fawn pug developing small black spots in fur

I just picked up my dog from the groomers where he was bathed & shaved. The last time I picked him up I noticed a couple of black spots in the fur on his back which I thought was dirt or something they hadn't gotten clean. This time when I picked him up he has closer to 50 spots on his back in the fur. I looked into his coat and don't see anything on his skin so it appears its his coat but I am not sure. Is this an allergy to something? He isn't scratching and doesn't seem to be irritated by it but I am concerned it might be something. Anyone heard of this?

Can you show us a picture? Are you sure it's not flea dirt or fleas?

Black spots on the skin are usually allergies or some thing similar. Black spots on the fur could be anything from fleas to coat changes.

Is there a reason you shave him? I don't shave my pugs at all--but did and do keep my longer haired dogs coats clipped short.

Thanks for your answers. I will get a picture in a few... I shave him because it helps with shedding and it is super humid and hot here in Missouri. He is not shaved completely down but shorter and he is happier and that is what is it all about, right? Keeping our babies happy! Let me try to snap a picture that shows the spots. Thanks again! The thought of fleas makes my stomach roll!

Those look like they could be hot spots developing, or in stages of development. Or allergies.

So are you sure that's hair and not skin that mottled?

Looks like it's the skin. Possibly sun damaged/tanned, similar to how naked breed skin starts out light/pink and turns dark/black, like sun freckling. Pull back the hair over it to examine the skin, i'd opt for getting a scraping done too at the vet. Unfortunately sunburns/damage happens far more often when you shave breeds that aren't supposed to be shaved. The outer coat is courser than the inner and creates a shell that insulates and keeps cool air in to cool the dog plus it helps to protect the dog's skin. Without that outer layer the dog's skin is far more exposed.

Our vet actually recommended that we have this "shaving" done here in St. Louis. It is extremely hot and it is suppose to help pugs, it pulls the underlayer or something. It is done by a groomer that specializes in a shedding procedure. He still has a healthy outer coat. In fact, his coat is still so thick I have trouble pulling it back to look down at the skin. His skin appears pink / normal colored which is why I am so confused by this.

You can't feel anything or see anything raised on the skin. It appears to be his coat is turning colors in places. I am beginning to feel as though I am a bad parent even though I was doing what was recommended. Yikes!

northernwitch wrote:So are you sure that's hair and not skin that mottled?

Positive... skin is not mottled at all. You can't feel a thing and when I pull the hair back, his skin looks normal. That is what is so confusing to me. Nothing on the skin to feel or see, just the darker color.

No you are not a bad pugparent. Not all dogtors are familiar with pugs and other smooshy-faced breeds. You just did what your dogtor recommended. Being owned by a pug is a learning curve!

Well good news tonight! After reading all the posts I was so upset I called the vet immediately and found out my boy is just fine....he is a perfectly healthy guy! I thought I had done my boy wrong with the undercoat "shave" but was told that was okay too as he isn't really shaved, etc. Feeling extremely relieved..I guess I will sleep well tonight with my Buddy boy snoring of course!

Pugsaunt wrote:No you are not a bad pugparent. Not all dogtors are familiar with pugs and other smooshy-faced breeds. You just did what your dogtor recommended. Being owned by a pug is a learning curve!

^^ What she said. I've heard of vets around my area recommending pug owners feed weight control food from puppyhood and to train them by grabbing their jowls and pulling them to your face to yell NO!

Shaving isn't recommended because it does cut the top protective coat, there's no way around that if your actually shaving your dog. What IS recommended is getting the "Furminator" treatment or what's called a blow out. That uses a shedding "blade" or rake and a high velocity dryer to grab and blow out all the warm downy undercoat that keeps your dog warm with minimal damage to the top coat and leaves that empty space below the top coat that forms an air pad that insulates against hot and cold.

Another thing that helps Pugs in the heat and humidity is keeping them VERY fit. Izzie can handle higher temperatures than most Pugs around my area because she doesn't have a whole bunch of fat layered on her, it also helps her breathe easier and is better on her joints (think if you were carrying 50 extra pounds up some stairs on a moderately warm day, you'd get exhausted and overheated much faster the more extra weight you carry).

Okay--so let me ask another question--has he been shaved before? If he has, were there those spots there then or are these new?

Is it possible that once you shaved his hair down that there is some brindle colouring showing through? I'm spit balling here as I've never seen anything like it that wasn't skin related.

And we know that you aren't being a bad pug mom, but doing what was suggested to you by someone you should be able to rely on for good advice. However, shaving pugs is a hotly debated issue and people have strong feelings about it going both ways. I'm anti-shave myself as I think it is (1) unnecessary, (2) potentially risky depending on the shortness of the shave and (3) defeats the purpose of the dog coat.

Here's a bit of a better explanation about pug coats and shaving--it's an old post (poster's online name was Dante. Forum is PugVillage) from another pug forum, but is an excellent explanation:

"A Pugs coat is an integral part of its cooling system, and it's not only unnecessary to shave
a Pug, but it also interferes with their natural cooling system. We all
know their ability to cool off isn't very good to begin with, and
making the job even more difficult is unwise, and potentially unhealthy.

Their fur does protect them from direct sun. It prevents their skin from
getting burned, and it also absorbs the heat generated by the sun.
Without their natural Pug coat there is less protection of the skin, and
a decreased ability to absorb the heat...It is the absorbtion of the
heat that acts as a trigger to cause a Pugs cooling system to kick in.

Consider this absorbtion like a thermostat...It's 90 degrees outside,
which isn't good for Pugs as we know. So something has to be in place
for a Pug to tell its body to start cooling off before it gets too hot
and overheats perhaps causing heat stroke....Enter the fur, which
absorbs the heat, slowing down what could otherwise be a rapidly
increasing body temperature and then triggering the Pugs cooling system
to kick in by panting in an effort to cool off and lower the body
temperature.

A good analogy would be to consider how we use our thermostats at home.
We don't want the house to get to 90 degrees indoors before we turn on
the AC because it takes a long time to cool the house to 72 degrees if
we do....Instead, if we can, we set the AC to go on and start cooling
the house when the indoor temp hits 80...

The Pugs coat absorbing this heat is what makes it possible for a Pugs
cooling system to be pre-programmed to go on before it gets too
hot....this last part being more theory unfortunately, because a Pugs
cooling system is not very efficient.

That said, every little bit helps, and it's unwise to shave a Pug because by doing so, one is interfering with what little natural defense against heat it has.

And shedding is a natural defense against heat, and it is a natural
event. Shedding is not a haphazard, random event without purpose. Dogs
shed for a reason, when they are supposed to, usually based on what is
best and most healthful for them. There are some breeds which are
exceptions to this, but Pugs are not one of them.

Finally, there are many breeds of dog which can be shaved with no
potentially ill efffects...Many owners give their Toy Poodles puppy cuts
because they think they should and they think it's cute....Necessary?
Not at all. Truly helpful to the Poodle to keep it cooler? No....But
it's not potentially harmful either because Toy Poodles do not suffer
the same difficulties Pugs have keeping cool.

For Pugs, the coat is as it is supposed to be at any given time of year...And thus should be left alone."

Could those black spots be an optical illusion caused by shadows where the clippers have nicked deeper into the undercoat? Really on the photo they look like skin spots, not hair colour spots, but shadows is the only thing that I can think of that they may be if the skin under them is normal.



If they are shadows, they would vanish/move as a strong light source is moved over his coat - so grab a torch and try that.



I am in favour of stripping, not shaving, in high humidity areas. Zoom Grooms, Furminators, even textured rubber gloves are all good stripping tools. It is more labour intensive, but worth it both in looks and outcome.