My dog has a weeping, recurring skin wound. When should I see a vet?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! A small skin abrasion or hot spot like you are describing may require topical antibiotics to heal. If it does not resolve or worsens, I would recommend she be evaluated by her regular veterinarian. In the meantime, I would keep it clean and if you have grooming clippers try to carefully shave the fur in that area to allow it to heal (do not use scissors!). Good luck!

From the pictures, the skin appears red and inflamed. It does look like it is infected. While this may not be a true emergency, I would recommend getting in to see your veterinarian very soon. Pookie will need the area shaved and cleaned up. Your vet may prescribe an antibiotic for this as well depending. Until you can get to your vet, you can keep the area clean and dry and use a mild soap and water to clean the wound. If Pookie is licking it, you can put on ECollar on her to prevent licking.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This looks like a fairly superficial wound at least based on this picture. However, it would still be a good idea to have him evaluated by a veterinarian to look at it more closely in case it is deeper than what it looks like. Also, these can be painful and can get infected so your veterinarian could potentially start antibiotics and pain control medications. If superficial, these wounds tend to respond well to therapy and heal relatively quickly. Good luck and have a good night!

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Bree and for providing pictures, they are very helpful. I agree, that sore looks very painful and sore, and I'm concerned it could be infected. This should not be treated at home. I would take her into a vet immediately to get this treated. If it is infected, the vet can prescribe antibiotics. Please take her into a vet now. Best of luck.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This looks like a severe focal infection. I recommend you have her evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment as this will likely require local therapy with cleaning of the site, pain control medications and antibiotics. Also, your veterinarian could check for a possible underlying cause like allergies, mites or a foreign body reaction. Good luck!

Hello. Sorry Winnie is having this issue. It looks like she has a "hot spot". I would go ahead and take her to the vet in the morning like you have planned. Many dogs do seem to get these "spontaneously". For future reference, treating these with peroxide is not the best idea. Peroxide actually delays the healing and that is likely why it took so long to resolve before (provided this was the same thing she had before). Your vet will likely shave the hair around this lesion. These spots need air so they dry out and can heal faster. The hair around them keeps them wet/moist. The vet will also dispense some antibiotics for you to give her and some specific ointment to apply to it. Usually it will start to heal nicely within 5-7 days however, it will take quite a while for the hair to grow back. Here is a link to this problem: http://www.petmd.com/dog/care/evr_hot_spots_what_are_they# I hope this helps. Best wishes!

Waiting an entire week seems like a long time, especially if she has an infection. It might be a good idea to call another vet and see if she could be seen before next week, especially if it starts to look worse or she starts acting sick.