My 6 month old beagle mix chewed half of his tail off tonight! I don't think he broke the skin, just almost all the hair that he could reach. It looks like someone took a razor to it. Help, please; any ideas as to why he's doing this and what I need to do in order to stop it?

Some background that may/may not be helpful: He eats twice a day, gets a half hour walk every week day with about an hour of play inside. I think he chewed his tail when he was out of his crate. He'll bite at it occasionally, and chase it sometimes, but I've never seen him actually chomp on it to the point where he lost any hair. He has lots of chew toys, his favorite being a rope knot.

Thanks for any ideas & suggestions.

Your dog could have an allergy to something or he could have fleas down at the tip of his tail and that would make him want to bite at it constantly. If I were you, Id take him to the vet ASAP so that he can be checked.. then they can identify the problem because it could be so many things. My dog at one time was losing a lot of hair on her back by the base of her tail and come to discover after taking her to the vet , he had asked us what type of food we were giving her and apparently she has an allergy to rice so now we have to make sure whatever food she gets does not have rice! Hope this helps:)

Almost any behavior problem needs to start at the vet. The vet may or may not find much. Allergies are very uncommon in such a young puppy. Your puppy may need more stimulation. Try a peanut filled Kong, or a kibble ball. You put kibble in the ball, and the dog rolls it around waiting for a piece to fall out.