Dark rash on hind legs never happened B4

Hello everyone, I have two great dogs in my care. Judge was given to us due to being too aggressive and not being able to be in the city and Rusty was found with a rope on his neck and severe lack of sleep. They have been great pets and have become part of our family. Judge, the aggressive one is half Golden Ret/German shepard. He has has not been fixed yet and he lives mostly outside unless weather gets too ugly. Well last week I notcied a dark spot on his hind legs. I did not give it too much thought since it had rained and he was playing in it. Well the next day I saw it again and I took a closer look and appeared to be a small rash. It has gotten bigger and is on both legs now. It is NOT bleeding and does not seem to bother him at all but it bothers me. I am not sure if this type of rash is allergic (it has never happened b4) or fungal. I was thinking of using aloe to provide some relief of the skin but I am not sure what will happen if he licks it off. I don;t want to make him sick. To be more descriptive the area of the rash he has developed has less fur on it and appears dark. It kind of reminds me of human elbows with hair with much smaller wrinkles. I can take a picture if I am not being too clear. Does anyone know of something I can do to rid him of this rash?

I have read some threads about coconut oil and salmon oil to help doggy coats and providing other health benefits. I will get some ASAP as his coat does appear to be duller and stringier than usual. I have changed his diet recently so I think this may be attributing to his coat issues but I would really appreciate any help possible on the rash situation. TIA to anyone/everyone.

It could be a wide variety of things, its hard to tell.
Have you called the vet?
Could be allergies ( environmental or food), could be fungal, parasites, or even thyroid issues.
:shrug:
Sorry i am of little help. My only suggestion would be to call the vet and see what they think.:shrug:

Thank you erykah for your super fast reply :D I went outside and took some pix of him to give a better idea. I have not yet called the vet but I will do so as soon as school is out tomorrow. I took an anatomy course last year and it was taught by a professor who was a large animal specialist so I go to her for help. Only problem is I do not want to wear out my "help" offer so I wanted to try and research this issue before I bugged her. Rusty had an allergic condition that led to cherry eye and I called a vets office after consulting with my professor and they advised me to give some benedryl but by the next day the small cherry eye had become extremely smaller so I waited two more days before doing anything and it was gone completely. Thank God. Now it's Judge in need and with school tuition, gas, bills etc... it leaves me with no money at all. :( If I can resolve this myself I will but if I cannot and Vet assistance is needed then I will take him ASAP. Here is some pix to give a better more descriptive look.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q29/brown_clown_2006/DSCN0789.jpg
Here's my little boi:
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q29/brown_clown_2006/DSCN0790.jpg
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q29/brown_clown_2006/DSCN0791.jpg
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q29/brown_clown_2006/DSCN0792.jpg
This is the close up, I can try to get closer if it is not good enough.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q29/brown_clown_2006/DSCN0793.jpg

I am concerned that it may be mange but he does not seem to be biting at it or itchin very much. Rusty spends alot of time with Judge so I would hate for him to get it as a result of playtime, especially since Rusty is dark colored anyway and would be hard to see right away. Thanks again for your help, any more would be greatly appreciated by the family :D

It may be nothing OR it may be something. Your vet should be able to diagnose quickly.

Have you thought about bringing him indoors? Dogs are pack animals and need to be with their pack (human or otherwise).

Please consider having him neutered as well. Apart from doing your part to help control the pet population there are many health and behaviour benefits that come from this.

I will be getting them both nuetered soon. I got a great price est. 60$ each just trying to save up for it is the hard part. My main concern about that is: What about the presonality change that comes along with it? We spayed one of our cats recently and she is comepletely different. I love who my dogs are and nuetering them worries me that they will change. I know it is best for them healthwise and I have decided that I will definitely do it but I am just dreading the change. lol. I guess I just fear them being less lovable. I will bite the "chance" bullet and take them when the money is available. About the rash, you think it is best just to take to the vet? Has anyone seen anything that looks like this b4?

Bringin him indoors is a plan but since he pees on everything inside we have to wait. He was given to us at about 1yr old and he had always been an outside dog. Training him is the hard part since the owners of where we live don;t want him inside. Rusty was the exception since when we found him he was really good at letting us know when he had to go. I go out and play with them both almost everyday. Rusty spends about 85% of his time outside during the summer. When Judge does come inside he wants to go back outside like 15 min later :) They both like it out there when the weather is nice and so do I lol. But Yes dogastrophe nuetering plans are in motion.

What about the presonality change that comes along with it?

If anything they will be better dogs :D It depend on the dogs , some don't change , some do. When they do , they get more mellow, they don't get the urge to stray as much as a uneutered male. Trust me , there no bad side to have your dog neutered. As for the pictures , not an expert, could be allergies. If it gets red or worse, bleeds , you will need to see a vet. Good luck.

Well that's a releif. The plan to get them neutered will be soon then. First I want to get rid of this rash. If anyone else can help it would be appreciated. Thanks again to everyone's help so far.

If you changed food recently it might be from that or it may be from a bug since he is outside. It is spring and the bugs are out. I would just keep an eye on it and see what happens for the next few days.

Thank you for the advice. I will try to watchi t for the next couple of days. I will try aloe gel since it is relatively harmless to reduce any type of irritation if there is any. I remember my grandmother use to put it on me all the time as a child for scrapes to burns to heat rashes. Maybe this will ease something for him. BTW since dogs have a tendency to like themselves is this method dangerous in any way?

What I plan to do is put it on his legs and stay out with him for a few hours to make sure the licking stays minimal. Thanks again to everyone for helping so far. If you have a comment or suggestion it will still be appreciated :D

I was reading my dog health book this morning, and came across something that reminded me of your post. It said that some of the symptoms of thyroid conditions can be: thinning fur and dark-coloured skin on the inside of the legs and thighs...you might ask your vet about thyroid tests?

Thanks a million Bendyfoot. I will have to do that Immediately. I don;t want him gettin any worse. :(

FoundRusty, I wouldn't put anything on the rash for fear it might make it worse. Try to find a way to take him to a vet (perhaps deferred payments?) so he can be diagnosed properly and ease your worries. At the same time, seeing your dogs spend so much time outdoors, I would ask the vet about preventative treatment for fleas, ticks, heartworm, mange, and intestinal parasites. Often these treatments come in a topical solution or pill form.

As for peeing in the house, unneutered males mark their territory. Our dog did the same but shortly after surgery, and with some training, he learned that it was unacceptable and now always goes outdoors. He too was an adult when we brought him home but it really wasn't that difficult to teach him.

Good luck and please keep us posted.

Thanks for the advice luckypenny :D I am trying to see what I can do about taking him to the vet this coming week. If its under 100$ total I may be able to do it but my CC company will have to wait for their payment lol. I will definitely keep you guys posted though. As for keeping him inside I will see what the owners of the house say and hopefully convince them he belongs inside with us. I always had plans of keeping him in the house but I would have to wait till My wife and I could afford to move out, we stil cannot but we are not too far off from moving out either. If they say no then I will try to make the move as soon as we can afford it :) Thanks again for everyones help.