Bizarre skin circles (possible Vitilago) and waxy peeling skin

[DonnaF]

Has anyone ever seen anything like this on their dog and/or know what may be causing it? 11.5 yr old male intact golden retriever. In the past couple of months, he has developed these large flakes of skin in random spots on his trunk and neck, and head. The flakes of skin are waxy, not dry and they stick to the fur. Hard to slide them off the fur between your fingers and brushing doesn't always remove them as they stick. The patch of skin where they arise from ends up showing a darker pigment in the circle where it came from and it's almost like the skin is double thickness and then peels back and off the spot similar to when you have a sunburn and the skin peels off in layers. The skin underneath is NOT ulcerated or broken. THEN...this past weekend, I noticed on his muzzle, a near-perfect circular ring around a dark black dot. The black dot is actually his skin/pigment under the fur so it would appear the circular ring which is white/pale pink flesh colour has lost it's pigment fully. There is another similar circle just under his lower lip on the right side, visible in one photo if you look closely. There are also at least 2 spots on the lower lip line where the black pigment has also disappeared entirely. These spots are new. NONE of this is itchy (not the flakey skin or the circles on the muzzle and he doesn't seem bothered by it at all. None of the other 7 dogs he lives with have any issues like this so assume it is not contagious whatever it is. Any ideas? Could this be a form of Vitilago in dogs?

 

[Dr. Jeff]

thanks for sharing these great pics Those are some weird-looking lesions Donna!

let’s see what dermatologist and homeopath Dr. Chalmers says about them.

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Here's what the dermatologist says:

You could do skin scrapings and a dermatophyte culture to rule out mites and ringworm. A biopsy would be the next step - to determine pathology. Differential diagnosis includes cancer, drug reaction, etc.

 

[DonnaF]

This dog has not been on any drugs at all of any kind since surgery in August 2016 so doubtful that is a cause. We use no chemicals, flea/tick or heartworm meds so also can rule those out. I had wondered about Cheyletiella mites at one point however it is very contagious (and itchy) and NONE of the other 7 dogs he lives with have anything at all and he is not itchy at all. Same with ringworm...highly contagious to dogs and humans so doubtful. I have other dogs here with compromised immune systems so if it were anything contagious, they would almost certainly contract it as well. Some rare form of cancer could always be a possibility but haven't yet come across any info that seems to fit the picture. Still searching and researching.

 

[Dr. Jeff]

I agree about ringworm and Cheyletiella. And most important is always his BEAM??

As you well know, a physiologic diagnosis is not nearly as important or useful as is his energetic (and homeopathic) diagnosis.

The closest you can get to a physical diagnosis will be by a biopsy of the lesions.

However, regardless of the diagnosis, or lack thereof, building his vitality and balance will help him have the best possible life.

BTW-Have you used any probiotics?