Why is my dog's skin black, thick, scaly, itchy, with weight loss?

Question

My dog's skin is turning black, it's thick and scaly, and she is itching and scratching all over her body. Other symptoms are increased appetite and thirst, but loss of weight. A lot of urination probably because of all the water. The black skin started under her belly and is spreading. She is allergic to corn, wheat, and soy and gets fed special food. Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Large (61lb +) | Female | spayed | 12 years and 3 months old | 63 lbs

Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS · Accepted Answer

This is probably due to a severe allergy, although it could also be fleas, infection or mites.  First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment (advocate or advantage), then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation.   If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy.   Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollins, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair the skin lesions (steroids and antibiotics). Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation (where you can post pictures ) if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Why is my dog's skin black, thick, scaly, itchy, with weight loss?

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