Why does my dog have a dark purple itchy rash on his groin area?

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. If all of those 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!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Ruka. He appears to have small red areas on his belly. This can indicate a skin infection. While there are many causes of skin irritations, allergies are common this time of year. Humans inhale allergens such as grasses, weeds, pollens and molds. This results in watery eyes, runny nose, etc. This can happens in dogs, but more commonly dogs walk through the grass. This will result in irritation of the underside and paws of the dog. This could be the case with Ruka. The veterinarian will examine him and ask detailed questions about his lifestyle, diet and medication. Skin tests may be recommended. Based on these results, treatment can be started if needed. In the meantime, you can try bathing him with a moisturizing shampoo and conditioner such as an oatmeal or fatty acid based formula to soothe the skin. I hope this information helps!

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 his 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!

This could be skin irritation/infection but it could also be subcutaneous bleeding (which can be serious). I strongly suggest you have him examined by a vet. In the meantime you can try these medicated pads on the affected areas in case of infection. ( https://www.chewy.com/douxo-chlorhexidine-3-ps-pads-dogs/dp/110823 )

Based on the photos, I am concerned that the purple area is some bleeding/bruising in the skin which we often see when a dog has low platelets. I'm not sure based on the photo, but I suspect the white area is a nipple that just looks really prominent due to the bruising around it. Low platelets are a very serious problem; even though he's otherwise acting fine, please take him to your vet to have him examined. They may recommend running some lab work to find our what his platelet count is. There are many causes of low platelets, some possible causes include an infectious tick-borne disease, an auto-immune disease where his body is destroying his platelets, or cancer. Because all of these are very serious, and because low platelets can lead to life threatening anemia, please take him to your vet. Thanks for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Oh ouch! That looks like it is uncomfortable. This looks like it could be a skin infection, which could be bacterial or yeast, or a combination. I would encourage you to have him evaluated by your veterinarian soon. In the meantime you may want to consider bathing him in a shampoo that contains chlorhexidine or salicylic acid. These can be found in the human shampoo aisle in the dandruff area. Best of luck and I hope he improves soon. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

That appears to be an epidermal collarette. Typically that lesion appears secondary to a skin infection either from allergies or a break in the skin barrier. It can easily spread if untreated. Your vet can examine Rocky to find the reason it started to clear the infection. They make medicated shampoos that will help also.