Why does my 3-month-old puppy have brown spots on his belly and legs?

It's a little odd that it is only on one side of the belly/leg. The rust color looks like saliva staining from your dog licking more frequently. The brown spots are likely clogged pores. I would work with your vet to treat itching (making sure he is on a good-quality flea preventative), food allergies, atopy, etc. You can also ask for a benzoyl peroxide dog shampoo to help flush the pores.

Skin lesions like these can be caused by bacterial, parasitic or fungal infection, dietary or environmental allergies or sensitivities, immune system disorders, or a combination of the above. Sometimes puppies like Palmer can get a type of “puppy acne” along the belly as well. If the lesions do not start to go away in the next week, or if they start getting worse, I recommend making an appointment to have Palmer seen by your veterinarian to help determine the cause of the bumps you’ve noticed and to make sure they are treated appropriately. The vet will likely want to look at a sample from the area under the microscope to determine if there is an infection and to figure out what medication is appropriate for treatment.

I’m not sure if the lighting makes the skin look normal in your picture, or if the rash you are describing is faint enough to not show up on the picture, but her skin appears fairly normal to me. The brown spots I see are normal pigmentation variants. Often times mild skin problems in young dogs are bacterial and bathing in a shampoo that has chlorhexidine or salicylic acid can be helpful. These can be found in the human shampoo aisle in the dandruff area. If it does not seem to help then I would encourage you to have her evaluated by your veterinarian soon. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

Hello, thank you for your question about Bella. Brown/black spots on a puppy's belly could be a sign of a few different conditions. It is possible that this is a bacterial skin infection called impetigo/puppy pyoderma that is relatively common in puppies. Another possible problem is that Bella may actually have some blackheads/irritated skin on her belly. With either of these conditions if the spots are mild and Bella is not bothered by them you could try gently cleaning them with a gentle cleanser decided for us in dogs. If Bella is scratching/rubbing at the spots or there is a colored/odorous discharge I would recommend having Bella seen by your veterinarian so that they can further examine the spots and determine the need for another treatments. Hope this helps, good luck!

Hi and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to see that Finn is having this problem. I see lesions or spots like this occasionally on dogs in the same areas. Most of the time these spots resolve without treatment but most of the cases I have seen are much more mild with fewer spots. I always wonder whether these are related to some kind of insect sting/spider bites, contact irritation from something in the environment, etc. Some of these lesions or spots can resemble small areas of hemorrhage too which could indicate blood clotting disorders and those causes can be numerous. I would advise your veterinarian evaluate these since Finn has a lot of them. I think that if he is acting completely normal you could monitor this and see if they resolve. So if he acts normal, eats, drinks, uses the bathroom normally you could just see if they resolve. If anything is different, he should be evaluated immediately. I hope this helps and I hope Finn gets well soon.

Those spots on Ben's could be several things including allergies, skin mites, flea bites, ringworm (which humans can get) or a bacterial infection. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing his diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. You can also check or treat for fleas. You can wash the lesions with soap once a day and rinse well (don't wash his whole body, just those spots). Protect the areas from licking or scratching and he may need to wear an Elizabethan collar at all times. If the lesions don't start looking better within about a week or if they get worse, have him examined by the veterinarian who may prescribe medications. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Without images or a physical exam, it can be difficult to determine definitively what is on your pup's skin. That said, many puppies have patches of [darker skin](https://www.petcoach.co/dog/condition/pigment-changes-of-the-skin-and-coat/) on their bellies. If these areas are flat, smooth to the touch and not bothering him, then it is probably just his skin coloration. If the areas are itchy or raised, then it would be a good idea to have them checked out by a vet since this may indicate a [skin infection](https://www.petcoach.co/dog/condition/staphylococcal-pyoderma-1/) or some other problem.