What's causing my chihuahua's bumpy, scabby rash around her mouth?

Hi, and thanks for your question. This could be due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment, then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. Antibiotics may be needed at this stage to treat infections. If all of those tests came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

It looks like Piper may have a superficial skin infection. This can be caused by many things, but the most common cause is allergies. She could also have skin mites or something less common. I'd recommend giving her a bath and making sure she's really dry afterwards, and then if they keep getting worse or don't go away, it's time for a vet visit.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! If you would like to resubmit your question with pictures, that may be helpful. There are some juvenile skin diseases we can see in puppies that can cause a similar appearance to what you are noting, such as Demodectic mange or chronic bacterial/yeast infections. A diagnosis is typically achieved through a skin scrape (to look for Demodex mites) and a skin cytology to look for bacteria or yeast. If all of these diseases are ruled out and Django does not respond to typical treatment (topical medicated shampoos, parasite preventatives, antibiotics, etc.) then additional diagnostics such as a biopsy may be recommended. I would recommend having Django evaluated by his veterinarian if this has been going on for some time and especially if it is worsening.

Even though a picture would help to understand better the underlying cause, this presentation could be due to a trauma or localized spot of skin infection (likely to be caused by bacteria). A check up, appropriate disinfection and possibly antibiotics (oral, topical or in a shampoo formulation) are needed to solve the problem. Disinfection may be started at home with very diluted hibiscrub or betadine or salted water baths. Buster collar may be useful as well to avoid any licking/scratching (if any). Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly due to allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing her allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

It looks like your dog has a skin infection, most likely caused by allergies or fleas. The allergies can be from something in her food or to something in the environment, like grasses, pollens, etc. I would recommend taking Pippa in to see the vet so she can be started on some antibiotics to help clear up her skin. I would also recommend discussing with your vet some options for medication to help control her allergies like Atopica, Apoquel, or Cytopoint.

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. I would recommend having a veterinarian examine her so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I suspect this could be secondary to demodex, which is a type of skin mite. There is likely also a bacterial skin infection that needs to be treated due to the potential primary mite infection. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.