My dog has a persistent belly rash and keeps licking it. What now?

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!

Those spots on Lucas could be several things including allergies, skin mites, flea bites, ringworm (which humans can get) or a bacterial infection. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing his diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. You can wash the lesions with soap once a day and rinse well (don't wash his whole body, just those spots). Protect the areas from licking or scratching by having him wear an elizabethan collar. If the lesions don't start looking better within about a week or if they get worse, have him examined by the veterinarian who may prescribe medications. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.

That spot on Fiona could be several things including allergies, skin mites, bacterial infection or ringworm (which humans can get). There are a couple things you can do at home and they can help but they may not address the underlying cause. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing her diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. You can wash the lesion once a day (not her whole body, just the lesion). Also protect the area from trauma by having your pup wear an elizabethan collar at all times. If the lesion does not start improving within a week or if it is getting worse, have her examined by the veterinarian. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

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 her 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!

That spot on Buddy could be several things including allergies, skin mites, ringworm (which humans can get) or a bacterial infection. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing his diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. You can wash the lesion with soap once a day and rinse well (don't wash his whole body, just the spot). Protect the area from licking or scratching. If it doesn't start looking better within about a week or if they get worse, have him examined by the veterinarian who may prescribe medications. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Hi there. That lesion could be a bacterial Staph infection but it could also be something like ringworm. These things often look similar and cannot be easily distinguished visually. Some testing may be needed to figure it out. Since you have been using an anti-fungal medication and it's not working then I suspect this may be more bacterially related. I would recommend you take Charlie to your vet for an exam. If you want to try something in the meantime you can try these medicated wipes and an E-collar to keep him from licking it. No matter what you put on it, it will not resolve if he continues to lick it. https://www.amazon.ca/Sogeval-Douxo-Count-Chlorhexidine-Pads/dp/B00G3D8JL0/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1514572929&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=duoxo+wipes https://www.amazon.ca/Total-Pet-Health-Elizabethan-Areas-Small/dp/B00FXKSV3K/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1514572948&sr=1-1&keywords=elizabethan+collar Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Chronic skin lesions could be several things including allergies to fleas, allergies to something in the environment, food allergy or endocrine disease. Each one of these problems is detected and addressed differently and I recommend to discuss with your veterinarian which one to start hunting down first. Parasites are often ruled out with an oral medication like Simparica. Food allergy is best ruled out with a diet trial using a hydrolyzed protein. Endocrine diseases are detected with blood work. Environmental allergies are a little more difficult to detect but a response to therapy or a blood test can give an indication. Once you figure out and address the underlying cause, the lesions should not come back. There are a couple things you can do at home and they can help but they may not address the underlying cause. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing her diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. Also protect the area from trauma by having Sammy wear an elizabethan collar at all times. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.