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Why is my Yorkie itching with red blistery spots on her belly?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Yorkshire Terrier | Female | spayed | 8 years and 7 months old | 6 lbs

My yorkie started itching today and she has red blistery spots on her belly

4 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Amber Da Silva, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on September 20th, 2017

I'm sorry that Gracie is so itchy. I would strongly suspect that she has a skin infection, either of bacteria or yeast. This most often happens secondarily when there is something else irritating the skin - like something she is allergic to or even sometimes mites. I would recommend taking her to your veterinarian for an examination. They will most likely do a test called a skin scraping so that they can look at a sample of her skin under the microscope to diagnose it and know how best to treat her. This is not an emergency, but should be addressed as soon as you are able. Until you are able to take her to your veterinarian, I would either put a cone on her or a shirt or baby onesie to prevent her from licking and scratching. You could also apply a thin layer of triple antibiotic cream and hydrocortisone to the skin in order to help with the itching.

2Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

Answered By Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS
Veterinarian
Published on October 24th, 2019
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!
6Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By Maria DVM
Veterinarian
Published on October 20th, 2018
I would recommend bringing Lia to a veterinarian. They can treat the lesions which are most likely from her itching so much and also help with the itching. They would be able to check for fleas, mites, and even discuss allergies with you. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.
2Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS
Veterinarian
Published on December 15th, 2019
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). The following products can be found online and can be tried as a first line approach: Douxo PS Calm shampoo, Essential 6 spot on by dermoscent, Krillex Krill oil chews.
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!

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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I am so sorry that you are having this problem with Gracie. I certainly understand how frustrating it is to watch her be so itchy. I have a few suggestions for you. There are a number of reasons for skin problems in dogs. This article does an excellent job of describing them. You could be dealing with allergies (of various types), external parasites (such as fleas or mites), or secondary infections (bacterial or yeast). https://www.petcoach.co/article/why-is-my-dog-so-itchy/ This is also an excellent article on itching in dogs and the possible causes and treatments. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=2604 Since Gracie has a strong smell to her if she isn't bathed regularly, you might be dealing with a yeast or Malassezia infection. I have attached more information on that below. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=466 Malassezia can be very itchy and often requires a medicated antifungal shampoo or even oral antifungal medications to resolve. So, be sure to have your vet do a skin cytology to check for Malassezia. Another option would be to consult a dermatologist. Allergies can be very frustrating to control and working with a specialist can often make this easier. You can find a dermatologist near you here. http://www.acvd.org/tools/locator/locator.asp?ids=16_Find_Dermatologist Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

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