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Why is my dog scratching his neck raw with bleeding sores?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Large (61lb +) | Male | unneutered | 68 lbs

Ulcers with drainages, on the back of the neck, itchy, clear liquids mixed with blood from scratching.

3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Lauren M. Jones, VMD

Veterinarian

Published on June 24th, 2017

The lesions that you are seeing on the back of Bruce's neck could be a result of a skin infection from his excessive scratching (possibly related to allergies to fleas, food or environmental factors), but could also be associated with ringworm, mange or benign or malignant cancerous processes. Bruce should go to his vet for evaluation because he likely needs a course of antibiotics to treat any infection present. Until you can get to the vet, keep an e-collar (cone) on him to prevent further scratching and skin damage. Also be sure that he is receiving a high quality flea preventative (such as Nexgard, Bravecto or K9 Advantix II) regularly. Baths in an antibacterial shampoo (here is one example: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=27982) may be beneficial until his vet appointment. I hope that all goes well!

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    Answered By Rodrigo Roca, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on October 28th, 2018

    Hello, I am sorry to hear about Bruce. The photos you’ve attached are very helpful. The wound looks like it has a white pus like discharge, suggesting that it could be infected. I would recommend having Bruce evaluated by a veterinarian today so that the wound can be cleaned out thoroughly and closed. The veterinarian can also prescribe a course of antibiotics. Hope this helps, good luck!

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    Answered By Susan England-Foster

    Veterinarian

    Published on September 29th, 2017

    The most common reasons for red skin and abnormal lesions is allergies. Allergies can be secondary to parasites, food or even environment. I would recommend applying flea prevention every 30 days. Also you can try an over the counter anti histamine and medicated shampoo to decrease the inflammation of the skin and help stop the itchy skin. However if it is not improving I would recommend taking Bruce to a vet for a good exam. It is possible Bruce has skin mites but the proper mediations can only be prescribed by your vet. I hope that helps and Bruce feels better soon

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Hello, I am sorry to hear about Bruce. The photos you’ve attached are very helpful. The wound looks like it has a white pus like discharge, suggesting that it could be infected. I would recommend having Bruce evaluated by a veterinarian today so that the wound can be cleaned out thoroughly and closed. The veterinarian can also prescribe a course of antibiotics. Hope this helps, good luck!
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This sounds quite uncomfortable for Sly! He could be experiencing a skin infection from underlying allergies, ringworm or mange causing these issues. I'm glad to hear that he is on Advantage Multi because this makes a flea allergy seem less likely. However, many dogs are allergic to their foods or a host of environmental factors. At this point, your best bet is to take him to the vet. The vet may need to perform fungal cultures (to rule out ringworm), skin scrapings (to rule out the mites causing mange), or skin cytology (to determine if bacteria is present in these lesions). From there, the vet will be able to prescribe medications (i.e. antibiotics, antifungals, anti-itch, etc.) to try to help Sly. Bathing him every other day could dry out his coat and remove normally present oils, which can make matters worse. I only recommend bathing this frequently when using certain prescription-based medicated shampoos. Under normal circumstances, try not to bathe him more than every 2-3 weeks.
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What is wrong with my dog?
Skin lesions like those in the pictures can be caused by bacterial, parasitic or fungal infection (like mites or ringworm), dietary or environmental allergies or sensitivities, immune system disorders, trauma (such as from scratches/bites from another animal) or a combination of the above. Some of those lesions look quite deep and are likely pretty sore, so I recommend making an appointment to have Bogart seen by your veterinarian to help determine the cause of the lesions you’ve noticed and to make sure they are treated appropriately. The vet will likely want to look at a sample from the area under the microscope to determine if there is an infection and to figure out what medication is appropriate for treatment. In the meantime, you can bathe Bogart in hypoallergenic shampoo for dogs to clean the affected area, but this will likely not resolve the lesions.
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