Fawn/cream frenchies skin...???

[Laila810]

Hey all,
My fiance's parents have a fawn Great Dane who is about 2 yrs old. Her skin on her belly and hindquarters has slowly been turning dark grey/ black... I took her to the vet to make sure it was not something they should be concerned about and the vet said that almost all fawn and cream colored dogs have this happen to them over time.

It is not the most attractive thing I have ever seen, and was wondering if any Frenchie owners have seen this on their dogs?
My mom owns a pet-sitting business and she was taking care of an adorable white french bulldog and he was about 5 yrs old and I didnt notice and change of color on his stomach or on the inside of his legs.

So, I was just wondering if this particular vet didn't know what he was talking about, or if this really is a common thing with fawn dogs...??
Any info would be helpful! Thanks :)

[Martina]

What a weird and interesting topic! I look forward to hearing from someone!

[Carolyn]

Hi Martina. I went on the web and found some info that pertains to skin color.

Hair and Skin Changes
Adequate levels of thyroid hormone are necessary for hair to grow. When hormone levels are low, hair growth sparsely over the lumbar area equally on both sides. The back of the rear legs is also commonly affected. The pet’s hair coat is often scurfy, flaky and dull. The coat commonly lacks finer body hairs and undercoat. The tail may be bald as a rat’s tail. An important clue pointing to thyroid deficiency is that this hair loss is not itchy as it would be from fleas , allergic skin or infectious skin disease. Hypothyroid dogs commonly have excess black pigment in the skin of their groin. This pigment results in a condition called acanthosis nigricans. Sometimes this pigment is present over much of the body and the skin becomes oily and thickened. Broken toenails and toenail infections are common. Hair coat color may change.

[gilazno]

i can only say that biggie was much much whiter when he was a puppy. as he got older more spots seemed to develop on him although he always had the bigger spots we would see little one's pop up now and again i would guess through the first year and half of his life or so..That has stopped now, i haven't seen any new markings in a while..he is 2+ now. Hope this helps.

[Martina]

Thanks Carolyn ... Lola' (pied) stomach is snow white - except for where her 'freckles' are! I love her little spotties :)

Martina