Chihuahua has hard knots under skin after finishing meds. Allergy?

If the medications helped and it came back after 2-3 weeks of stopping the treatment, it is probably an allergy, this means he will probably need to take those medications long term at least until the cause of the allergy is detected. this could be a food allergy, environmental allergies or flea allergy, this is the hard part- to discover what is the cause.

If this is a recurring skin issue, he most likely had an underlying allergy. It could be an allergy to environmental things, or an allergy to the protein in the food. You can treat the infection, but it will keep returning if the underlying issue isn't also addressed. I would talk with your veterinarian about allergies. The antibiotics are not too harsh, and won't cause kidney damage

Poor Gia! Please call a vet near you immediately to have her seen to help treat the hives. Since she's had 7 days worth of medication and the hives only appeared today it is not very likely that they were caused by the antibiotics, but I recommend telling your vet about them just in case. Gia may have ingested something she is allergic to or have been bitten/stung by something she is allergic to, and your vet can help direct treatment to prevent spreading of the hives and worsening of her symptoms. If you notice any difficulty breathing that is an emergency situation, as it could indicate a severe allergic reaction, and requires immediate vet care. Good luck and I hope she feels better soon!

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!

This can definitely be cause by an allergy, but infection or mites are possible. First of all, I would recommend to have her treated with a good parasite treatment to rule out fleas. Then I would recommend a check up as infections and mites can be ruled out easily with some skin testing (skin scrape). If these tests are negative allergy must be treated and diagnosed. Flea allergy dermatitis, food allergy and environmental one are most common. Steroids and antibiotics may e needed, but other meds with fewer side effects are available nowadays (Apoquel for example).

Hello, thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I am sorry your question was not addressed earlier. This is a perplexing situation. Usually, when we see a drug reaction, it occurs within 30 minutes of administration, especially with injectables. This was most likely a delayed type hypersensitivity reaction & not associated with the food consumed. I hope you have conveyed this information to the veterinarian who gave the medications. I would also inform Brew's regular veterinarian of the reaction & make sure a note is placed in the record that one of the medications, or the combination, can cause a significant allergic reaction in Brew. But I do not think the food contributed to the problem. If he is not feeling/doing better very soon, please have him examined. There are other medications that will mitigate the allergic reaction. Hopefully, Brew will be doing great very soon. Take care.

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!