http://www.earthclinic.com/Pets/black_spots.rss http://www.earthclinic.com/template_img/logo.jpg http://www.earthclinic.com/Pets/black_spots.rss Natural Remedies to Treat Black Spots on Dogs. Mon, 13 Feb 12 00:44:49 -0600 en-us http://www.earthclinic.com/Redirect.php?pageLink=/Pets/black_spots.html&name=WITCH-HAZEL_43554 /Pets/black_spots.rss1 Thu, 24 Jun 10 18:21:24 -0500 [YEA] Deelee from Kingman, Az writes: "Hi. One of my mini-doxies has had darkened skin and black spots for years. The vet diagnosed severe seasonal skin and inhaled allergies and gave us a steroid-based cream for the itching; later a topical spray. (The steroids made her fat and overgrown). I tried oatmeal baths, etc. Nothing worked for more than a few hours. In desperation one day I soaked a cottonball in witch hazel astringent. The greasy stuff crystallized and rolled off, the itching stopped, and the skin lightened. I used 5 balls, all of which turned brown. My dog's condition is most likely a thing called Acanthosis Nigrans. It is caused by an overpopulation of a natural and essential mite that lives in the follicle of every hair shaft on a dog. This mite is supposed to be there, and not eradicated comepletely, but N.A. is a situation similar to Candidiasis (yeast infection), where the proper balance of a symbiotic organism is out of whack and overpopulation causes severe problems. A.N. is a common inherited problem in Dachsunds, and supposedly untreatable except to keep the dog clean and avoid allergens. Rubbish - the witch hazel works for days at a time. Apply once or twice a week. If the astringent contains alcohol, be careful around open sores. Make sure your dog lies on its back and watch him until the witch hazel is dry. It should not be ingested (swallowed). I suppose you could then bathe the dog to avoid poisoning but my dog completely quit her licking immediately. Acanthosis Nigrans symptoms are: the skin on the belly and chest has turned dark, some places appear black, with hair loss; the skin in 'armpits' and other depressions and folds has thick, greasy dark-brown clumps gluing the hairs together, and the skin itself has thickened. 'Pimples' and reddened skin or sores are secondary infections from the poor animal nibbling and licking so much and the moistness causes fungus and dirt collection." http://www.earthclinic.com/Redirect.php?pageLink=/Pets/black_spots.html&name=TEDS_31136 /Pets/black_spots.rss2 Thu, 20 Aug 09 01:44:57 -0500 [YEA] R from Yonkers, Ny writes: "I just wanted to follow up on using the peroxide with borax for black spots. I read what Ted wrote plus what else was written about Borax on the other pages. I have been using it on my dog for the last two weeks and I am seeing results! The black spots seemed to have gotten worse with summer months and all the rain we have gotten around here. She started to lick her paws non-stop and biting at her skin. After the first bath using the mix I noticed that she wasn't licking as much and the brown color on the fur of her belly and paws seemed to have cleared up. The second week after her bath she started scratching less, licking less and the dry skin patches started to go away. I am still watching the spots to see if they will go away...but I haven't seen new ones which is great! Thanks EC!" http://www.earthclinic.com/Redirect.php?pageLink=/Pets/black_spots.html&name=GF_11372 /Pets/black_spots.rss3 Fri, 10 Nov 06 00:00:00 -0600 [QUESTION] Kathy from Cullman, Alabama writes: "My dachshound has black spots that appear on her stomach in different places. What causes this?"