My puppy has a skin rash after dog park and bath. What should I do?

It sounds as if your dog has a skin infection, most commonly caused by an allergy, a skin mite (Demodex) or fleas. 

The allergy could be a due to a protein in your dog’s food or an environmental allergy like to dust, pollens, grasses, etc. 

The allergy causes your dog to itch and chew at the skin which breaks down the skin barrier. This then leads to infection. Skin infections are typically characterized by large areas of hair loss, redness, crusting, flaking, and pustules. A thorough skin examination by your veterinarian should be able to determine the cause of the itch so it can be treated appropriately. Your dog will most likely need antibiotics to help clear up the infection and possibly an allergy/anti-itch medication like Apoquel, Atopica, or Cytopoint to give some relief while the infection clears up. A medicated shampoo may be beneficial as well. I would also recommend he be on a good flea control routinely too. Once the infection has resolved a long term allergy medication (like Apoquel or Cytopoint) can be given on a regular basis to prevent any future problems. I would avoid putting anything on the skin until the infection is under control. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

Hi, thanks for using PetCoach! It could be from extra moisture due to his collar or a skin infection. Below is a link to an antihistamine to control scratching. I would clean it was a mild soap and water daily. Dry it well. You can try the spray below after drying. If it hasn't improved in a week he should be seen by a Vet for prescription medications. Good luck! https://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=40493 https://www.petcoach.co/canigive/dog/zyrtec/

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Based on the photos and your description, I suspect what you are seeing may be due to insect bites such as ants. If this is just inflammation from insect bites and not an infection, it will likely clear up on its own. I would recommend using a product such as Malacetic Conditioning spray which can be found online quite easily or a steroid spray from PetCo and apply to the area twice daily until resolved. If pustules begin to form or the rash spreads / worsens, I would recommend having a veterinarian take a look at Bentley so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please take the time to mark this question as helpful or not as it helps us to improve on the quality of our answers to other pet owners. Thank you kindly!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This looks like a focal 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!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Based on the photos, it appears that Po may have a skin infection. We call this superficial pyoderma. For these, I recommend topical therapy and skin supplementation. If after 10-14 days there is no improvement with this approach, I recommend visiting the veterinarian and having the vet take a look at Po so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further! 1. Douox PS Chlorhexidine Combination shampoo and bathe twice weekly until resolved 2. Miconahex + Triz and spray to the affected areas twice daily until resolved 3. Essential 6 spot on by Dermoscent 4. Krillex Krill oil chews All of these can be purchased online quite easily.

Hello, thank you for using PetCoach. Poor Snow! Her skin looks really reactive. I really think you should take Snow to your vet for an exam at your earliest convenience. She may need oral antibiotics or some anti-inflammatory medications. I don't think it is an emergency though. To me it looks like a contact dermatitis (allergy). Poison ivy is possible but it is actually pretty rare in dogs. Benadryl is fine to give but you need to make sure you are giving enough. Dogs take a MUCH higher dose than we do. The dose is 1mg/pound of body weight. For example, 25 pound dog should get one 25mg capsule/tablet. If she is 50 pounds, then 2 of the 25mg capsules. You can round up if needed as it is pretty safe to give. She can have that every 12 hours. Topically, I suggest you put this on the affected areas until you can get her to the vet: ( https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/vetericyn-plus-hot-spot-antimicrobial-gel-for-dogs ) Hope this helps. Best wishes.

I really cannot tell what is going on in the photo. You can try using this spray on her 3-4 times per day. If after treating her for about a week and there is no to minimal improvement then she should see a vet. https://www.allivet.com/p-2842-vetericyn-vf-plus-wound-skin-care-hydrogel-spray.aspx