My dog has a black spot in a pore. Why is the skin around it swollen?

Dogs can get blocked pores and blackheads, or what we medically call comedones These typically can be treated with a benzoyl peroxide based shampoo (i.e. Duoxo shampoos). In most situations these are benign, but it is always a good idea to have your vet do a general health exam on your pet to ensure no other underlying disease processes are occurring as well. Pets with hypothyroidism can be prone to this condition. Your vet can also provide an appropriate shampoo to help keep pores healthy. Adding an omega 3 fatty acid for pets can also help improve skin health. Best of luck.

It sounds like your dog has a skin infection. Usually infections are characterized by small red pustules full of pus. But sometimes they can look like whiteheads or blackheads, also known as comedones. Your dog will likely need a medicated shampoo to help flush out his hair follicles that have become clogged and often times need antibiotics to help the infection cleared up. There is a chance as well that this may not be an infection but maybe small cysts that are present. If this is the case usually no treatment is needed. A picture for reference would help us determine if an infection is present or if it is just a cyst. I hope this helps. Thanks For using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. From what you are describing these sound like comedones, or clogged pores. A comedone is similar to a pimple, in that it is a collection of oily material in a pore. It is black because of exposure to oxygen and accumulation of debris. Comedones may be a sign of a skin issue such as mites, or over-secretion of oils, but they can also be signs of an underlying hormonal disease such as Cushing's disease. As long as they are not irritating to your dog, there is no need to try to get rid of them. Comedones may be reduced by use of benzoyl peroxide shampoos, which have “follicular flushing action,” the ability to go down inside pores and hair follicles and remove foreign material. I recommend contacting your regular veterinarian who may recommend a medicated shampoo, and/or may recommend that your dog be seen for an exam and bloodwork to evaluate for any underlying diseases that may be related to his/her comedones. I hope this is helpful!

Dogs can get blackheads and other impacted pore issues. They can also get skin tumors, shot by BB guns and they have an eyebrow with a prominent muscle in that area. Something like this is best palpated by a veterinarian who should be able to tell you if this is pathologic or normal based on how it feels. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Dogs can get blackheads and clogged pores just like humans. Picking and squeezing them often lead to increased inflammation and can lead to infection so I recommend to leave them alone. There is not one easy solution to get rid of pore issues. You do want to improve skin health and this can be done by feeding a diet aimed at skin health and adding additional omega-3 fatty acids for dogs to the diet. The two diets I recommend for skin health are Royal Canin and Nutro. You are not likely to find an over-the-counter shampoo that can flush the pores but your veterinarian likely carries one like Peroxiderm. Lastly, your veterinarian will also carry medicated wipes that you can use on the area that are safe if Rhino happens to look at them, although you should prevent Rhino from licking these areas in general. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

These are comedones (black heads) and usually due to an underlying metabolic disease or a skin infection possibly caused by mites. Your veterinarian will be able to perform blood work as well as a skin scrape and cytology to check for any of these diseases.

Hi and thanks for posting! Thank you for sending along a picture as well. From your picture, it looks to me like comedones or otherwise known as blackheads which occur when the hair follicle becomes clogged. Usually these can be treated with certain medicated shampoos that contain benzoyl peroxide in them to help flush out the follicle. Be sure to purchase these shampoos from your veterinarian as dogs can be especially sensitive to human shampoos and other human hygiene products. I hope this helps!