My dog's vaginal area is red. Should I see a vet or treat it at home?

Question

Hello, I just noticed redness on my dogs vaginal area and was wondering if it was infection, or from her licking it. It’s not wet, but I did notice last night she was rubbing her butt on the floor so maybe it’s carpet burn? I’m just wondering if she should see a vet or if I can resolve it at home. It doesn’t seem to bother her right now. Pet's info: Dog | Shih Tzu | Female | spayed | 10 years and 7 months old | 18 lbs

Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS · Accepted Answer

Hi, and thanks for your question. This could be due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. Not only the vaginal area is inflamed but it seems that the ventral abdomen is involved as well. She is probably itchy but these redness areas do not seem inflamed because of the rubbing. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment, then ask 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 to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). 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!

My dog's vaginal area is red. Should I see a vet or treat it at home?

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