I need help understanding why my dogs skin has dicolored so much over the last 6 months.

[pdc1250]

Hi, I have a maltipoo his name is Buddy.  As a pup Buddy had pretty clear skin, he was 10 weeks when I got him.  He is now 3yrs 4 months old and in the last few months I have noticed that his skin has discolored a lot.  He almost looks like a cow.  You can only tell when he is wet.  What could it be?

[Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A]

If it is discolored due to an allergic yeast dermatitis it would return to a normal coloration after the appropriate treatment.

If it is discolored due to the sun, i.e. freckling it may never become completely white again, however, it freckling is the cause and if you are very diligent in placing sunscreen on daily, you can prevent further freckling and many of the freckles may become lighter.

You must first establish what the cause of the darkening pigmentation is, however.

[pdc1250]

After my dogs skin color changed could it go back to normal?

[Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A]

Has your dog been evaluated for yeast dermatitis? Yeast dermatitis causes a blackening or darkening of the skin called hyperpigmentation.  It can be secondary to Atopy (allergies from the environment or food that affect the skin).  

The other possibility is that the dark spots are large freckles or tanned areas on your dog's skin (YES!  Dogs, cats, horses, cows and other species, freckle, burn and tan from the sun),   and this of course is natural and not a pathological condition.  Your vet should be able to sort this out for you.