skin/fur color changes and food or meds?

Dumpling is a 7 mo old fawn pug, she has a single coat and has some smutty undertones. I have noticed her skin on her belly, bar parts of her tush and girly bits and underarms getting darker and her coat getting smuttier. Is her food doing this ( wellness brand) or is her antibiotic for some of the bumps on her face doing this? This is her second round of cephalexin in the past 6 weeks. I have heard people comment that when they switched foods their pug's skin turned pink again. What in dog food does this? Can the antibiotic do this as well?

Yes, I have seen this.

When I first got my two pugs as pups.... I am ashamed to admit, I bought the sales pitch from the vet and had them both on science diet. They were FAT, and both had darker skin on the belly, ears, and underarms.

I finally wised up when I switched vets. Took years to help them all lose weight and get their skin and coats to where they are now. Everyone has pink or white skin and shiny coats now. And, while they are all getting greyer as they age, I have also noticed a more pronounced vibrancy in the dark fur on my two fawns. Ichiro's trace has gotten darker and much more defined, even as his face has greyed. I had a foster too that darkened considerably when I put him on some good food. All his grey fur turned black. I figured he was getting better pigmentation. It was amazing to see the change.

The antibiotics could be the cause (yeast?), or she may just need a good scrubbing in the bath.

Dogs skin can darken as they age, but most of the time it's an allergy issue. I've never had a dogs skin darken on cephalexin and I've had dogs on it for 6 weeks and more.

Depending on what Wellness you're using, it could be the food. I avoid chicken and beef completely and usually use a fish based kibble. Although, having said that, dogs are increasingly reacting to salmon as it is now so widely used in dog foods and dog supplements.

I'm currently using Taste of the Wild with my foster and so far no issues--although it does have salmon.

You know I have an allergy kid that has milk,egg and nut allergies so why wouldn't I be blessed with a pug with allergies?!!!!..LOL
How do you figure out what the offender is in dogs, just keep switching food until you find something that you think works? I know two of the biggest offenders are grains and beef. Should I try beef free first and then grain free? Sigh...it is so much easier to see food allergies in humans.

I would do grain free and then a protein that isn't widley used. Like a fish, bison or venison.

TNPUGMOMOF3 wrote:I would do grain free and then a protein that isn't widley used. Like a fish, bison or venison.

Yep. I never feed grains or chicken and rarely beef. I do have two dogs that are lactose and egg intolerant as well as having many plant allergies so kibble, for me, just isn't an option.

If you can find a grain free, chicken and beef free and egg free kibble (can be tough to find), that would be optimal. But I'd get rid of the grains for sure.

I'd start with the grains first, chicken second, beef third. Try to find a grain free food with a less common protein source (buffalo/bison, venison, rabbit, etc) and make sure to read the ingredients. Avoid food with generic terms like "meat by-products" or "meat flavor".