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My dog has red, painful, spreading skin spots. What should I do?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Small (up to 22lb) | Male | 9 years and 7 months old

My dog has a skin condition in which it bothers him very much, he had red skin on his stomach with black painful looking spots of skin and it is spreading. My dog is making them worse by bitting them and making them bleed.

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Megan, DVM, CVA

Veterinarian

Published on August 6th, 2017

Poor Scooby! It looks like he is suffering from a skin infection which could have originally started from allergies. And he is likely making it worse by chewing himself. First I would place an e-collar on him to prevent the chewing and licking. You can try to give him 1/2 of an adult 25 mg Benadryl to help with the itching. He will likely need to see your vet for some stronger medications like antibiotics to help heal the infection and stronger allergy medicine to help with itching. I hope this helps and he starts to feel better soon.

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    Answered By Cara, DVM, cVMA

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    It looks like Scooby may have a skin infection. You can try a medicated shampoo but if he is very itchy he may need to see a vet for treatment. They will likely want to test his skin to help determine the source of the infection and then recommend medications to treat it. They can also help with the itching as well, but I would ensure he is on a good flea preventive too.

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