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My dog has inflamed patches after bath. Is it serious or ringworm?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Shih Tzu | Female | spayed | 13 years and 7 months old | 18.02 lbs

Hi while giving my dog a bath, I noticed these large inflamed patches. I’m wondering if it’s something serious or ringworm?

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Lotus Altholtz

Veterinarian, Board-Certified Lab Animal Medicine Specialist

Published on March 9th, 2019

Those look like pyoderma/bacterial skin infection erythematous (red) collarettes. The treatment is typically a 10 day course of prescription Simplicef (cefpodoxime) oral antibiotic, a medicated antibacterial/antifungal shampoo such as Malaseb (available on chewy.com or petco.com) every 2-3 days for 2 weeks and a topical prescription antibiotic/steroid ointment such as Dermavet. Your vet will likely be able to dispense all 3 after an exam if it is confirmed to a bacterial skin infection. Fungal infections are zoonotic/transmissible to humans and typically present as circular areas of complete hair loss that are often scaly. Good luck!

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    Answered By Lotus Altholtz

    Veterinarian, Board-Certified Lab Animal Medicine Specialist

    Published on March 3rd, 2019

    It could be a ringworm (fungal) lesion. Ringworm is unfortunately zoonotic which means that people can get it too. I recommend bringing Nixon to your vet for a ringworm fungal culture (which often takes up to 7-10 days for confirmation) and topical miconazole lotion to apply twice daily for 2-3 weeks in the meantime. Definitely avoid touching it in the meantime. Other possible causes could be a bacterial infection /collarette lesion or mange. Mange can be ruled out by starting Nixon on oral Nexgard/Simparica or Bravecto flea/tick prevention which also treats mange (mite) infections. Bacterial collarettes usually come in multiples, however. Good luck! Nixon is a gorgeous dog!

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