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What causes raised red bumps on my dog's skin and how to treat them?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Large (61lb +) | Male | unneutered | 45 lbs

why does my dog have these raised red bumps?

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3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

Published on July 16th, 2017

Poor Tex! Bumps like this can be caused by a bacterial skin infection, or some type of allergic reaction. This shouldn't be an emergency, but if they persist for more than 2-3 days it would be best to take him to the vet for an exam - it looks like he may need prescription antibiotics or steroids to treat the problem. Your vet can do some simple skin tests to help determine what is causing the bumps, and will prescribe appropriate medication to treat them depending on what is found.

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    Answered By Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS

    Veterinarian

    Published on April 19th, 2017

    This is probably due to a severe 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 (advocate or advantage), 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, pollins, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair the skin lesions (steroids and antibiotics). Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation (where you can post pictures ) if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

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    Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

    Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

    Published on November 5th, 2016

    Poor Nikko! These bumps could be caused by a number of different skin problems. The most common possibility is a bacterial skin infection called pyoderma - this can occur on its own, or due to an underlying skin issue such as an allergy or skin mites (mange). A fungal infection or allergic reaction of some kind is also possible. Since it sounds like the problem is getting worse, I would recommend having Nikko examined by a vet as soon as you are able to - he will likely need prescription medication such as an antibiotic and possibly a steroid or other anti-inflammatory to treat the problem.

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