My dog acts like something is biting his hind quarter/tail area

Question
Hi I have a 3-4 yr old beagle. Recently he has started having problems with his hind quarter/tail area. He acts like something is biting him in that area. He'll be walking along fine and all of a sudden he just stops, looks at his tail and sometime times he sits right down and starts biting/licking the area. He has lost hair at the base of the tail and on each side of the tail. I just don't understand what's going on with him, he has never done this before. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Answer
The first thing I would do is check him for fleas. And if so, DO NOT use flea collars, flea baths or store brand flea topical as they do not work!!

You can check this having a paper towel under him and scratch his belly. Apply a wet cotton swab to any dirt that comes off onto the paper towel. If it turns red...it's flea dirt.

If this doesn't happen, I would take him to your vet and see if any skin infection is going on.