My dog has a rash and upset stomach after swimming. What's wrong?

Hello, Sorry to hear that Rex's belly is so itchy. He may have a skin infection, such as one from bacteria or yeast. I'd recommend taking him into his veterinarian to be examined. They may want to look at a skin sample under the microscope depending on his exam. Many dogs with sensitive skin require a medicated bath and ear rinses after swims, your vet will likely have some good recommendations for preventing this in the future. I hope this helps! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

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!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your question. I would recommend bathing Annie immediately after bathing. I would recommend using a shampoo such as Douxo PS Calm shampoo and conditioner, which can be found online quite easily. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please remember to rate this answer as helpful or not. Thank you!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Pippin. If her stool goes back to normal later in the day, this can be due to the excitement of swimming. So dogs will get so excited to perform a physical activity. This combined with the movements of intense exercise can result in loose stool. If her diarrhea continues throughout the day or longer, then I worry it is due to ingesting river water. In this case, she should see her veterinarian for treatment next time it occurs. I hope this information helps!

Hi and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Harley Quinn looks as if she may be pretty uncomfortable-there are a few possible causes of her irritation. A rash or irritation can come from a contact dermatitis (ie contact with the grass, something the grass was treated with, etc), inhaled allergens (ie seasonal allergies), food allergies (ie protein source in food-chicken or beef usually) or sometimes even flea allergies (although usually those are seen on the back of the neck and rump region). Unfortunately there are not many over the counter options, although you can start with an oatmeal based shampoo to remove any contact allergens from her abdomen (although I would bathe her entire body). Since her rash appears to be widespread on her abdomen I would recommend a physical exam by a veterinarian to start treatment and give her some relief. Good luck with Harley!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. The skin infection may be due to a resistant bacteria, so you may need to play around with various other antibiotics to see which works best. I would also recommend using a topical approach using the following products and see if this helps. As for the diarrhea, I would also add in a probiotic such as Fortiflora and test the stool for intestinal parasites. 1. Douxo PS Chlorhexidine combination shampoo 2. Malacetic conditioning spray 3. Essential 6 spot on by dermoscent Mojo is a breed where we do see skin infections and abnormal skin problems show up commonly. The diarrhea could be from something such as a dietary indiscretion, intestinal parasites, GI inflammatory disease, cancer, etc. You could use Tylosin powder (an antibiotic) and see if this helps calm down the diarrhea. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

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!