My dog is very itchy with red spots and crying. What's wrong?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Dog | Papillon | Female | spayed | 12 lbs
My dog is about 9 years old. She is very itchy and has these red spots on her skin and she also has been crying consecutively for hours at a time. She hasn't been given any flea or other medication recently. What could this be?
2 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on May 14th, 2017
Typically, itchy red skin with hair loss is caused by either fleas, mites (mange), ringworm ( actually a fungus) or allergies. For me, the most common one of these is allergies. Dogs can have allergies to ingredients in their food or to things in the environment. They need to be seen by a vet who can rule out the other causes I mentioned, and then take the appropriate course of treatment. Some dogs will improve greatly on a hypoallergenic diet, others need immunosuppressive drugs. Often these guys have secondary bacterial infections that require antibiotics. I'd recommend an appointment With Lylas vet ASAP to get this sorted out, and get her some medications to help her feel better.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
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Published on September 21st, 2019
Poor pup! There are a number of different things that can cause redness, hair loss, and raw spots like this. Some common possibilities would include allergies (food allergies, or an allergy to something in the environment), a bacterial or fungal skin infection, or skin mites (mange). Treatment will depend on the underlying cause, so it's important to get a diagnosis first in order to know what she needs. Because of this, I would recommend taking Pepper to the vet for an exam. He/she can do some simple skin tests if needed to help diagnose the problem and get her started on appropriate medication to treat it.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Health & Wellbeing
My Red Nose Pitbull has red spots on her skin and hair loss. She itches herself a lot. Can you please help me with a diagnosis.
Itchiness and red spots can be caused by various reasons such as fleas, mites ,fungal infection, bacterial infection and allergies. the first 4 needs to be ruled out before we start treating for allergies. in order to do that first de-flea Grace with a high quality flea treatment such as advantage spot on, if it doesn't help - take her to the vet in order to check for/treat the other possibilities. If everything is ruled out, then an allergy treatment can be started. Usually an hypoallergenic food is a good way to start together with anti histamines. if it doesn't help - the best solution is a medication called Apoquel which treats allergies with great success and without side effects.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
Red spot or something. Even after shower, the next day it just appear again. On body, leg and now even on nose, ear. After scratch off those like accumulated dirt or something, turns into red spot. Pls see image. Pls advice. Thanks.
Hi, and thanks for your question. This could be due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. 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
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
Vivi has some weird red rashes all over her! What are they and what can I do for them?
Hi, and thanks for your question. This could be due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. 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). I would recommend to have her checked as soon as possible. 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.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My dog has been really itchy the past few days so much so she losing sleep. I feel like I can't get her to calm down at all. I've given her a mositerizing bath and rubbed coconut oil on her. She's gotten 25mg of benadryl and 10mg melatonin. All recco
This is probably due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. 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 (check up is required as soon as possible -not emergency- ) 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.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
Sammie has had 3 of these type of spots in the past 3 months. She experiences hair loss, and then develops redness with a circle. We’ve taken her to the vet numerous times and they keep thinking it’s an allergy. We did an allergy test and are awaitin
Hello and thank you for reaching out to Boop by Petco. This spot looks like a "hot spot", or moist dermatitis. These occur from a dog licking repeatedly at a particular area, causing hair loss and severe irritation of the skin. This causes trauma to the skin, resulting in superficial bacterial infections that are very itchy and can create a constant cycle of itching and licking. Sammie should wear an Elizabethan collar at all times that she has any of these hot spots to prevent her from licking and causing further trauma. Hot spots occur because of any underlying problem, most often allergies. The top skin allergies in dogs include flea allergies, food allergies, and atopic dermatitis (or environmental allergies). I would ensure that Sammie is on a veterinarian-approved flea and tick preventative consistently. The next most common allergy is a food allergy, and the only way to diagnose this is with a diet trial, or an elimination trial. This requires feeding either a 'novel protein die
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Training & Behavior
My dog shake his head scratch his ear and then lick his paw Second problem is red patches on coat And third is baldness jn some area small spots of skin is visible
Hi, and thanks for your question. This could be due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. 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). The following products can be found online and can be tried as a first line approach: Douxo PS Calm shampoo, Essential 6 spot on by dermoscent, Krillex Krill oil chews. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us aga
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My dog has been itching for weeks and now has developed patches of baldness on her chest and head. I have tried to bathe her once with curaseb. Now she is rubbing all over the carpet. I feed her grain free food. Her ears seem to be bothering her. The
Itchy skin is often due to the following things: 1) Allergies - this can happen suddenly and is usually due to an environmental (i.e pollen) cause. 2) External parasites - fleas, lice and mites can all cause intense itching. It's good to check him for fleas and get treatment if needed. Otherwise a veterinarian will need to check for mites (mange) and prescribe treatment. 3) Over-bathing, or using the wrong product for bathing - Bathing too often can cause the skin to get dry and irritated. Dogs should normally be bathed no more than once a month with a shampoo that is labeled for dogs. If you bathe more than that, or use a shampoo or soap that is meant for people, then you could be damaging the normal protective barrier of the skin. One thing you can do for now to relieve itchy skin, is give a bath with cool water using an oatmeal or aloe shampoo. You can get these shampoos at the pet store. I hope this helps you to identify the problem. I think it will be worthwhile to
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My dog keeps itching in the same spot. He’s scratching and nibbling and causing his skin to be red. We checked for fleas but don’t see anything. My other miniature schnauzer who is a puppy is doing the same but not as much. Could it be allergies?
Hi, and thanks for your question. This could be due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. 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). The following products can be found online and can be tried as a first line approach: Douxo PS Calm shampoo, Essential 6 spot on by dermoscent, Krillex Krill oil chews. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us aga
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Training & Behavior
My dogs back has parts where the skin is dead and itchy, and whenever i remove the dead skin by any means it starts to bleed. Theres red spots underneath like bug bites but this has been here for months now. I cant afford a vet unless its an emergenc
Thanks for using Boop by Petco! This is possibly due to allergies though it is hard to know without an exam. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing her allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
We used Lysol to disinfect and clean the house and my dog seemed to be showing signs of a contact allergy... excessive itching, licking, redness and hair thinning in chest area. I gave him a bath with dish soap and will now longer be using Lysol in
Those spots on Lucky could be related to a contact allergy but several things including allergies, skin mites, flea bites, ringworm (which humans can get) or a bacterial infection will look the same. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing his diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. You can wash the lesions with soap once a day (regular soap) and rinse well (don't wash his whole body, just those spots). Protect the areas from licking or scratching. If they don't start looking better within about a week or if they get worse, have him examined by the veterinarian who may prescribe medications. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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