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My dog has a red, itchy bump on his back. Could it be allergies?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Male | neutered | 8 years and 7 months old | 55 lbs

My dog has a small bump on his back. It's slightly red and itchy. If I touch it, he will scratch his belly with his hind leg. My dog has seasonal allergies and I'm wondering if it could be from that or something else.

4 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS

Veterinarian

Published on December 18th, 2016

Scratching can be caused by various reasons such as fleas, mites ,fungal infection, bacterial infection and allergies. the first four needs to be ruled out before we start treating for allergies. in order to do that first de-flea Clifford with a high quality flea treatment such as advantage spot on, if it doesn't help - take him 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.

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Dr. Elizabeth

    Veterinarian

    Published on February 16th, 2020

    Those spots on Snoopyy could be several things including fleas (just because you didn't find any does not mean they are not there), allergies, skin mites, bacterial infection, ringworm (which humans can get) or endocrine disease. There are a couple things you can do at home and they can help but they may not address the underlying cause. 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 once a day (not his whole body, just the lesions). Also protect the area from trauma by having your pup wear an elizabethan collar at all times. If the lesions do not start improving within a week or if they are getting worse, have him examined by the veterinarian. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

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    Answered By Jenna Beyer, DVM, MBA, cVMA

    Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist

    Published on August 16th, 2017

    There can be many causes of an itchy skin lump, including allergies, bacterial infection, fleas, mites, ringworm, sebaceous cyst, or cancer. Make sure that Teddy is on a good flea preventative (if he is bathed frequently topicals may not provide adequate protection). You can also try a medicated shampoo like Dechra MalAcetic Ultra Shampoo, but if it isn't getting better in a week, or if additional spots show up, I recommend that Teddy get checked out by a vet. The vet may recommend diagnostics like skin scraping or cytology to figure out the cause, and appropriate treatments can be recommended, like antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, etc.

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    Answered By Vanessa Yeager DVM MPH

    Veterinarian

    Published on March 5th, 2019

    Hi and thanks for posting on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It's a little hard to say exactly what these are without seeing Simba in person but from the pictures these red areas may be due to a skin infection or brought about by an allergy of some sort. You can try an oatmeal shampoo bath to see if that helps but if these don't go away or worsen, then I think you'll need to see your veterinarian. Simba may need a prescription medication to help clear these up. I hope this helps!

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