Problems with his skin

[Tedhall]

I have been having a problem with my boxers skin and am out of ideas. It all started when he was just a few months old. A black spot appeared on his side. I took him to the vet, at first they said it was a birthmark, then they decided that since the hair was not falling out on or around the mark it was nothing to worry about. Well it has been about a year since the first mark appeared and now he is covered in them. Eventually the hair does fall out and a blackinsh scab forms. The black areas show up on his back, stomach, legs, feet and muzzle. They grow bigger and bigger with some about the diameter of an orange. They did a scraping and the cause of the problem was not mites or parasites so...first the vet tried a antibody, then another then another, then steroids, then a diffrent steroid and no results. The spots just steadily get worse and worse. The vet has no idea what it is and says that their is nothing they can do. Some of the spots on his feet are becoming infected and if he runs too much they become swollen and even start to bleed. The funny thing is that the spots do not bother him at all. They do not itch and he does not seem to know that they are there (other then the ones on his feet) This fact seems to add to my vets confusion. They want me to go see a very expensive specialist. Any ideas?

 

[Sabrina Jay]

Possible yeast infection? Your vet can test for this without going to the specialist. All they need to do is use scotch tape, stick it to the areas, then use special dyes (to do a stain) and look at it under the microscope.