My dog has a red, hairless, oozing skin spot. What should I do now?

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about your friend's dog. Yes, I would recommend having her seen by a vet. It looks like she could have a hot spot, and that typically requires prescription medication to treat. I'd have your friend take her into the vet in the morning. Best of luck.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This may be a skin infection. You can try to use a medicated shampoo containing chlorhexidine twice weekly for 2 weeks. If there is no improvement or in the meantime this appears to be getting worse, have him evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Good luck and have a good night!

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I can see an area of hair loss, redness, thickening of the kin, and what appears to be a scratch. This can be caused by bacterial or fungal skin infections such as ringworm, skin mites, or autoimmune diseases. I recommend having your dog seen by a vet as ringworm can be transmitted to people. I hope this helps and that all is well!

It looks like a skin infection. I would recommend a visit to your vet to have them evaluate her skin. This most likely requires antibiotics and possibly a shampoo. There can be many different causes one of them including allergies. I hope she feels better soon thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. From the pictures, it appears as though there is a solitary reddened lesion on the skin. This could be a wound or an infection. I would recommend cleaning this using a solution of diluted betadine and water (mix until a light brown color) and monitor for signs of worsening. If the area does not resolve or it worsens, I would recommend having a veterinarian examine the area so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It is difficult to tell from the photo where this lesion is located. However, with anything under the skin that is growing, we become concerned about an infection (abscess formation), a mass of some kind, or a blood accumulation (hematoma), among others. I would recommend Rokko be evaluated by his regular veterinarian to determine the underlying cause for his skin swelling/redness, have any necessary testing done (needle aspirate, culture) and start any treatment that may be needed. Good luck!

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!