# Weird Marking- need advice



## catalat (Apr 21, 2008)

Last week my friend texted me all concerned about her dog. She noticed he had some weird red spots near his penis. They were not raised or anything. I told her it was probably some plant or bug. They went a way 3 days later

Then later in the week my friend came over to visit and we noticed Yogi got the spots again! I have never seen anything like it- I figured he was probably outside and came into contact with a weird plant or some kind of bug. He never itched at them or seemed to be bothered by them. They went away again 3 days later.

Now today I noticed that my Chloe has one red spot down by her vagina identical to his! It is the weirdest thing. We went hiking all day today and I noticed it when I got back and gave her a bath. She does not seemed bothered by it whatsoever...and trust me she is the BIGGEST baby ever. DOesn't itch or lick at it at all.

Like i said before the marks are not raised or anything- almost looks like a little blood pool underneath the skin.

Ok so here are some pictures of the weird red marks (sorry if it's kind of graphic)

Yogi









Chloe (sorry I took it on my phone)










Also my friend and I live about 45 mins away from each other so it isn't like they were in the same backyard or something. They got the same exact marking from totally different places.


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## roughhouse (Mar 1, 2009)

I had a female dog that used to get spots like that and only on that hairless part of her belly too. The vet said it is contact dermatitis so basically a skin irritation from something they came in contact with, like an allergy. It usually clears up in short time unless they are in constant contact with whatever causes it. My girl was sensitive to the carpet and she was crazy and would drag herself across the carpet using just her front legs so her belly would drag and then she would get the spots. It was hard to make her stop since it was a trick she liked to do and the kids would laugh which would egg her on. 

Good luck figuring out what Chloe is sensitive too but if this is the first time it happened she must not come into contact with whatever it is very often.


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## pigeonsheep (Nov 8, 2008)

poor yogi and chloe! hope the rashes go away


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

oh honey - that looks just like RINGWORM. It is a fungus. It will NOT go away on it's own. Get to the vet and get some anti-fungal prescriptions and it will clear right up. In the meantime, wash your hands, and don't hold the dog close to your face as you will contract it. It's pretty contagious.

Brodysmom


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

Ok, here's a picture of a person with ringworm.

http://www.petalk.com/ringworm-neck-person.jpg

Like I said... it's very contagious so protect yourself until you get the dogs treated! 

Brodysmom


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## Mandy (Jan 16, 2009)

Brodysmom said:


> oh honey - that looks just like RINGWORM. It is a fungus. It will NOT go away on it's own. Get to the vet and get some anti-fungal prescriptions and it will clear right up. In the meantime, wash your hands, and don't hold the dog close to your face as you will contract it. It's pretty contagious.
> 
> Brodysmom


ohhhh as soon as i saw the pics i had the same thought as brodysmom
id say get to a vet too


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## Ciarra (May 6, 2008)

Go to the store and pick up athletes foot cream and put it on the spots 2-3 times a day and they will go away between a 1-2 weeks. My dogs all got it some how and I used the cream and it went away...even my husband caught it from the dogs. He had a huge red mark on his face from the ringworm.


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## unchienne (Mar 29, 2009)

I had ringworm as a child, but I don't think this is the same thing. Wouldn't hurt for the vet to look at it, but if it were ringworm, it would mildly itch...just like jock itch. It would also develop a flaky crust. And it wouldn't just go away after a few days. If anything, it would get worse without treatment and as it spread. It also wouldn't be limited to just the hairless regions but spread throughout, causing hairloss as it progressed.

I looked this up on the internet and it seems to be a common occurrence as lots of other people have posted about the same thing: circular, red marks about the size of a quarter appearing and then disappearing from groin, belly, and/or armpit area. No definitive answer given as to what they are except they all state that it doesn't hurt or discomfort the animal. Lots of people just saying to take the dog to the vet. I'll scour some more and see what I can dig up. So far, the top quoted causes are A) insect bites B) allergies.


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## Rochelle (Nov 20, 2008)

Yep, first thing I thought when I saw the photo was ringworm too. It's not always itchy at first from what I've been told. Anti fungal cream is best, but do call your vet to ok it before you try. Poor babies.


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## catalat (Apr 21, 2008)

Hey everyone..thanks for your response... it has been over 24 hours since I noiced her spot..and now it is 97 percent gone...almost totally faded. Wasn't really flakey and didn't itch her what so ever... so I am thinking it may have been a black fly bite or something


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## Harley's Mom (Feb 5, 2009)

Cathryn, I was going to say the same thing as Brodysmom. It looks like ringworm to me too. Keep an eye on it but if it comes back, I would take Chloe to the vet and get some anti-fungal cream. I hope she continues to get better.


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## unchienne (Mar 29, 2009)

catalat said:


> Hey everyone..thanks for your response... it has been over 24 hours since I noiced her spot..and now it is 97 percent gone...almost totally faded. Wasn't really flakey and didn't itch her what so ever... so I am thinking it may have been a black fly bite or something


Hhmmm...was just about to post back and say that all the searches I've turned up have pretty much panned out to it being a reaction to some sort of insect...most often a biting fly or gnat. If it's going away, I wouldn't worry about it. It'd be one thing if it was a bullseye or itching or seeping...but like I said, this seems to be a common occurence as a lot of people have posted about it, and they all stated how it went away after a couple of days and only reoccured if the dog was taken outside again. Boo gets red marks (not quite this circular) when he goes out as he likes to lay sprawled out (belly flat against and lets to either side) in the grass. Silly dog. He'll get bitten by something, more than likely fire ants, get up and move to another spot only to be bitten again a few minutes later.


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

If it were me, I'd do as Ciarra suggested and go get some lotrimin or similar athletes foot/jock itch cream and rub it on the spot a couple times a day.

I say it is ringworm as we had several cases of it here years ago and it looked EXACTLY as the picture you posted. We got it from some stray kittens. Both my girls got a mild case of it, Chloe had it on her cheek. And it would come and go over several weeks. Some days it would be completely gone. Then a few days later it would reappear. I just kept watching it for about a week and then finally took her to the Dr. who diagnosed ringworm. By then my hubby had a spot on his leg, my other daughter had a couple patches on her arm and both our dogs had spots on their groins. It was a mess to get rid of. 

And like I said... it came and went. And looked exactly like the picture. So I stand by ringworm. 

Brodysmom


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## catalat (Apr 21, 2008)

I actually thought it was a fungus at first because it resembled that of a human ringworm infection...but it didn't appear raised or flaked..and didn't itch. The reddness was underneath the skin..almost like a thin pool of blood. Also it went away in about a day... which I think ringworm takes a while. WHat do you guys think?

I really think its some kind of a weird bug..because everytime Yogi breaks out in them its right after he has been outside. 

We have to make an appointment for vaccines so I will ask the vet then.


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## catalat (Apr 21, 2008)

Oh wow I had no idea ringworm could dissapear so soon...thats scarey I will make an appointment to see the vet asap!


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## catalat (Apr 21, 2008)

I never in a million years thought it would be ringworm-therefor I stupidly touched it...now I am panicing what should I do?? Change my sheets and stuff ahhh


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

Just wash your hands good. Go ahead and change your sheets. If you are using the lotrimin or similar cream to rub on the spots, just wash your hands good afterward. Otherwise avoid touching that area. (Obviously).

I would be VERY surprised if it is NOT ringworm! But dont' worry. It's not that hard to get rid of. She only has one spot right? 

Do you have a black light? Some vets will also use that to help diagnose it if they are unsure if it's ringworm or something else. The fungus will glow a little under black light. So that's a sure sign if you have access to one. 

If you're using an antifungal cream regularly you'll probably be fine. But I'd ask the vet anyway.

Brodysmom


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## unchienne (Mar 29, 2009)

Brodysmom said:


> Do you have a black light? Some vets will also use that to help diagnose it if they are unsure if it's ringworm or something else. The fungus will glow a little under black light. So that's a sure sign if you have access to one.
> Brodysmom



That's one thing that can be frustrating. Unless a skin culture is done, there's really no way to know for sure. Some vets (and even doctors) will sometimes recommend starting treatment even before verifying. 

In 2005, I was put on dangerous oral anti-fungals and slathering myself down with lotrimin as per doctor's orders. When after a month it didn't go away, I was sent to a skin doc who laughed at the laziness and stupidity of my physician and diagnosed it as Pityriasis Rosea. All that slathering and potential liver damage for nothing...do you know how hard it is to get on your back when there's no one else around? Let me just say that there was a spatula and rubber sheets involved. 

Now when I did get ringworm, that responded to medicines quite quickly. It's a nasty thing to admit to, but I was a child of the low-income South. I ran around barefoot in ditches and dug for worms in the back yard. The fact that the _only _thing I got was ringworm is of profound mystery to me.


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## browncat (Feb 5, 2008)

If it helps at all, my Cha Chi had an exact mark like Chloe last weekend. I FREAKED out and called the vet immediately. After calming me down, he reassured me that it was most likely a bug bite (black fly, mosquito) and quite common to leave a mark like that. He said if it wasn't cleared up in a day, or I was concerned with anything to bring him in. 

The mark did fade quite a bit the first 24 hours and was completely gone in two. More than a week later the mark hasn't returned and Cha Chi is fine.


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## avbjessup (Apr 20, 2009)

Kaz had the same exact thing last year! I got Nizoral shampoo and bathed him and put (don't laugh) vagisil on it! It was some kind of fungus - wasn't ringworm. I did take him to the vet. He still will get it when the weather warms up.


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## cprcheetah (May 4, 2009)

If the spots only appear after being outside, I would say they are a contact dermatitis/pyoderma. I would put something like benadryl cream on them and/or neosporin. In the future I would take a cool washcloth and wipe down the dogs after being outside, something from outside is irritating them. Ringworm does not usually appear in a whole bunch of spots like on the bigger dog, it is usually raised, and very itchy. I had ringworm on my neck a few years ago from adoption kittens, we battled with it for 7 months in our facility before finally eradicating it.


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## catalat (Apr 21, 2008)

Ya my gut instinct from the beginning had me thinking it was a bite... it is totally gone today. 

We have an appointment next week i will be sure to ask our vet about it.


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