German Shepherd has rashes and pimples. Why is she biting her back?

I am very sorry to hear about your pup's chronic issues. I think the major question we need to ask ourself is, "Why is this happening?" The main reasons for rashes and itching in dogs are flea allergies, food allergies, and atopic dermatitis. We always want to rule out the first two before considering the third, as it is much more difficult to deal with and assess. With that said, you should first make sure that you are using a good flea / tick preventative medication. Given the current skin issues, I would go with something oral or a collar in terms of formulation. If this helps clear things up, great new! In terms of food allergies, this requires a systematic and methodical approach in order to rule out one food type at a time. You will have to pick one protein to feed over the course of 6-8 week periods, and feed ONLY that protein. Any addition of anything else will throw off the food trial and would require it to start all over again. There are many different food out there to try, so food trials can often take a long time before ruling this out as the cause of discomfort. If we are convinced food isn't the cause, significant diagnostics and medical therapies will be required to address atopic dermatitis. Typically, itchy disease processes such as these are better dealt with when in conjunction with an anti itching medication. This can include something like a steroid, antihistamine, or preferably a drug called Apoquel. I understand you can not afford regular vet visits for constant dermatologic work-ups. However, it might really beneficial if you can get her in there just once to have a professional get a look at what is happening. They might be able to guide you in the right direction relatively inexpensively. You can also consider reposting on her with some photos of the lesions to better allow us to help you and your dog. Hope this helps.

Thank you for being such a good owner to Hachi. I really appreciate that you sent a picture as well. This looks like a picture of a pustule; like a zit. There are so many reasons that can cause pustules or itchy skin on a five month old German Shepherd. some of the most common reasons are: flea allergy dermatitis, bacterial dermatitis, external parasites like scabies, food allergies, and contact dermatitis from something they lay on and may be allergic to. One of the most common diseases that occurs on the underside of the belly is called puppy pyoderma and does need antibiotics to treat effectively. First, you can apply A topical antibacterial medication to this wound until you can be seen by your veterinarian. Second, before applying the ornament, I would bathe your dog thoroughly in her regular shampoo. Third, she needs to be on a monthly prescription flea preventative every month of the year. The best advice to get this pustule treated correctly is to be seen by a veterinarian and have a complete dermatologic examination performed. The vet and they want to do a skin scraping or skin culture so that they can begin a proper course of medications to take care of the itch and the possible infection. I appreciate you using our service. Have a great day

It is difficult to tell from the picture but this looks like it may be a spot of local skin infection. This infection, along with the fleas, is likely what is making her so itchy. I would recommend getting Dove on a good oral flea prevention. You may want to also try giving her some benedryl to help stop the itch. If Dove is continuing to bite despite all of this the you will need to take her to the vet to be checked out. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This looks like a focal infection. You can try to use chlorhexidine containing shampoo to bathe her twice weekly for 2 weeks. You may find these online or at your local pet store. If there is no improvement or in the meantime this appears to be getting worse, have her evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Good luck and have a good day!

I am not sure where this cluster of pimples is, but if it is on the chin this could be chin acne. This could also be a skin allergic dermatitis to some type of allergen (chemical or environmental). The almost clear contents inside mixed with blood is probably a folliculitis (inflamed hair follicles) which typically requires antibiotics and medicated cleansers to flush out the follicles. If you canno get to your vet right away for treatment, you can try gently cleansing the area with an antiseptic like Betadine diluted 50:50 with warm water or Chlorhexidine 3% diluted as instructed on the bottle (preferred)- available at most Walmart's, to see if this calms things down a bit. Any further treatment depends on the location of the rash and getting your vet involved may be best for Abbie, because he/she can thoroughly examine the area and get her on stronger medications to resolve the skin.

Those spots on Ruby could be several things including skin mites, bacterial infection or ringworm (which humans can get). I recommend to have her examined and tested for these conditions. Especially with the concern for ringworm, it's best to get this figured out quickly. Protect the area from trauma by having your pup wear an elizabethan collar at all times. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Poor Simmi! There are several things that can cause really itchy skin like demodectic mange, sarcoptic mange, fleas, allergies, a bacterial infection, a fungal infection and much more. I would first make sure she is on a high quality flea preventative like bravecto, nexgard or comfortis. Bravecto is also known for treating some mange so this may be a good choice if you can find it. You can also give her bendaryl twice a day to help control the itching. See link below. I would also bathe her in a medicated shampoo 2-3 times per week. I really like Dechra's miconahex-triz shampoo. If this doesn't help or if she is really uncomfortable, I would try to have a vet take a look at her as she may need stronger itch meds or prescription meds to help her heal. I hope this helps! https://www.petcoach.co/canigive/dog/benadryl/#!