My dog's vaginal area is red. Should I see a vet or treat it at home?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Dog | Shih Tzu | Female | spayed | 10 years and 7 months old | 18 lbs
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.
4 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on September 4th, 2019
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!
18Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
-
Published on November 1st, 2019
Hi, and thanks for your question. Even though a picture could help to determine the underlying cause, this presentation could be due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. 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!
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
-
Published on April 10th, 2017
This is probably due to a severe allergy, although it could also be an infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment (advocate or advantage), 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, pollins, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair the skin lesions (steroids and antibiotics). Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation (where you can post pictures ) if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
-
Published on July 28th, 2019
Hi, and thanks for your question. This could be due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. 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!
12Pet Parents found this answer helpful
My 8lb Bichon has red and inflamed vaginal area? She keeps licking it. Is there anything I can do?
Hello! 16 y/o shih tzu owner here in need of help. Recently I noticed that there's irritation around my dog's vulva and I've got different answers from different sources on goggle therefore I'm not sure what it is and what to treat it with. Help will
My dog keeps licking her genitalia area it’s turning red and she also chews on her paws and nails
I have a pitbol and she is a female her bottom is red and swollen and it has covered half of her butt hole
My dogs vagina is red and I’m not sure why she just started today please help!
Ellie was spayed 1 month ago and we noticed a little redness around her pee area the day she came home. Lately, I’ve noticed the red area seeming more irritated as she’s licking it more and it’s getting bigger. What could this be and are there any ho
My dog has a small red spot on her vulva. She seems to be urinating fine. No problem eating. She licks it a little more than normal. When she was around 1-2 she had yeast infection in her ear. Is this something I can treat at home with cleaning it an
My dog has been licking her tummy excessively, as well as chewing on her paws, and hips. She has irritated spots on her tummy that are bright red. No blood, or open wounds, but the skin is very red. She has the same thing beneath her paws. I put 50%
My dog are redness around her vagina and butt hole, she is dragging her butt on the floor, licking and itching constantly
Missy developed little red scabs on and around her vagina soon after her 2nd menstrual cycle. She doesn’t bother them, and I tried gently scraping them off as suggested by a vet but they did not come off. After looking more closely doesn’t appear to
Book an appointment with the pros – our expert vets are here to help.
