My dog has a rash on her leg after giving birth. Why won't it heal?

I would recommend that you have Zoe evaluated by the vet to determine the cause of the rash. Sometimes puppies can develop a pyoderma from the changing hormones. It is often self-limiting and does not require treatment. Other kinds of rashes can be caused by fleas, allergies, irritants, and mange or mites.

Pregnancy can affect the normal immunity levels and also the natural balance of the skin and demodex mange can be more common during pregnancy and nursing. I would recommend assessment by a dermatologist in order to investigate if this is present and to advise on the most appropriate management options both the relieve her discomfort and reduce the risk of the pups being severely affected at a young age. There are many medications which can be used with appropriate caution in pregnant and nursing mothers although many others must be avoided

This may be caused by excessive licking due to pain or itching, or could also have a hormonal cause. I do see a skin lession on the first photo, so you may want to review your regime of flea control. If you observe your dog and/or the puppies itching, check for fleas. You may also take her and the litter to a veterinarian for an exam if this continues or expands.

Puppies have very sensitive skin, and that can leave them prone to skim infection. I suspect that Willow has puppy pyoderma (a skin infection). You need to have her seen by a vet to have this diagnosed and treated.

Poor girl. It appears they may have a bacterial infection on the skin. This can be due to trauma to the skin or a weakened immune system stemming from just giving birth. The puppy also may have had an abrasion that occurred during the birthing process. This doesn’t seem urgent at the moment and can wait until Monday to have your vet address this issue. A short course of antibiotics and topical treatment from your vet should be able to resolve this. In the meantime you can try cleaning it with Betadine diluted 50:50 with warm water or Chlorhexidine 3% diluted. Thes are effective antiseptics used in dogs. Best of luck with Mom and her pups. I hope everyone’s skin issues resolve soon. Best wishes and take care.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. The most important part of treatment of a rash is to stop the self-trauma. I strongly recommend getting an E-collar for Bess. Once you have this on, I would clean the rash with warm water, and then dry it very well. If there is yellow/cream/green debris, or the pimples are very numerous, then antibiotics might be required. I would try the e-collar for a couple days, if it isn't looking better fairly quickly then I suggest going back to your vet to discuss if antiboitics are required. There isn't really anything that you can put on it in the mean-time to help with the itch, as steroid creams might make it worse if there is a bad infection. Once you stop the licking with the E-collar it should start to improve. Best of luck with Bess.

Hi and thanks for your request. This presentation is likely to be due to a mild bacterial skin infection. Disinfection with hibiscrub diluted 1:10 with water used twice daily would help to clean those spots. Common bacteria that live on dogs skin are responsible for these signs so, although they can be transmitted to other dogs, I would not take her away from the puppies.