My Shih Tzu's neck is red, swollen, itchy after shaving. What to do?

Question

I shaved my Shih Tzu around the inner side of the neck. And she was okay for a day, but the day after she was scratching that area a lot, she jumps around a little, you could say acts irritated. When I looked at the area, it was extremely red and a little swollen. Yet she’s still scratching it. What do I do? (not sure if it happened because of the Shaving). Pet's info: Dog | Shih Tzu | Female | unspayed | 11 years and 4 months old

Ricardo Fernandez, DVM · Accepted Answer

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly due to allergies. 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. I think this is likely a hot spot which is basically an infection from scratching so much. You may use an e-collar in the meantime to prevent further self-trauma from scratching. 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 you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

My Shih Tzu's neck is red, swollen, itchy after shaving. What to do?

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