Does anyone have any advice? My dobie has acne on her neck which looks bad. Apparently dobermans are prone to acne but I wondered if anyone else has had this problem?
She is fed on Burns kibble and Nature Diet, so I wouldn't think it would be food related. We keep her collar off when she is in the house. She was treated 12 months ago with anti-biotics as the acne at the time was big lumps under her skin. Now her acne is not so lumpy but seems to have spread to 3-4 inches wide. Any suggestions?

Hi,

I have a Dobe too :D They do seem to be prone to acne, but I've never heard of it on the neck - whereabouts on the neck is it? My boy had acne quite badly on his chin and lower lip which required antibiotics to clear it. When it started to come back again I did a bit more research and found that plastic feeding bowls seemed to be a common denominator - problem solved!

Are you sure that it's actually just acne? If you go here it gives a list and brief description of skin diseases (not sure what it is they're trying to sell us, just scroll down a bit!). If it's been ongoing for 12 months and now seems to be getting worse I would probably be wanting to get a skin scraping or a biospy taken - what does your vet think?

Second that, if it's a really long term problem then I'd be getting your pup back to the vet.

I do know a lot of dobes have skin issues - usually it's the fawns or blues though, my fawn lad has recurring issues.  I've just ordered some Hibiscrub as his back is getting particularly bad at the moment, very pimply - I'll let you know if it helps!

I do find his skin generally is better if I keep the oil level in his diet fairly high, either with high oil food - say, 15%, give or take (hard to find though, especially a good food) - or with supplements (he's on vit E, C and zinc but again, only just started).  When his skin isn't so flaky I find his pimples improve, presumably as there's less irritation.

The problem is where the collar would sit on her neck. She already has fish oil occasionally with her food and the rest of her is in lovely condition. Her food bowl is metal anyway.Someone told me last night that she might have too much protein in her diet so I will try cutting it out. Will see the vet this week but am reluctant to put her on antibiotics again as I would rather find the cause than just treat the symptom.

f it's only where the collar sits then she might be having a mild allergic reaction to the collar itself, or just the buckle perhaps.  I read about another dobe last week with the same issue.

I think that you could have something there. I will try another collar on the walks as that is something I have never tried. Interesting that you read about the same issue last week. I have met other dobies with acne on their chin, but mine has none there. Maybe it is an allergic reaction to something around the neck. We often walk her along the beach & she loves the sea. Maybe, the collar gets wet with grains of sand and irritates this further. Although we remove the collar when we get home, maybe we should keep her away from the beach for a while.

I find with mine that a Halti or nylon webbing headcollar has this effect across their nose, but a leather headcollar doesn't. Lottie had the same problem with spots under her armpits when I used a harness. Funnily enough my youngster, Hattie, has had these spots around her neck (like you she doesn't wear a collar unless we are out and about). She recently had to have antibiotics for something unrelated and the spots have now cleared up. I do think it is the nylon webbing that causes the problem and will now be using a leather collar with her to see if it makes a difference.

Try gentlemans vaseline hair tonic and baby wipes. I have a brown Dobe and she used to have a little bit of acne as a baby. None at all now she's older and she has as as good a coat as any black and tan, and in a lot of cases, better.

Hi Queenie

I used to show dobermanns and became quite worried some years ago when a puppy (black and tan) I'd bred and kept for showing developed acne over her back.  Her coat became very sparse and of course we looked for the cause and blamed everything from her food to the shrubs we had growing in the garden.  Her food was changed and the much maligned bushes were given the chop but nothing worked until I stopped giving her the sausage (economy ones) that I used to bait her with in the ring.  The change in her coat was quite dramatic, it recovered very quickly.   I know a lot of people use sausage as a training aid or to bait but since that time I've always used cooked ox heart and have'nt had a problem.  I don't know if this is of any help but think about what's going into her body, if my food is too rich, ie Christmas time, I come out in the odd spot or two.  All my dogs are fed barf now and they recieve no artificial additives whatsoever.

Thankyou all for your help. I have been using a nylon collar (with plastic clips) for walks over the weekend ( as opposed to her usual leather one with a metal buckle). I know some of you have had problems with the nylon, but I'll monitor her closely. The area already doesn't look so "angry" -unless this is wishful thinking! We feed her Burns with a liitle Nature Diet or chicken or oily fish, so I doubt it would be her main diet causing this. However, maybe the snacks don't help. She has a kong toy with Pedigree "Gravy Bones" in every day, as a treat. She loves these & almost demands them every evening. Do you think these could be causing the problems? As I've said before, other that this area her coat is amazing and she looks in peak condition. I will let you know how I get on with the nylon collar.

hi
my dobe bitch has acne under chin but was told by the vet it would go away, however it has not and the spots bleed from time to time, when she catches them when playing with my other dog.I have never taken her back to the vets as i thought that it was something she was stuck with, however on reading your posts it can be treated. Why does using a plastic bowl make a difference, we use a plastic bowl by the way.

Some dogs react to plastic bowls, just as some people react to substances such as silver (think jewellery).  Dogs can react whether the bowl is used for food and water, so you could try using only metal or pottery bowls and see if her chin improves.

Sounds the same as my Dobe - I used to end up with splodges of blood all over me from his chin!

re: plastic bowls - I read that it's because plastic is impossible to get totally clean, and so is a breeding ground for bacteria (unless you were to use proper sterilising stuff maybe!). When I looked really closely at the plastic feeding bowl I was using there was an oily film on the surface that I could not entirely get rid of even with piping hot water. I think the best thing to use is a stainless steel bowl as stainless steel is both hypoallergenic and washes brilliantly. You should give it a go :D

I wouldn't rule it out being her main diet, There's afew dogs who can't cope with burns or ND however if it's a dobe prone thing isn't it more genetic?

In my experience they grow out of it - all mine have. Something I have found to help is to put aloe vera gel on the spots in the meantime or bathe in a very dilute hydrogen peroxide solution (available from chemists).

Has the vet ruled out a Staphylococcal Infection (Pyoderma) - this is also seen alot in Dobermanns.   Might be worth another trip to the vet for some tests to rule it out.  One of my bitches has a staphy infection at about 18 months and the symptoms sound very similar to yours.

Could be the treats - since Kizkel's post I've been thinking back to before Remy's back started getting very spotty, and it's occurred to me that his intake of one type of biscuit has shot up (big ones that I use in a toy to keep him entertained, I've been struggling to get into a training/walking routine since I moved so he's been getting bored a lot).  I'm reducing the amount he gets, if it helps any I'll post on here.

Just a side thought to the food issue; there's a woman on my course with two lurchers, and one of them has severe trouble with food - so much so he's actually now a vegan dog!  He reacts to any animal protein - and oddly, he developed a hard lump on one wrist which defied diagnosis, but disappeared as soon as she cut meat from his diet.  So food issues can cause all sorts of physical problems.

Plastic beds can cause scabby, spotty backs too!

That I didn't know!  For a second there I almost had a light bulb go in my head - but then I remembered, Remy refuses to sleep in the plastic beds as it isn't soft and warm enough.  Sofa dog all the way :D And the sofa blankets are cleaned at least once a week.

It's been a couple of weeks now that I have replaced her leather collar with its metal buckle for a nylon one with plastic clips. The change to her neck has been dramatic over the 2 weeks. The hair is growing back and the lumps have reduced. I am not saying I have found the answer yet, but I am amazed that there is such a difference. Could my dog have a nickel allergy like humans get?