My dog's groin is purple with white spots. What does this mean?

Question

I have an 11yesr old Dalmatian, over the past two days he has developed a purplish area round his groin and has a couple of white spots within the colouring. He is fine, not scratching or in pain. I can supply photos if required. Pet's info: Dog | Dalmatian | Male | neutered | 11 years and 3 months old | 74 lbs

Stacey Anstaett, DVM · Accepted Answer

Based on the photos, I am concerned that the purple area is some bleeding/bruising in the skin which we often see when a dog has low platelets. I'm not sure based on the photo, but I suspect the white area is a nipple that just looks really prominent due to the bruising around it. Low platelets are a very serious problem; even though he's otherwise acting fine, please take him to your vet to have him examined. They may recommend running some lab work to find our what his platelet count is. There are many causes of low platelets, some possible causes include an infectious tick-borne disease, an auto-immune disease where his body is destroying his platelets, or cancer. Because all of these are very serious, and because low platelets can lead to life threatening anemia, please take him to your vet. Thanks for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

My dog's groin is purple with white spots. What does this mean?

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