My female dog has recurring infections. Why does she lick so much?

That is likely to be caused by a vaginal and perianal infection (probably secondary to a dermatitis in the perianal region). A check up is required to confirm this clinical suspicion and treat appropriately. Antibiotics and local disinfection with appropriate solution (betadine diluted should be fine) are likely to be needed. 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.

Poor girl. The brown staining is saliva staining from her licking. THe vulva also looks to be a bit swollen, likely b/c it is irritated. I would suspect that Aira has some vaginitis here. Visit you vet and they can prescribe some antibiotics to hopefully clear this up. Also if she is peeing more than normal and drinking more water, a urinalysis is warranted to check for a UTI. Until you can get her seen, you can wipe her vaginal area with baby wipes to help remove some of the debris and soothe some of the irritation. I hope that your fur baby Aira resolves her vaginal infection soon. Best wishes and take care.

Your dog likely has underlying allergies and typically 2 weeks of antibiotics is not long enough to treat a skin infection. Most require 4-6 weeks. The problem is that if you don't resolve the cause of infection, it will always come back. I would consider trialing a hypoallergenic diet. Make sure he is on flea medication every month and consider allergy testing. Licking creates moisture and damages the skin. This creates an ideal environment for bacteria and yeast to grow, So as long as he is licking, his skin won't heal.

Getting her seen by your vet is ideal, so you could get to the bottom of the cause for her skin issues. I certainly understand financial problems. A food trial is a good idea, and getting her off beef and chicken is a good move since those are the two most common food allergies. Until you can get her checked by a vet, keep her clean and dry and bathe her weekly in lukewarm water with a mild oatmeal based pet shampoo to soothe her skin.

The most likely cause would be a secondary bacterial or yeast infection secondary to allergies give your description. A bad odor is usually associated with overgrowth of bacteria or yeast and requires veterinary exam in order to get the appropriate medications to treat the overgrowth and also to get medication to get the inflammation under control. Until you get an appointment with your vet you should put an e-collar on her so she doesn't further traumatize the feet.

It is hard to tell from the picture but it maybe the start of a pustule which can be a sign of a skin infection. It may also be a cyst or sebaceous adenoma or wart as they have a similar looking characteristic. Since she has been through Cytopoint and Apoquel with out much relief, she may benefit from a dermatologist to get intradermal allergy testing. Your vet can check that spot to be sure what it is and set up a referral for the skin if you wish to pursue that route

Ouch, poor Remington! You are correct - most ear infections in dogs stem from underlying allergies. Allergy issues in dogs mostly cause skin problems and ears are skin, after all. The allergies could be associated with environmental issues (atopy), food allergies or flea allergies. I can certainly see the discharge and swelling in Remington's ear. Her excessive scratching obviously indicates that she's quite uncomfortable. Allergy issues cause dogs to itch, which damages the skin barrier and then leads to ear infections from an overgrowth of yeast and/or bacteria in the ear canal. There are no effective over the counter treatments for ear infections. At this point, I recommend taking Remington to her vet for an exam and ear cytology. Your vet will be able to look at her ear discharge under a microscope to determine the type of infection present, and will then prescribe an appropriate medication based on those results. Until you get to the vet, consider putting an e-collar (cone) on Remington to prevent her from causing further damage to hear ears. I hope this helps and that she's feeling better soon!