# Black belly and itching...



## VTBear

Hello, I came across this forum while trying to investigate what is causing my dog's belly to turn black and itch. Has anyone experienced this with their dog before? Is it an issue caused by fleas or some sort of allergy?

A Brief History:
My golden is 6 years old and this issue only started when I moved to Texas from Virginia. I took him to the vet a couple months ago and he gave me topical Advantix to apply once a month for fleas. This seemed to have a positive effect for the first month but he seems to still have a problem with fleas. The vet did not really address the problem about why his belly was black though. I will probably end up taking him to another vet for a second opinion but just wanted to check with the online community first.


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## Lucky's mom

Well, black pigmented skin is very common on Goldens. Lucky has patches of it...under his arms is very dark. I don't know if pigment can change as they age, but I bet it can.

I use frontline....it really works for us. It might take a while for the flea populaton to die off...which is why you might still see fleas that jumped on your Golden.

Good luck to you...Lucky had major skin problems before I got frontline so I know its frustrating when they are uncomfortable.


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## BeauShel

Hello and welcome,
I use the Frontline Plus and it works great for the fleas and stays on better if they go in the water. As far as the black belly, if it is new, I would have the vet do a scraping and see if it is some kind of fungal infection. Good luck and we would love to see pictures of your pup.


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## fostermom

The age, the itching and the black belly would drive me to have the vet to do a full thyroid panel.


Good luck!


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom

I would agree with having a FULL thyroid panel done. Even if it comes back low normal, for goldens that is low and should be treated. Also, you may want to read the articles about yeast at www.greatdanelady.com and see if that scenario seems to fit. For the last several years, we've been treating our yard with diatomaceous earth for the fleas and ticks and have good results. I use the Advantix VERY sparingly as I am super concerned about all the chemicals our pets are exposed to. Mine do get bathed weekly and the goldens get the springtime inc garlic. Luckily, this regime has been successful for us. Hope you are able to pinpoint the issue here and get some relief. Please keep us posted.


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## 3 goldens

What part of Texas are you in? We are on the coast jst out of Corpus Christ. Jut trreating yur dog for flea isn't enugh. You need ot do the yadand the house at the same time. Frntline and Advantix stopped working for our dogs. 

My go;den mix has turned "blck" under hr arms and around on parts of her tummy and she is healthy as he can be Just happened.

And welcome t the forum.


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## VTBear

Thanks for the replies,

I will ask the vet about a thyroid panel when I take him. The dog is staying with my grandmother in Waco for the time being and there are a lot of feral cats in the her neighborhood. I'm not sure if treating the lawn will help as much with them running around everywhere. I was curious if the garlic therapy actually works as I have seen mentioned elsewhere. I know onions are poisonous to dogs and thought garlic would fall in that category. I'll have do to some more research before I try that. Thanks again for all the advice. I'll keep you posted when I find out what is causing this reaction.


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## Aprilpa

The black is called hyperpigmentation and is exactly what it sounds like. With chronic irritation/infection/scratching the pigment in the skin will change from pink to black. 

The flea population is significantly different between Virginia and Texas, and the south has had alot of issues with dogs becoming resistant to certain flea meds. You may have to do some research and see which one works in your situation and ask around to see which ones the vets in that area are recommending over another. I personally use Revolution through the summer, but I live in PA, not Texas. (I have also used Frontline plus in the past and not had any issues with it either.)

If your dog is allergic to flea bites, you will have to be hypervigilant about flea control both on him and in the environment around him. In dogs that are allergic to fleas, you may never see a flea on him (fleas only spend about 10% of their time on an animal feeding). He may go out to the bathroom, a flea can get on and bite him and jump back off, you may never see it, but he can itch for up to 3 weeks from that single bite. 

When a flea bites, they release a substance into the dogs system so that their blood doesn't clot while they are taking a meal. That is what the dog has a reaction to. That is why you might see one dog with fleas crawling everywhere who doesn't seem the least bit bothered, and another dog with no visible fleas who is losing all his hair and scratching constantly. It just depends on how sensitive they are to the bite. Also, once they start scratching at whatever has irritated them, they can open up the skin to fungal and bacterial infections which cause more itching and it becomes a vicious cycle. The fact that his skin is turning black is indication that he has had some chronic irritation there. 

I agree with the other posters who mentioned a thyroid panel. Unfortunately thyroid issues are becoming more and more common with Goldens and skin issues are usually one of the first indications of that. But given the time of year and your location, I would definately stay ahead of the flea situation. I would also make sure that he hasn't caused an additional skin infection with all the scratching. Good luck, skin issues can be very frustrating!


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## jay

*Black skin belly golden retriever*

Most golden retrievers have a pink skin on their belly. As they age, some dogs pick up allergies of different types. 2 most common allergies are wheat gluten and corn gluten. Unfortunately, most dog foods use wheat and corn as their filler (bulk) to harden the dog food. It is less expensive and readily available. It is also what most dog bone treats are made of (MilkBone etc.). When your golden start to get allergies, most owners are not sure what is causing it. Most of the time it is the food. Try potato based food. That usually works. If the allergy persists a lot, the skin will start to turn black because of the dog's allergic reaction to its cause. Itching usually goes along with the black skin. The black skin usually does not return to its pink color. To get relief for the dogs allergies, a person can use Benadril tablets or better still "cpm" tablets from your local vet. Vet pills are better because of your dogs weight, you can give fewer to the dog. With the allergy pills, the dog's comfort comes quickly and the black skin usually stops but does not go away from the point it has advanced to. Side bar: black skin can show up in isolated areas the dog has access to lick. I hope this helps concerned Golden owners.


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## coppers-mom

I generally use Frontline+, but I had to also use comfortis last month to get rid of the fleas.

Black skin and itching can also be a sign of a skin infection. My older guy had his spleen removed and now fights skin infections constantly. His skin blackens in areas where it is the worst - mostly his abdomen. He will also get circular areas of pyoderma. Oral antibiotics and twice weekly shampooing with a shampoo that contains chlorhexadine generally clears it up.

His skin infection does occur more in summer, Probably due to playing in the creek and getting wet more often. He is currently taking chephalexin and being shampooed for a skin infection.

I hope your boy gets better.


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## NuttinButGoldens

I'll take "Broken Keyboards" for $100 Alex :--crazy:



3 goldens said:


> What part of Texas are you in? We are on the coast jst out of Corpus Christ. Jut trreating yur dog for flea isn't enugh. You need ot do the yadand the house at the same time. Frntline and Advantix stopped working for our dogs.
> 
> My go;den mix has turned "blck" under hr arms and around on parts of her tummy and she is healthy as he can be Just happened.
> 
> And welcome t the forum.


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## Blondie

We use Vectra 3-D for flea and tick prevention. It works well for Maggie.


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## Damamma

My boy suffered from Yeast infections on the skin which made him itch, smell bad and turn black. He was consistantly getting them along with hot spots, until we found out his thyroid was underactive. Now that hes on medication for that he's much better. No yeast infections at all. 

Might want to ask your vet about yeast and a thyroid pannel.


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## bentley8.22

Our 8 y.o golden;s stomach literally turned black overnight, and she is very senstive to various pathogens. Being an Orthopaedic Surgeon, I simply asked the vet to do a skin biopsy and send it out for analysis. That's what a dermatloist would do. I feel terrible because that one test narrowed it down to a fungal infection, and here all these years I let my vet continue to rx doxycycline, when what she needed was ketoconazole. With in 3 weeks the pigment is beginnning to change and she is acting more like herself. So it was fungal not bacterial causing the issues, although I dont doubt there are probably multifactorial causes as well. But she is a lot happier, we have a 6 month old gr pup. and she has gone back to being part mom and part wrestling champ. I have heard a tsh panel is good as well. best of luck


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