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What causes red bumps and constant itching on my French Bulldog?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | French Bulldog | Male | unneutered | 6 months and 17 days old | 15 lbs

Our Frenchie bulldog is experiencing red bumps on his legs and stomach and Scratching constantly. It’s been like this for a few days and have worsen. I gave him children’s Benadryl to calm down the itching but it worked for a little while then bumps got worse. What could cause this and treatments should use?. Please see pictures.

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Ricardo Fernandez, DVM

Veterinarian, Veterinary Oncology Resident

Published on July 9th, 2019

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 his allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed. There are medications such as Apoquel or prednisone which may help with the itch. 

 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!

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Other Answers

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    Answered By David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS

    Veterinarian

    Published on September 13th, 2017

    This is probably caused by an allergic reaction. first of all make sure you de-flea Bandit regularly every month with a high quality spot on (ex. Advantage) as fleas are by far the most common reason for these reactions. If the fleas are not the problem, it could be an allergic reaction to food or an environmental factor. this is more complicated to treat and will sometimes require medications such as Steroids, anti histamines or Apoquel in order to stop the allergy.

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