Large black area on back of fawn pug

Hey guys and gals,

My fawn 2 year old pug Penelope has always had a large black spot (about 2 X 4) with some other smaller black spots about 1/2 round towards the front. She's always had them. The fur on the spots seem to feel a little softer and shorter and only black like on the tail. Is this like a large birth spot or do pugs have a skin issue that might cause this? She doesn't seem to pay any attention to the spot other than she loves it when I scratch here in that general area.

It seems to vary over time. Sometimes it's more black and sometimes it's not as pronounced. I'm trying to include an image.

Any thoughts?

Hi and welcome. A few things come to mind - a food allergy (what are you feeding?), a yeast infection or maybe a mild form
of mange. Definitely need the vet to take a look, diagnose and treat. Let us know how you get on.

Thanks. I guess I check out the vet.

Welcome to PA. I'm with Rona and think it might be a food allergy (?) involving a yeast infection. What food are you feeding her? If it's an allergy, it will be a process of elimination normally starting with food. Most pugs do have issues with grains so it's good to keep them on a grain-free diet. All 8 of my babies are fed grain-free but I am looking into a raw diet...still deciding since I have 8 and it could get expensive for me. I'm not sure if I want to do raw at home versus commercially made. A vet visit would be good to try to rule out any other skin issues.

They are on Pedigree. I've always used it and my dogs have had long lives. What is your grain free diet?



And thanks for the help.

Unfortunately Pedigree is one of the worst foods you can give your dogs, especially a pug who might have allergy issues. It is full of grains, meat by-products and other god-awful stuff. You are so lucky in the US to have ready access to the absolute best in commercially prepared dog-food. I know around here people talk about Honest Kitchen; Taste of the Wild; there are so many fantastic varieties that are grain-free and with only the highest quality ingredients. Hopefully others will jump in with some recommendations.

I would still STRONGLY recommend consulting a vet. There is obviously something nasty going on and it's not fair to let your precious pug suffer unnecessarily.

I don't want to offend anyone on here but Pedigree along with Purina, Iams, Beneful, Science Diet, Eukanuba are crap food. One rule of thumb, if you see it at a grocery store...don't buy it.

There are a lot of grain-free brands out there so it's a preference. I know people like Orijen, Acana, Fromm, Blue Buffalo, Canidae, etc. I personally used Taste of the Wild plus it's affordable to me due to having 8 pugs.

I recently bought a raw brand, Nature's Variety, in lamb medallions. For a weight of 20lb pug, they get about 4-5 medallions a day. I thaw it in the fridge for about an hour before feeding. I'm only giving them one a day to also use up their dry food to not waste. We're going on day 3 with that and can I tell you.....my babies have never been this excited for food. They LOVE the raw medallions. Normally, I have somewhat a hard time getting them all to come in for their bathroom breaks in the mornings and evenings. For the past 2 days, they are at the patio door waiting to go back in to eat, lol!! I'm liking the raw diet more for the extra benefits. I truly am leaning toward switching them to raw BUT need to figure out an affordable way to do it. I prefer to just buy them commercially versus making them at home. Right now it looks like it would be making it at home unless I tell the hubby he need to work more, lol.

Please keep us posted with your baby.

Thank you again for your suggestions. Any other food recommendations? Food that's performed well for your Pugs? I see there are some strong opinions against Pedigree and I am not adverse to changing. Let me know what your recommendations are and I'll check them out.

Just as empirical evidence however, The last two dogs I had only ate Pedigree all their lives and the first, a black Lab lived to be over 20 and the second, a Pekingese lived to be almost 16 when according to the vet passed because of a bird bone perforating his bowel.

Anyway, your opinions are really appreciated.

gspears wrote:Thank you again for your suggestions. Any other food recommendations? Food that's performed well for your Pugs? I see there are some strong opinions against Pedigree and I am not adverse to changing. Let me know what your recommendations are and I'll check them out.

Just as empirical evidence however, The last two dogs I had only ate Pedigree all their lives and the first, a black Lab lived to be over 20 and the second, a Pekingese lived to be almost 16 when according to the vet passed because of a bird bone perforating his bowel.

Anyway, your opinions are really appreciated.

I have heard many people say exactly what you are saying too.

My personal opinion is two-fold:

1. I believe as a breed, pugs are much, much more sensitive to what they eat in general, as compared to such breeds like labs. Sorry for the obvious generalization though; I realize I could be proven wrong on this one.

2. Second, the pet food industry, kibble, has grown dramatically and become a very, very big money making business. 30 years ago, maybe pedigree was good. Probably made in America, with decent ingredients. Now, it is more than likely made in China, full of the worst ingredients you could find (diseased animals, etc).

We know so much more now then we did in the past. Even if a dog can be maintained on food such as pedigree, why not go for something even better, if you can?

Renee wrote: why not go for something even better, if you can?

Thanks Renee, what do you recommend?

gspears wrote:

Renee wrote: why not go for something even better, if you can?

Thanks Renee, what do you recommend?

There have already been a few brands recommended in this thread.

My recommendation is to first research pet food ingredients. There is a thread here about how to understand pet food ingredients. Read it, and do your own research too.

Once you have a good understanding of pet food ingredients, what may be good, bad or controversial, you can start choosing your food.

Many of us go to the following website: www.dogfoodadvisor.com. These are unbiased reviews of dogs foods. You can sort and search by rating (5 being best), or search by brand, etc.

Once you decide on a few brands, then research those brands. If ANY of their ingredients source from China, cross it right off the list. More and more dogs are getting sick and dying from ingredients sourced from China.

You should have your list narrowed down pretty good. Then visit your local pet food supply store (not the grocery store). You may be limited by what you can get in your area. Look for some of the brands you have decided on and pick the one you want to try.

Might be a good idea to add some probiotics to your pug's diet. Not only will they help with any allergies / yeasties, but also can assist in preventing any digestional upset that could happen from making a food switch.

As for the very large black spot on your pug - I would visit the vet for that. Could be a deep infection or any thing really. Have it scraped and see what it is.

Years ago when I was a kid we fed our dog Gaines Burgers. They were these little patties that looked like hamburgers complete with cheese and were this bright red color. They looked good enough to eat so I tasted one. I can still remember that sweet taste! Little did I know we were feeding our dog a lot of artificial colors and additives to make him want to eat the stuff.

We also lived near the plant that made Alpo dog food. I always liked driving by because there were horses in the field. I wondered why I never say the same horse twice...duh!! They were just hanging out there until they were slaughtered to be part of the "meat by products".

Now that we have more knowledge on our own food as well as what we feed our pets, we can try to eliminate foods that they might be allergic to and make sure that the same grade of meat that humans would eat will be given to our dogs.

There is a good site..dogfoodadvisor.com that tells you a lot about all the different dog foods.

Me personally, I like a fish based dry dog food for pugs. I was told one time that Artic breeds (husky, samoyeds, etc.) and breeds that originated in China (pugs, chins, pekes, etc) do better on fish based diets since that is what they were fed historially. All of my pugs have loved salmon based foods, from Wellness to Pinnacle.

Because your baby likely has an allergy, it may take a while to find the food that he does best on so I would suggest trying smaller bags.

Thank you. I appreciate your insight.

We just recently switched over to the Costco Kirkland Lamb and Rice...the dogs seem to really like it...even switched the puppy over...It isn't a 5 on the list...but a 4...that works for us... :) and since we are buying puppy and adult food...it works on the pocket book as well!!

I know we have to do Lamb and Rice because of our pug Coper...he gets chicken and he gets to itchin...so Lamb it is...we used to do the fishie ones...but since I can't stand seafood...the smell of the burps was too much for me to handle...and wouldn't you know they always come to kiss you right after they eat...yep...that was a quick switch in this house!!

Thank you. That was very helpful. We shop at Costco often so maybe I'll pick up a bag and see what happens.

We purchased Freddie from a woman who's been breeding and showing pugs for over 20 years. She feeds Holistic Health Extension (Little Bites, for "toys, teacups and puppies") food. I had never heard of it because it isn't commonly sold where we live, but I asked her to get me a bag to bring home with Freddie. Looking at the ingredients, they look much better than other foods we had tried with other dogs in the past. He loves it, and has a lovely, soft coat.

Not having a lot of grain in it does tend to make his poop softer than foods with more grain, but it is what it is.

If you are looking up different foods and comparing ingredients, you might want to check this one out, too. Not based on my recommendation, but based on someone who breeds and judges pugs and has for quite a while.

Imon wrote:
If you are looking up different foods and comparing ingredients, you might want to check this one out, too. Not based on my recommendation, but based on someone who breeds and judges pugs and has for quite a while.

I'll look into it. Thanks for the info. I wonder if they have it anywhere around here?

I still must emphasize the extreme importance of having your pug seen by a vet. I know everyone who has posted here would urge you to do so before changing foods. While changing your pug to a better food is imperative and will help improve general health and well-being, the condition you are concerned about may have nothing to do with allergies.

Aussie Witch wrote:I still must emphasize the extreme importance of having your pug seen by a vet.

I understand and will take her to the vet asap.

Thanks.

Just wanted to add on how some dogs live long lives on inferior diets - some people live long lives while eating junk food, smoking and over-indulging in alcohol. Would you or would you suggest to someone in their younger years that as some people lived long lives not doing the right thing by their bodies, it is perfectly fine to live your life eating junk food, smoking and drinking? You can only assess the affect of these actions in reflection, but never suggest that following the same course will have the same outcome. The health of our pets has so much to do with the decisions we make, so if the decisions you make can be made with the best possible knowledge for the best possible choices, why not do the best you can?

Your point is well made.