Hair loss on puppys tail

Question
We saw a yorkie puppy that's for sale the other day. He was very cute except he'd lost his hair on his tail.  The breeder was up front about it and told us before we saw him.  She said she took him to her vet and he said it was a fungus like athlete's foot and gave her some cream to put on it.  His hair is stating to come back.  My question is does this sound like something chronic that could be an issue for the rest of his life?  Because if it isn't we would love to get him.

Answer
Dawn,

First let me start off by apologizing for taking so long to answer your e-mail.  I know it says we have three days to respond but I try to respond within the first 12 hours.  My Internet has been down for the last few days and has only now just come back online.

Now lets get to the question.  There are a lot of reasons dogs loose hair.  The most serious thing that can cause this is mange.  Mange can kill a dog and I certainly would not purchase a puppy with mange.  The Terrier breed also has problems with allergies.  These allergies can sometimes manifest themselves through the skin.  What happens is they loose or scratch their hair to the point that it falls out.  The most common thing that they are allergic to is food, especially chicken.

If they have allergies then you will have a life long problems with it and you will be visiting the vet on a regular basis.  I have never heard of a fungus like the one your breeder has mentioned but that does not mean that there is no such thing.  If it were me I would not want to purchase a puppy that has problems already.  If you have your heart set on this puppy however, there are a few things I would insist on.

First, tell the breeder that you want something from the vet that details what the problem is and if it is something that you can expect to occur again in the future.  After you get the details call your vet and speak to them about it and get a second opinion.  You would want to know the cause, cure and treatment that your vet would recommend.  Then get a guarantee from the breeder that states that the dog is healthy.

Keep in mind that the guarantee would really not be beneficial.  Most people think that if they get a guarantee that they can return the puppy if anything goes wrong.  The problem with that is that you become attached to the puppy and then you can't bear to part with it and you are then stuck with a dog that has medical problems.  That is the reason that I say I would not purchase a puppy that already has problems.

I hope this helps you to make an informed decision.