I hope some of the expert Basenji owners on this site can help. First, some background. My dog is 3 years old, neutered male. At about 1 year old, he developed a rash on his thighs. My vet said it was probably allergies and told me to change his diet. He has been on Verus white fish and potato kibble since. The rash did not improve and he was losing hair in his armpits. The vet said he is probably allergic to house dust and put him on zyrtec. I wipe him down with a wet washcloth daily to remove any allergens. The vet said that this is the best that I can expect. Then his thighs and belly became inflamed and the skin was turning black and thickened. His armpits are also black. The fur on every other part of his body looks fantastic. I then thought that he might be having a reaction to something he's laying on so I changed my detergent to an organic one and changed his shampoo to an all natural oatmeal, honey and coconut oil one. The vet put him on apoquel and Finally tested him for allergies (blood test,not scratch test). He's allergic to absolutely nothing!! But they said that the blood test is not food sensitive. So, my vet said to be very strict about feeding him only the verus and no treats of any kind for 3 months. The vet also tested him for mange ( which is ridiculous since his face is perfect and my other dog is fine) and also tested him for a fungal infection. I am waiting on those results. I've enclosed a picture and wonder if anyone has seen this before or has any suggestions.
Thanks
Margie

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Is he still cleaning himself?
MIne stopped cleaning his groin and it looks like that unless I clean it with ear wax cleaner.

@margiem I would guess it is yeast infection. Have you taken him to a specialist?

That's called hyperpigmentation. Sometimes if an area gets infected several times that area will thicken and turn a different color. Not usually something to worry about once the infection is gone. The discoloration will eventually go away. If you google search "Hyperpigmentation Dog" you will find a lot of similar examples.

The closest vet dermatologist is over 2 hours away. My vet has been speaking with a dermatologist on the phone. She is suggesting that I bathe him with Revolution for 3 baths 2 weeks apart even though neither one of us thinks he has mange. It was suggested by the company who did the allergy testing. So I'm going to do that. I would love to know what caused this so I could avoid it in the future. My vet suggested allergy testing him again in the fall but if he is negative now wouldn't he be negative 3 months from now? My dog is only occasionally licking his thighs and armpits now that he is on the apoquel. Thanks for all of the suggestions!
Margie

This is what it looked like a couple months ago

Yes that looks like a skin infection that he licked enough to cause thickening/darkening of the skin. His skin looks like it's healing now and the darken should go away eventually.

Looks just like a heat rash, my Belle gets them , they are outside a lot, Bath the area with a shampoo, I use Molly Suds dog shampoo, its all I use now, it is fragrance & dye- free, rinses off well too.
Than I apply a herbal save of comfrey and aloe vera, You have to stay on top of it and to this procedure until it goes away or it wil turned into an affection. My three frequently get skin allergies, but never an infection. If your dog is scratching it a good deal, give him some benedryl, liquid childrens formula.DYE FREE TOO. , This will help tremendously, I let my Belle stay in the house when she has one of these hot patches. good luck. Dont waste your money on a huge vet bill, Keep the area clean and put the slave on it and a cone head so she/he wont like the stuff off.
I use Country comfort save, but anyone will work with the combination of comfrey and aloe vera.

Thanks for the advice! I thought it might be an infection but the vet said allergies. I'll try the shampoo and salve. I was using an oatmeal and honey all natural shampoo but the vet said he shouldn't have anything with pollen like honey. It seems extreme to me since his allergy testing was negative. I'll keep you posted when his fungal testing is back.
Thanks
Margie

@margiem I would still look into yeast infection, not easy to determine, hopefully the fungal testing might show something... and you might try a second opinion from a different Vet. Are there any Holistic Vets in your area?

My vet said that she would look into the yeast infection if the fungal test is negative. No holistic vets in my area but if these tests are negative then I plan to make the trip to the dermatologist in Allentown, Pa. That's the closest one to me.

@margiem I don't remember if you said, have you talked to the breeder?

No, I have not talked to the breeder. That is a good suggestion and I will do that right away.
Thanks