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Updated on September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Dog | Chihuahua | Female | spayed | 5 lbs
My dog has sores on her body. What could they be from?
2 Answers

Answered By Dr. Elizabeth
Veterinarian
Published on February 13th, 2019
Answered By Lauren Kennedy, DVM
Veterinarian
Published on September 4th, 2017
It looks as if your dog has a skin infection, most commonly caused by an allergy or fleas.
The allergy could be a due to a protein in Peanut's food or an environmental allergy like to dust, pollens, grasses, etc.
The allergy causes your dog to itch and chew at the skin which breaks down the skin barrier. This then leads to infection. Peanut will need antibiotics and/or antifungals (depending on the type of infection) to help clear up the infection and possibly an anti-itch medication like Apoquel, Atopica, or Cytopoint to give some relief while the infection clears up. Topical medication like you have been using can be effective but with infection as widespread as Peanut's oral medications are indicated.
A medicated shampoo may be beneficial as well. I would also recommend she be on a good flea control too.
In dogs with severe, recurrent allergies, they may need to be on an allergy medication long term to help prevent infections from coming back.
I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck!
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