Bald Tail and Tummy Worry.

Hey there, I am really worried about my 9 year old cavaliers tail and tummy which are bald 0_0.
Kaytee has had a bald tummy since I got her in 2003 the vets have noticed it but never been able to tell me what It could be, Her tail started to go bald in 2004 just the top of it, vets did a thyroid test and couldn't seem to work out what had caused it, Now in 2009 almost ALL of her tail is bald, She has a heart murmur and IBD she also has dry eye and syringomyelia, I cant think that this could be linked to any of these?
The tail doesn't seem to bother her and I think the vets think if that's the case then leave it be. She has had many blood tests to see how she is doing on her pills and nothing has come up to explain the baldness.
I live in a one bedroom flat and we have a shared garden and one day I suddenly wondered could it maybe not be health related could it be that though kaytee has toilet trips and walks she is not having enough time in the natural light? I am moving soon and we will have a garden but this is really worrying me and I wondered if you had ever had this same thing with any of your babies?
Below are some photos of her tail and tummy sorry its not too clear

I am sorry I have no idea but that is a worry, I hope you get to the bottom of it. Have you tried a different vet for a second opinion? Has she been tested for mites? Mites and a flee allergy are the only times I have seen baldness.

No they havent tested for mites but I use frontline flea treatment so I can rule those nasty fleas out hehe, its really worrying me now, when we move we will have a choice of sticking with our vet or seeing another, I know it sounds SO bad but I never trust my vets I dont know why I have always felt that whoever I have seen that there is something they all keep missing but I just wish I knew what!

I saw Tail gland hyperplasia online but I cant work out what it means? this is such a mystery...

Frontline doesn't stop them getting flees, it just means the flees don't last long.

My sister's dog loses hair on his hind legs sometimes (Not a Cavalier).

Our vet suggested perhaps a food allergy, and she's done well switching his diet up trying chicken and grain free foods. Have you looked into food allergies?

Another possibility could be fox mange, though you don't mention the awful scratching which seems to go with that. Frontline doesn't do anything for mange - you have to use Advocate, or its equivalent.

I have a 10-year old ruby with SM, whose tail and tummy were just like that this time last year and it turned out to be fox mange. My vet thought she probably picked it up because the SM had debilitated her (my other two younger dogs were unaffected and they all go to the same places).

I recently looked after a friend's Border Terrier and she too had a similar-looking tail. Unfortunately it was because she had Cushing's disease.

Either way, I think you would be well advised to get the opinion of another vet as soon as you can.

Good luck with Kaytee and do let us know how you get on with her.

All best, Marie-Anne

How many times has she been taken back to your vet to try to diagnose the problem in all these years? I would take her to another vet; taking her to a veterinary dermatologist would be the most logical next step. It might require multiple trips, but would be well worthwhile!

What pills is she on? Do they include a steroid?

Margaret C

yes she is on prednisolone she has one 5mg tablet every other day for her IBD. I have been thinking and I want to take kaytee to another vet I now have to look into vets where I am moving to and decide which would be best, thank you all for your replies its appreciated

I had a lab once that had very thin hair on her belly and her tail went bald in a certain area. What we found was the belly was bare from her jumping up and down off of furniture and rubbing it off. She was very excitable. Her tail ended up raw because while we were away, we kept her in our finished lower level. But every time she heard someone walk by or go to the front door she would stand in the stairwell. She wagged her tail so much against the wall it made it bald and eventually it began bleeding. What a mess that was. but we fixed it and kept her from going up and standing at the top of the stairs.

i would ask the vet about cushings