My dog has a sore on his neck. Will it heal on its own or need a vet?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Found a sore on my dogs neck not sure if it's in to heal on it's own or if I need to take him to a vet
2 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on February 11th, 2019
That heavy discharge generally indicates infection. Your pup will heal the fastest if he goes in to see his doctor. The doctor may give him a systemic antibiotic or may only give him topicals if the lesion is very small. Sometimes these pets can be itchy as well and will get medication for that too. You definitely want to make sure that he cannot itch or lick at that area as it will make it worse. The doctor will also shave the hair as it needs to be exposed to the air to dry up. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
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Published on December 10th, 2016
If the collar has been on continually for a period of time, this could have rubbed the spot raw and caused the lesion. Hidden in that long hair, the discharge from a small wound can smell quite foul. If he will let you and you have clippers, clip the hair away from the area so that air can get to it and help it heal. Wash the affected area with an antibacterial soap, rinse and dry well. Don't be afraid to scrub at it and get debris off, and it may bleed a bit. Do this twice daily and apply a thin layer of a non-steroidal antibiotic ointment. Rub it in well and make sure he can't lick at it. If it does not show signs of improvement in a day or two, or if it gets worse, swells, gets hard, reddened or he starts showing signs of illness, like vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy or refusal of food, get him to the vet right away.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Health & Wellbeing
My dog has a spot on the back of his neck thats a wound, but not a cut. It appears as though he is scabbing, or his skin is deteriorating into a sore spot, and draining. Will this heal, or should I take him in? (I plan to take him in tomorrow anyway,
Even though a picture would help to understand better the underlying cause, this presentation could be due to a trauma or localized spot of skin infection (likely to be caused by bacteria). A check up, appropriate disinfection and possibly antibiotics (oral, topical or in a shampoo formulation) are needed to solve the problem. Disinfection may be started at home with very diluted hibiscrub or betadine or salted water baths. Buster collar may be useful as well to avoid any licking/scratching. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
I've just noticed this on my dogs neck, it's as if it has just appeared out of nowhere, he hasn't been bitten by another dog etc, does this need immediate get attention? Thanks
Thank you for submitting your question regarding Jack. He will need to see his veterinarian this week. The wound will likely be cleaned and the surrounding hair shaved to further evaluate it. Regardless of the cause, he will likely require antibiotics. In the meantime prevent him from scratching the area. You may check his ears as well. Some dogs with ear infections will cause self trauma from scratching itchy ears. Check for any redness or debris in the ears. I hope this information helps!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
I recently bought a bag of purina one from Amazon and the next day my dog has a sore on the back of his neck that's oozing? I went to read the comments on amazon about this purina one bag and it's apparently happening to other dogs also . Will this g
Ouch! That sore does look pretty large, and if you suspect it was food-allergy related, switching back to his other food (or a different bag) is a good idea. I would continue to keep it as clean and dry as possible, and if it's not healing, or has already been there several days, bring Bear into your vet. Your vet can carefully trim the hair in the area to see how large the sore is, thoroughly clean it, and provide you with antibiotics and pain meds as needed to help the area heal and Bear feel more comfortable. In the meantime, keeping the area clean and dry, keeping Bear from rubbing or pawing at it with an E-collar or T-shirt, and keeping the site monitored is best.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
We have a 3 year old Golden Retriever who has a crusty sore on his neck. It started out soft and over a couple of months it started to get hard on top. Now it sort of looks like a wart. Is this something we should be worried about?
Even though a picture would help to understand better the underlying cause, this presentation could be due to a localized persistent spot of skin infection (likely to be caused by bacteria). A check up, appropriate disinfection and possibly antibiotics (oral, topical or in a shampoo formulation) are needed to solve the problem. Disinfection may be started at home with very diluted hibiscrub or betadine or salted water baths. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My dog has a sore on his neck. We have cleaned it with peroxide, which bubbles up, and bag balm and antibotic cream to no avail. Any ideas? It is about the size of a quarter and is red around the outside but oozy on the inside. He doesnt itch it.
Unfortunately hydrogen peroxide doesn't help pets with any type of skin condition. In fact we don't use it for any wounds because it can potentially cause cell necrosis (dying off of normal tissue). This appears to be a deep infection, which is likely why it hasn't healed well for you. You can try cleaning it with Betadine diluted 50:50 with warm water and the hair needs to be shaved around this to allow the skin to breathe and heal well. I would not place Neosporin on a wound like this, because it likely won't help. You may be able to find a hot spot spray at your local pet store that can be used. However, there is a good chance this won't heal without the help of your vet, who has stronger oral antibiotics and topical medical sprays to take care of this properly. I would schedule an appt if the Betadine and clip are not able to improve this area well within the next few days. Best wishes getting Murphy's skin to heal. Take care.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
could you please help my dog has got a sore on her neck and dont know what its caused by
This is probably due to a severe allergy, although it could also be fleas or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat her with a high quality flea treatment (e.g. advantage), then get her to 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 discovering the cause of the allergy. Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair the skin lesions (steroids and antibiotics). simultaneously you should start her on a prescription hypoallergenic diet for at least 2 months. Hopefully you will see some results after all this, if not you and your vet should consider putting her on a long term allergy treatment (Atopica or Apoquel).
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
I just noticed this sore on Dukes neck , he has hair loss above and below it , i put triple antibiotic ointment on it due to the fact I can't go to a vet right now, I have no idea what it is , could he have been bitten by a spider? Or did it by scrat
This is commonly seen when they get a skin infection (aka hot-spots). The neck is a common place for this to happen, because moisture often gets trapped under their collar and/or loose skin. It appears to be minor, so you can try a couple of things at home to get clear the infection. 1) Clip the hair around the area and expose all of the lesion(s). There may be more than one of these. 2) Wash the area with warm water and a medicated shampoo (can get this at the pet store) once a day. Use a cloth and gently wipe away the scabs. Do not scrub, because it will irritate the skin more. It's OK if all of the scabs do not come off in each washing. 3) Make sure the area is completely dry after washing. 4) Leave the collar off. You should start seeing good results within a week after starting this. It may take a few weeks before it's completely cleared. If two weeks go by and it's not getting any better, then it's best to have a veterinarian exam it. Also, if it appears to g
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My dog has come out with 3 spots almost like a moist wound spot on his back leg and back of neck and am not sure what it is. We have added a soft mattres to his bed and applied some antiseptic cream but am not sure what else could do
The spot in the picture looks infected, it will need to be clipped and treated with antibiotics. he will also need to wear an e-collar in order to prevent him from licking the area and making it worse. i would recommend taking him to the vet in order to get it treated.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
I noticed this sore on my dogs neck this morning and am not sure if it’s something I should be concerned about, or how to care for it in the meantime to see if it gets better on its own before rushing him to a vet
It looks like it may be a hot spot, someplace where something like an insect bite or small abrasion got irritated, which made it itch. The more he scratches, the more it itches until they cause a sore like this. Keep it clean by washing it with a mild soap and warm water a couple of times a day, making sure to get all the soap residue off to keep from further irritating his skin, and apply some Neosporin ointment or some similar topical medication afterward. If it does not improve significantly in a couple of days, if it gets worse or your dog starts feeling poorly, if anyone else in the house starts itching, pet or person, get him in to your vet as soon as possible as it could be something that requires veterinary care.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
Dog has red looking rash on neck that is discharging gooie feeling. He wore a cone for two days when we took it off it looked red like a rash didn't think much of it. We wiped the rash because it looks red and no blood just goo. He looks like he's sc
This presentation could be due to a trauma or localized spot of skin infection (likely to be caused by bacteria -hot spot-). A check up, appropriate disinfection and eventually antibiotics (oral, topical or in a shampoo formulation) are needed to solve the problem. Disinfection can eventually be started at home with very diluted hibiscrub or betadine or salted water baths. Buster collar may be useful as well to avoid scratching. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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