Allergic hickie-looking spots?
 

My 2yr old healthy yorkie, Sully, has recently been really itchy for the past couple of months. I took him to the vet and the vet couldn't find a single reason why?! The vet also said that Sully had very healthy skin.

However, since this aforementioned vet visit, little "spots" on Sully's underbelly and, well, "crotch" area have appeared, and they look like hickies. (I know they're not really, LOL.) But I think he's been so itchy, that he's been biting at his skin so hard that it's brought the blood to the surface, kindof like a bruise?

Excuse my lack of modesty with this picture....it's for medical purposes only. :rolleyes: But I truly am concerned about Sully! Are these what the vet calls "hot spots"? I ask because they're not like scabs at all, really, they're flat/smooth to his skin.

Please PLEASE share your ideas and recommendations about what I should do about this! Have any of you had a similar experience? (It's not fleas as he's up to date on his meds 100%.) Thanks in advance!
:yorkietal

They may be hot spots. If he starts losing hair anywhere and having spots have him checked for mites. has he had any fleas that can cause irritation

So far, he hasn't lost hair that I've noticed, or been biting anywhere but his tummy? He's been on the same food for a while now - maybe I should change it as the vet said they can develop allergies over time when they eat the same kind of food.

you could change the food and see. Does it have any corn or wheat in it. Those are big allergy causers

He eats Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice small bites. It's a pretty good food and he eats well. I asked the vet about it and he said it was a good food, but it's always good to change it up every 6 months or so.

spots
 

They look like the type brown spots that come from an allergy..they tend to lick or scratch them and make a bacterical infection...use a shampoo with Chlorhexaderm in it..let is sit on him for 5 mins..do it twice in one week, then weekly for a month or so...it should clear it up...some vets give an oral antibotic along with the shampoo, but I found my grooming clients dogs cleared up fairly well with shampoo...good luck

You're amazing, thank you! :) Does my regular shampoo have that in it (C.C.) or can I buy it at Petsmart or the vet?

When Chachi had skin problems we got shampoo from the vet. It was a medicated shampoo

My baby's itching with similar spots on her belly too
(not as servere, but somewhat alike)

I'm taking her to the vet in 1 hr. Hopefully my vet will have some advise for me.

So is this caused by food allergy?
My girl is currently on Pedigree puppy lamb & rice, that's what the breeder used to feed her.

Which brand of food is the most recommanded?

Does giving them antibiotics & shampoo them cure the problem?
Or do I have to have my baby allergy tested to find out what the problem is.

Thank you so much.

My Vet didnt allergy test right away. He gave me the shampoo and I changed foods several times. After the problem wasnt clearing up He did a skin scrape and found out Chachis problems were from mites so he treated him for that

I looked at Cheri and Chanel's tummies and Chanel has tiny spots ..similar ...but she doesn't itch...could this just be typical skin 'colorations' ? Is he biting himself there ?

If he is itching badly - maybe even over the counter cortisone cream would help ? Good luck at the vet - I hope they can do something for his itchies

It does look like a definite irritation of some kind. Perhaps switching foods might help. Natural Balance makes an allergy formula that is free of all the largest allergens with a single protein source. But the bites are not real small. Maybe you could get a sample??

I would try the medicated shampoo also and see if that helps. Good luck Sully!!!

Alright, I just got back from my vet.
& I requested a skin scrape test, & it turned out to be mites.

My vet gave Monique a shot that helps to get rid of the mites. (I'm supposed to go back for another shot in 2 weeks)
I also got some medicated shampoo & antibiotics to help with Monique's skin irritations.

Although it's a big bill, thankgod we didn't waste any time on other possibility & let my baby girl suffer more.
So big big thanks to all of you that brought up the question, suggestions, & advises. :yorkietal

Be glad you found it early. Chachi lost all the hair on his back when he had mites. He also had to be dipped in a real strong solution 6 times

Yes, I'm gald & definitely grateful because I wouldn't find the problem so fast if I don't know YT.

Poor Chachi baby, it must hurt dipping in the solution :eek:
So does it ever come back?

Once Chachi was treated for them they he has not had any more problems with them. It is just really hard t0 get rid of them once they have them. i havent heard of a shot that takes care of them.

Rosi has similar on her lower tummy as well, but it does not seem to bother her, she does not lick or scratch there !

shampoo
 

Most vets have it for sale and you do not have to bring in the dog. If not, try Petsmart..I buy 2% ChlorhexiDerm (tm) Once it is cleared up, use it only once a month then a good regular shampoo and conditioner..it is drying...or better yet, just wash the belly area once a month.
Most grooming shampoo's do not have this ingredient.

This is kind of what my Me-Me looks like under her arm pits. The vet thinks hers is from a reaction to frontline topspot. I went to PetSmart and bought her some ointment for dogs and it helps. I have a yorkie who was just spayed and when she goes in to get her stitches out I want the vet to look at her again. Our yorkies seem to get the spotty belly look during the summer when they roll out side. Anything smelly and they roll in it. lol I'll check out this shampoo too.

My Pom gets them and the vey said they are bacterial infections form scratching . They put her on an antibiotic orally when she gets a lot and when there is only one or two they gave me Panalog cream to put on. Hope he feels better soon

Trixie has those all over her belly and her upper legs from allergies. We're hoping with new food and medicine they'll clear up soon...

In the picture here, you can see some of those 'hicky' looking spots on her lower body... her chest is a lot worse, it seems to have little black dots all over...

Thank you all so much for your advice!!! I sure hope it's something easily cleared up and not mites, bless his heart! I am going to get that shampoo asap. Also when this bag of food gets low, I will be changing his food. Not sure what to yet, but I'll be looking into it! :D

I am so glad the OP started this thread and included pictures. Demi has the exact same thing -- the bruises and dirty-looking specks.

It sounds like there are different opinions from vets on whether these are from allergies, bacterial infections, or reactions to products. This worries me, since Demi's previous owners spent a fortune on allergy tests for her (results: allergic to grass and fleas, they said, but I lived in the remote country when I got her and she was exposed to grass and fleas all the time and did not react badly).

I'm also worried about trying the shampoo because I'm afraid the drying effect will make her skin worse. Her previous owners washed her twice a week in anti-allergy shampoo and when I got her she barely had any hair. I mean, she looked like a grayish-pink dog because you could see as much skin as you could hair. I thought the drying effect of the shampoo was responsible for her thin coat, and it's true that her coat grew in quickly and thickly in my care (I used conditioner only on her, and started giving her meat in addition to her kibble).

Her scratching and skin problems are really frustrating for me. I changed her food from Iams to Canidae + Missing Link Plus, but it hasn't helped yet after 5 weeks. If anything, she's worse.

I'm almost afraid to go to the vet because every time I've taken a dog to a vet for a skin problem, it has turned into an expensive odyssey of differing opinions, and the dog's problem never gets resolved.

Very frustrating and worrisome.

Let me know what you all find out... We've already been doing a lot of expensive vet visits and medications and nothing seems to work. When we finally thought it was an ingredient in the food, two days later she started scratching again and her skin is worse than it's ever been. I don't know what to do anymore. The hicky looking spots are ALL over her belly, legs and side and turned black and red (inflamed skin). And she'll get 'pimples' on her belly as well. She scratches constantly. Even after being on different antibiotics, benedryl, and now on a mild steroids. The vet doesn't know either, besides putting her on stronger steroids and I don't want to do that. I'm at my wits end, so if anybody finds out, PLEASE let us know! Has it just been a crazy allergy season???

Anne-Marie, do you think the problem might stress of some sort? I'm thinking that if no physical cause can be found, it might be worth looking at psychological causes. Does a certain situation seem to make her scratch more, or is she just scratching all the time and everywhere?

Just saw this.... Thanks for the advice! I really think it's something physical, we just haven't found what it is...

mites .:scratchhe
 

I have been fighting with itchy skin since last may on my Charlie, this is long but may be well worth reading.

I have tried benadryl and steroids and food changes and additives and several other remedies anti itch sprays etc. I went to the vet a few weeks ago and was at my wits end he scratches his poor little nose till its brite red, I was talking to vet and he was suggesting allergy test at $275.00 and if we found that he had allergies we could start him on injections at $200.00 a vial that he would be on the rest of his life.... hmmm I asked him about scarcoptic mange (mites-scabies) and he told me he could scrape him for a week and not find them even though he could have them, because he probably only has 2 or 3 at most as though his hair is thin in spots, he still has hair and if he had more than 2 or 3 he would be balding after having it for more than 4 months. He told me that revolution kills mites, but it must be done over 3 applications, and the company suggests to kill the mites it must be given at 2 week intervals. The vet said that I would notice a difference right away with the first application, and that if he actually had mites, it would make him lethargic, kind a like a kid with a fever for a few days, as when the medication starts to kill the mites, the mites release a poison in the animal as they are dying. I gave him the first dose he was lethargic for 2 days and the itching has reduced by about 50% his next dose is due next week. If this does the trick the little guy will quit being his own worst enemy. He is very healthy otherwise, I hope this helps some other little itchy fella. I will post again with results as they occur. I am truly hoping this works, as the alternative at this point is allergy testing and shots probably for the rest of his life according to the vet. Not a pleasant thought.

When Sabrina was about 1 and 1/2 she started with that. It looked almost like little rust spots. We have a vet that raised Yorkies, and the first thing he said was absolutely NO chicken. She's allergic. It's amazing - she can eat anything else in the world, but if she gets something with chicken - there they are again for days. I just read a lot of labels. His Yorkie male was so allergic he would go into shock if he got chicken! They had to keep one of those epinphrine things around for him. (They Will get some somewhere, somehow). Hope this helps..

I give up
 

Gave Charlie second dose of revolution and he is worse than ever. called my vet and got an appointment with an allergy vet, for this friday. will post with update when I have one, guess not mites after all

Lacy had those exact spots off and on her entire life - nothing ever worked to get rid of them - hers did not itch and they were not mites. Here in El Paso we don't have fleas (too hot and too dry) so it wasn't a reaction to any flea medication. They seem to come from the pores, sometimes I could pick them off, they were kind of like a tarry substance. The vet examined them under a microscope, still no diagnosis. I don't think I would worry too much as long as they were not itching. I know at first they thought it might be mites, but looked at them with a black light and said no. Prescribed various medicated shampoos and ointments also. I started to believe they were hormone related because she would have times when they weren't there.