctant to treat, yet the patient's well-being may be seriously affected. I've learned it's always important to ask for actual results, not just a decision on treatment.

Is it the same for dogs? Should I ask for the actual results of the panel, and what kind of T4, T3, Free T4, Free T3, etc. values should I be looking for?

*ETA:* Sorry, never mind, I did some more digging and found the answer to my question. http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...interesting-article-dr-hines.html#post1223304


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

Yep, his thyroid may be out of whack. 

Ask for a full panel to be run, through Dr. Dodds or MSU, so you get all those values. 

Good luck!


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

Yes, be sure it's the FULL panel..... T3, free T3, T4, free T4 and the anitbodies. With Dr Dodds, she also gives her interpretation and suggestions for treatment ( if needed) in addition to the lab results.


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

Argh...this is my fear with Ranger. He too has a thin looking tail. Does Toby have any other signs of thyroid issues?

I'm thinking that Ranger's might just be because he blew his coat last month right around the time he was sick for 2 weeks and was on a strict potato diet for 2 weeks straight, then only had chicken added to it for the next two weeks before we went to kibble. He's still recovering from his bout of sickness and lack of nutrition in other ways, so I'm praying that his tail will recover and it's not a thyroid problem. Otherwise he's fine - coat everywhere else is normal, no weight gain/loss, typical self...plus the fact that his coat usually gets worse in the fall until it grows back in...that's the only thing keeping me calm. 

But if his tail doesn't get better by Christmas, we'll be heading off to the vet to run a thyroid panel. I hope your Toby is fine! Maybe it's something silly...hopefully!


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## tobysmommy (Jan 9, 2011)

I'm not sure if Dr. Dodds is available to Canadians, but I'll certainly insist on a full thyroid panel!



Ranger said:


> Argh...this is my fear with Ranger. He too has a thin looking tail. Does Toby have any other signs of thyroid issues?


No, that's the odd thing. He's normally active, not lethargic, the rest of his coat is nice and thick and shiny, he is lean and muscular with his weight holding steady at about 75 lbs. (He weighed in at 74.5 lbs. before his bath this morning.) I don't know how this could be autoimmune thyroiditis, as neither his parents nor grandparents had thyroid issues, and he's very young for hypothyroidism as a result of atrophy. Nor is he on any medications and, to the best of my knowledge, has no other medical conditions. He's just a baby! I'm worried about my little buddy. 

You gave me hope and some food for thought when you mentioned that Ranger blew his coat right when he was very ill - same with Toblerone. He was very ill at the end of May, and blew his coat in June. The thing is, his tail didn't thin out abnormally back then. That only happened in the last few weeks.



Ranger said:


> But if his tail doesn't get better by Christmas, we'll be heading off to the vet to run a thyroid panel. I hope your Toby is fine! Maybe it's something silly...hopefully!


Thank you, and I hope Ranger is just fine as well and they'll both be growing thick, luxurious plumes on their bummies again soon.


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

Dr Dodds takes samples from around the world. Her site is http://www.hemopet.org/services.htmlhttp://www.hemopet.org You can read about what to do to submit the serum or call for more info.


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

Yep, same with Ranger. He didn't lose his tail feathers the same time as he blew his coat. He lost them a week or two later. The rest of his coat is looking better and shinier, but his skin is still a little dry and flaky (normal for when he blows his coat in the fall). His tail...sigh. It looks so stringy! I've also been saturating it in conditioner before brushing it these past few weeks. Not to mention all the food he's been getting lately: raw egg once a day, 2 fish oil pills/day, and sardines, herring, and mackerel a few times a week. 

I'm scanning pics trying to tell when exactly his tail thinned out...and so i can see if it starts to get better!


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## tobysmommy (Jan 9, 2011)

Ranger said:


> Yep, same with Ranger. He didn't lose his tail feathers the same time as he blew his coat. He lost them a week or two later. The rest of his coat is looking better and shinier, but his skin is still a little dry and flaky (normal for when he blows his coat in the fall).


Hmm...Toby's tail is neither dry nor flaky and never has been, nor did he lose his feathers. It's the undercoat that seems to have disappeared on his tail. I like the idea of the pictures - maybe I'll try to get some of Toby's tail as it is right now and post them.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

He could just have a kind of thin tail like Comet. Comet will barber it if it gets dirty or salty or tangled at all, so it's hard to keep it thick, even though the rest of his coat is lovely and he's not hypothyroid (though he's never been tested).


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## tobysmommy (Jan 9, 2011)

I just found out how difficult it is to get that tail to stop wagging just long enough to get a couple of pictures! :

Here they are. I know his tail isn't completely ratty yet, but it's definitely much thinner than it used to be.


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## tobysmommy (Jan 9, 2011)

tippykayak said:


> He could just have a kind of thin tail like Comet.


That's possible, I suppose, but up until a couple of weeks ago, it was nice and thick. I've never seen Toby barber his tail - no matter how messy it gets. His philosophy is "the messier, the better". Any barbering is down to me. :


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

Oh, I meant the rest of his coat like along his back had gotten a little dull and skin flaky. But again, that's normal for ranger in the fall...I just never noticed his tail looking so sad in previous years.

Yep - Ranger's tail looks a lot like Toby's except even thinner...though his is never very pouffy anyway since he doesn't have much of a coat. Can you post a before pic?


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## tobysmommy (Jan 9, 2011)

Ok. I don't have a lot to choose from, because I don't usually take pictures of Toby's rear end. 

But this was his "Before" tail:


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## tobysmommy (Jan 9, 2011)

So it's not hypothyroidism. Toby's bloodwork came back, and his thyroid is normal - all values are in the middle of their respective reference ranges. His calcium level is a little high, but not seriously so (2.87 mmol/L). I suppose the next possibility is an undiscovered allergy, but I can't imagine what it would be, and he doesn't display any other signs of allergy (scratching, skin issues, licking paws, etc.).

As I mentioned in my original post, Toby is on grain-free food, and has been since puppyhood. I also steer clear of chicken, because it gives him very smelly gas. He eats a lamb formula, and gets 2 Tbsp. of fish oil daily. A spoon of Ascenta Canine Omega-3 in the morning, and a spoon of Carlson cod liver oil in the evening. I also supplement his kibble diet with raw meat/bones.

Is there anything else I could/should be doing? Or could I be doing something that I should stop? Toby wants his tail back!


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

^ Going by these pics and the age of your dog, I'm thinking a few things...

If he's blown his coat recently, that may be a reason why his coat looks thinner. In the first pic there is a lot of puppy fluff. I'd keep feeding him a good diet and see if it grows thicker in the next few months. 

The other possibility is that he's been chasing his tail. 

The other thing I would do (and this is just me going nuts when I see goldens with long shetland pony tails), but you can trim the tail up slightly (see the morningsage grooming tips). It will either encourage the fur to grow thicker there or it will just _look_ thicker.


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## tobysmommy (Jan 9, 2011)

Megora said:


> In the first pic there is a lot of puppy fluff.


True. But even once that fluff came out, his tail was still thick and full. I wish I had a good "tail picture" from that time, but I don't.



Megora said:


> The other possibility is that he's been chasing his tail.


No, he doesn't. It was "taught" as a trick in his Peewee puppy class, but I never encouraged it, so he doesn't do it. Nor have I ever seen him tear at his tail.



Megora said:


> The other thing I would do (and this is just me going nuts when I see goldens with long shetland pony tails), but you can trim the tail up slightly (see the morningsage grooming tips). It will either encourage the fur to grow thicker there or it will just _look_ thicker.


Hehe, yes, it does need some tidying up, doesn't it?  I would have done it by now, but seeing his tail getting thinner has made me want to "hang on" to the long feathers. Silly, isn't it? Vanity, thy name is "tobysmommy"! :
Thank you for your advice.


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

Glad to hear it's not a thyroid problem! Whew!

Ranger's is getting a little better, so hopefully Toby's does soon, too. Though I'll say that Ranger's tail NEVER looked as full as Toby's in that first pic! Ranger just doesn't have that much coat!

Slowly but surely...I'm sure Toby's will look gorgeous again soon!


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## tobysmommy (Jan 9, 2011)

Ranger said:


> Glad to hear it's not a thyroid problem! Whew!


I'm so relieved that it isn't his thyroid! I hope his tail will fluff up again, but I know that's just superficial and cosmetic. He's healthy, and that's the main thing.


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## bfranks102 (Nov 12, 2017)

*Thinning Tail*

Thank you for all this information, I will be calling the vet tomorrow for an appointment for my Bosco.


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