# Black Skin Spots - Not Pigment



## MaltsGalore (Nov 11, 2012)

Hello,

This is Jill:










Excuse the cowlick. She was just dried after her bath. B) She is 13 year old 5 pound firecracker in excellent health. Last year she got a bald spot on her shoulder after her rabies vaccine. Over several months the bald spot rotated around from the side to the front closer to her chest. The skin on the bald spot was very pink and soft, but she started scratching it and would occasionally make it bleed. Jill has tons of allergies so we have to be careful what to feed her, and she has seasonal allergies too, so we're not positive if the bald spot itself was itchy or if she was just itchy in general. But we started putting a t-shirt on her and that stopped her from scratching the spot open. After a while some black spots appearing on the bald spot that look kind of like mildew. Some of them will loosen off after a bath and you can scratch them off with your nail. The vet wasn't too concerned a few months ago when there were just a couple spots. I have different kinds of shampoo that I had for other dogs over the years and I tried them. Ketochlor (which is awesome for red mange and fungus) didn't do anything so I tried Keratolux. I tried it at the height of fall weed flowering here when she was itching a lot and the Keratolux helped that, but it didn't touch the black spots. I didn't know if it was okay to use the Keratolux continuously so I stopped and started using anm pharm Comfort Shampoo we got from the vet. She isn't itching at all now, but the black spots have gotten worse:










The photo makes it sort of look like red mange but it doesn't look like that in person. We'll take her to the vet this week but I was just wondering if any of you have seen this before. I searched several forums but only found discussions on pigmentation which we totally understand (we've had many of these little creatures for years). One of my boys also has very few of these black spots in his private area. Jill's t-shirt never gets wet. She gets bathed once a week and receives a clean shirt after each bath. She is pad trained and rarely goes outside due to her allergies. 

Thanks, MaltsGalore


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## edelweiss (Apr 23, 2010)

Have you had it scraped & sent to the lab for an evaluation? That would be my first try.


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## Sylie (Apr 4, 2011)

My 14 year old bichon has a skin condition that seems similar. It started around a skin tag that she started licking and just spread all over. The vet didn't know for sure what it was. We were giving her prednisone and anti-biotics and bathing her with medicated shampoo. Personally, I believe it is an over growth of yeast. It smells fowl. I stopped the meds and just bathe her in Malaseb shampoo twice a week. I give her probiotics and keep simple carbs out of her diet. I haven't been able to cure her, but manage to keep it under control. It doesn't bother her. At first she used to lick it which made it worse and added a bacterial infection to the mix.

Let us know what your vet says.


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## MaltsGalore (Nov 11, 2012)

The vet wasn't much help. After some discussion he admitted he didn't know what it was and thought it might be related to allergy. He suggested I give her Benedryl. There was no change after a week.


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## Kathleen (Aug 4, 2011)

Jill is just a cutie! Hard to believe that she is 13. She looks like a puppy! Must be the twinkle in her eye.
I am sorry she is having this problem. I don't have any experience with a similar condition, but since it started with the rabies vaccine, if it were me, I would try to do some research to see if there are any similar conditions caused by the vaccine. Vets dont seem to usually want to consider this, but it sure seems that vaccines can have long standing effects. There is a lot of good info on the dogs4dogs.com site.
You may have already been down this path, but I thought I would mention it.
I hope Jill has some relief soon.


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## Kathleen (Aug 4, 2011)

I just looked at the dogs4dogs site. Sorry I cant figure out how to add the link. Dogs can have skin disease reactions to the rabies shot, including hair loss (alopecia) and hyperpigmentation.
If you go to dogs4dogs.com/truth4dogs.html there is a link of rabies vaccine reactions. If you click on the one for skin diseases it takes you to a list of articles/studies. Maybe a good starting point for reading to see if it sounds like what Jill has.


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

Kathleen said:


> I just looked at the dogs4dogs site. Sorry I cant figure out how to add the link. Dogs can have skin disease reactions to the rabies shot, including hair loss (alopecia) and hyperpigmentation.
> If you go to dogs4dogs.com/truth4dogs.html there is a link of rabies vaccine reactions. If you click on the one for skin diseases it takes you to a list of articles/studies. Maybe a good starting point for reading to see if it sounds like what Jill has.


Rabies Shots | Truth4Dogs


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## Leila'sMommy (Oct 20, 2012)

If you think it could be fungal, I wonder if you could try Lotrimin? I've never had this experience, so I don't know...and don't know if it is ok for dogs to use. But just a thought. 


Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com Free App


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## Furbabies mom (Jul 25, 2011)

I have nothing to offer here, but your little one is sure cute! I hope that you find an answer .


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## SweetMalteseAngels (Oct 16, 2011)

Mimi had a reaction that was similar when she had her first rabies shot. There was a bald spot in the area and little tiny scabs all over in that area but i didnt look as bad as your picturrs. It didnt to away for months. I was weary about giving her rabies shot again at 1 year of age. She e need up getting the rabies shot under supervision bu strangely enough, she showed no reaction the second time. Go figure.


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## mss (Mar 1, 2006)

Hypothyroidism can also cause various skin problems, including hair loss and darkened skin. I've had two older female fosters that were thyroid deficient. (The darkened skin was not just pigment.) You might ask your vet if that could be part of the problem.


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## Lynzodolly (Sep 15, 2012)

Oh my goodness she looks soo young !! I hope you get it sorted if it's bothering her x


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## CrystalAndZoe (Jul 11, 2006)

Is there an odor? And while I do know that bald spots can and sometimes do happen after rabies vaccinations, I find it really hard to fathom that the skin is actually moving so that the exact same spot that the vaccine was given is now on the chest. I'm not saying this is not from the vaccine. Most likely it is because of what it has done to your little one's immune system, endocrine system, etc... I would definitely have a skin scraping done. Then I would consult a holistic vet.

My biggest concern is the shampoos you are using. Keratolytic is basically a peeling agent...think chemical peel. I would not be using this on a dog when you have no idea why they are itching and scratching and seeing these black spots. It could be actually making things worse. To be honest, I would never use it on a dog. There are much more natural and safer things to use to keep a dog comfortable until you can actually change things internally to level out the imbalances causing the problem instead of masking it topically. Just my own personal opinion and truly not wanting to cause offense. I'm just not sure how else to state it and wanting to desperately bring it up since most people never even think of alternative treatments.


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## TUCCI (Nov 22, 2012)

Crystal&Zoe said:


> Is there an odor? And while I do know that bald spots can and sometimes do happen after rabies vaccinations, I find it really hard to fathom that the skin is actually moving so that the exact same spot that the vaccine was given is now on the chest. I'm not saying this is not from the vaccine. Most likely it is because of what it has done to your little one's immune system, endocrine system, etc... I would definitely have a skin scraping done. Then I would consult a holistic vet.
> 
> My biggest concern is the shampoos you are using. Keratolytic is basically a peeling agent...think chemical peel. I would not be using this on a dog when you have no idea why they are itching and scratching and seeing these black spots. It could be actually making things worse. To be honest, I would never use it on a dog. There are much more natural and safer things to use to keep a dog comfortable until you can actually change things internally to level out the imbalances causing the problem instead of masking it topically. Just my own personal opinion and truly not wanting to cause offense. I'm just not sure how else to state it and wanting to desperately bring it up since most people never even think of alternative treatments.


It's not surprising these little critters have delicate skin, what do you recommend for a gentle shampoo?. What's everyone else using?


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## TUCCI (Nov 22, 2012)

MaltsGalore said:


> Hello,
> 
> This is Jill:
> 
> ...


Wow that looks alarming, is it customary for vets to state which Rabies vaccines they are using and can you find out for us which one your vet used? I truly hope you can come to the bottom of this mysterious condition...she's beautiful even at 13.


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## MaltsGalore (Nov 11, 2012)

Thanks for the replies! 

The rabies vaccine is Fort Dodge killed vaccine. I hate giving them rabies vaccines. But I live in a rural area with lots of critters coming through my yard, and there are regular reports of wild animals with rabies here, so after discussing it with the vet the risk seems greater not vaccinating them. I have 4 Maltese and she is the only one that this happened to. She got the vaccine last January.

There is no smell or oozing and it doesn't seem to bother her at all now. She did scratch it raw late spring to early summer. 

I am not sure the skin moved, but the bald spot definitely moved over several months. It is the same spot because it happened gradually. It did not just appear on the chest. It seems weird because most of my Maltese have gotten the bald spot at one time or another over their lives. 

Does anybody have any concern over the an pharm Comfort Shampoo? I have to be careful what shampoo to use on her and what detergent we use on blankets and clothes. She does okay with BioGroom So-Gentle but the vet suggested the Comfort Shampoo and so far she seems fine with it. I never use any grooming spray or conditioner on her.

I used a jewelers eye loupe to look at the area this morning after her bath and the little spots are actually coming out of her skin like teeny skin tags. I almost wonder if the hair follicles got infected, or maybe this is something happening because the hair is starting to grow back? Thoughts?

If there were a veterinary dermatologist close I would take her, but the closest one is 2 hours away. If this keeps getting worse or starts bothering her I might consider it. It has been about the same for a couple weeks now and maybe has even gotten a tad better.

I don't think it is hypothyroidism but will keep an eye on her. Most of her skin is healthy pink and this is the only spot with hair loss. She has an excellent coat which is the straightest and softest coat I've ever seen on a Maltese. Jill is generally in excellent health with no heart murmur, excellent energy, no digestive problems, great teeth, clear eyes, and an excellent voice. Trust me on that last one. She lets us know she is here!


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