Has anyone got any answers regarding treatment that might help these bald patches on my dogs upper tails. They are very unsightly and seem to be hereditary. One dog has got a very bad patch, which keeps getting spots appear, they fill with a 'cheesy' type mess. Have had to stop showing this dog.

Dogs have a gland on their tails - is this what you are refering to?

Unfortunately this could actually be hypothyroidism.  One of my friends was told that her dog had "stud tail" but eventually he started losing fur from his nose and put on weight. 

You need to have blood tests from your vet to check that it isn't hypothyroidism, especially as I presume that you have more than one dog with it, from the same line.

Thanks, but I don,t think this is due to hypothyroidism. My bitch is now 5 and has no other hair loss.

Yes, that's right. My bitch has a patch, so has her son and daughter. Any ideas ??

It's a normal part of the dog's anatomy. Some dogs have a more active gland than others - for instance one of my dogs and his litter sister (not owned by me, and fed completely differently) have noticeable marks - their mum and litter brother don't. Bathing it in hibiscrub might help.

I have tried hibiscrub, which does keep it clean. It's the loss of hair that I would love to see return. Has any of your dogs hair returned.?

Mine haven't actually lost any hair - they have a greasy, dirty-looking area about 2" by 1". On their white tails it's very noticeable, and no amount of shampooing cleans it.

The dog that I mentioned also only had the bit on his tail for a long time and his vet said that it was stud tail.  The owner was unhappy with this and eventually found out that it was hypothyroidism.  The dog now has a lovely hairy tail and actually is a totally different dog.

It is worth testing for to ensure that it isn't this.