I work with a rescue group and have recently taken in a male English mastiff (tan with black face) who has many splotchy black spots on his skin on his belly and between his front legs. One vet has scraped the skin for mites (negative) and put him on an antibiotic, thinking it is some kind of skin infection. I have had mastiffs before, but have never seen this kind of skin coloration and honestly don't know whether it's a "problem" or not. He is not itchy, I see no signs of ticks or fleas -- just this strange skin coloration (or discoloration?) Any thoughts or advice? He's young, active, sweet, seems to be in no discomfort. Thanks!

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Been around Bullmastiffs more than Mastiffs, but this happens with hormonal upsets sometimes I'm lead to believe, also my Bulldog went patchy with dark skin patches, bloodtests revealed a Thyroid problem! It's worth checking these out!

I keep EnglishMastiffs and it is not unusual for Mastiffs to develop "hotspots" or loose hair as a result of an allergy, this is usually not a major problem. Do you have any picccies of this skin condition that you can email to me, if you can I can take a closer look and hopefully give you some advice.

Hi! Thanks for your responses. I don't have pictures, but I would not describe this as "hotspots" or hair loss or loose hair -- it's been strictly the skin getting dark splotches --- in the areas where the skin is clearly visible due to less hair, such as inside the back legs, around the groin, etc. Doesn't seem to be getting any worse or spreading at this point and one vet has said that sometimes dogs have this happen to their skin AFTER a skin infection and after being treated when the infection has gone away. He was in fact treated with antibiotics for a skin infection just after coming into rescue. I have officially adopted him at this point, so he's mine. A real love --- if it gets worse I will be back in touch. Thanks so much.

Thanks for the input. No one has yet mentioned possibility of a thyroid problem, but I will bring it up and see if that's a possibility.

One thing you can try which works on my Mastiffs is Evening Primrose oil. Mastiffs are prone to these "bald " patches and the evening primrose oil not only helps with any skin problems but encourages hair to re grow. My big boy had pressure spots on his hocks, these now have entirely new hair grown over, he also has bursas which have new hair growth and his small bald patch on his tail is also starting to improve. If you have any questions or queries whatsoever about English Mastiffs please do not hesitate to ask.