My dog's vulva is red and itchy, but has no discharge. What to do?

Chiquis likely is suffering from a bacterial dermatitis in this area or possibly a yeast infection. You will need to keep her from licking by placing a cone/e-collar on her. I suggest you make an appointment with your vet for an exam. The vet will likely take a swab and check the material under the microscope to verify that this is indeed a bacterial infection or a fungal (yeast) infection and them prescribe the relevant antibiotic or antifungal medication.

My guess is that she got some razor burn around the vulva. Do you have any hydrocortisone cream? If so, I would use that. Just put a thin layer on the vulva (not inside) twice a day. Do not let her lick it off. If she is licking you will need to get her a cone collar to wear. If you don't have any hydrocortisone cream you can get some at any drugstore. I recommend getting 0.5%. These ones that are made for dogs would be best. You can get them at Petco. I prefer the spray to the cream. https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/zymox-hydrocortison-cream https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/zymox-spray-with-5-hydrocortisone https://www.petco.com/category/dog/dog-health-and-wellness/dog-first-aid/dog-recovery-cones Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Hi and thanks for your request. This small skin lesion seems to be related to a superficial skin abrasion, which could be traumatic, infective or due to self-traumatism (licking). I would recommend to: - stop any further licking (if any) by using a buster collar. - disinfect the area with some hibiscrub diluted 1:10 with water twice daily for 5-7 days. Lack of improvement by then should be ideally checked by your local veterinarian.

Hi, and thanks for your question. This could be due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. Not only the vaginal area is inflamed but it seems that the ventral abdomen is involved as well. She is probably itchy but these redness areas do not seem inflamed because of the rubbing. 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!

Inflammation in that area can make it look red. Dogs can get vaginitis, infections, tumors or it can get inflamed if she has been licking at it more than normal. Pay close attention to her urination habits as a UTI can cause pain which can cause increased licking. If the redness does not go away after a few days, if she seems uncomfortable or itchy, or if you see a change her urination, have her seen by her veterinarian. It never hurts though to have it checked out right away. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Poor Phoebe! This sounds quite uncomfortable. There are several possible causes of irritation to the vulva and may be due to excessive licking as a result of a skin allergy or urinary tract infection, or urine scalding. Phoebe should be examined by her vet and have a urinalysis performed to assess for the presence of a urinary tract infection. In some cases, when the skin becomes overly irritated and ulcerative, it can become infected and require antibiotics for treatment. In the meantime, closely monitor Phoebe and if she seems to be licking excessively, put an e-collar (cone) on her to prevent further irritation.

From your picture, it looks like Val has what we commonly call a recessed vulva. That means that her vulva is tucked up and has a fold a skin around it. The problem with this is that the fold of skin can trap moisture and result in a yeast and/or bacterial overgrowth of that skin which is very itchy. So, I would recommend asking your vet about a topical treatment for the skin folds. We will often use medicated wipes that contain both an antibiotic and anti-fungal medication to help treat and prevent skin fold problems. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.