Petco Text Logo
Petco Pet Logo

  • Two Easy Ways to Start Earning Rewards!

My dog has a painful open wound on her face. Could it be infected?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Labrador Retriever | Female | unspayed | 1 year and 4 months old | 50 lbs

My lab has an unexplainable open wound on the side of her face. Noticed this on Monday. Seems to be scabbing over but still looks very painful and sore

This question includes photos that may contain sensitive content. Click to view.

View more to consider that the photos may include sensitive content.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Image profile

Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on July 5th, 2020

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Bree and for providing pictures, they are very helpful. I agree, that sore looks very painful and sore, and I'm concerned it could be infected. This should not be treated at home. I would take her into a vet immediately to get this treated. If it is infected, the vet can prescribe antibiotics. Please take her into a vet now. Best of luck.

Vote icon

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Questions

Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Hello, my dog’s wound was healing very well and did not have any signs of inflammation or drainage. However, this is its current state and I am wondering if it is infected?
Hello and thank you for contacting Boop by Petco. It is very hard to say if the wound is infected or not without examining your dog in full. In general, infected wounds are discharging, smelly, hot and painful to touch. Many dogs with infected wounds are generally unwell. A visit at your local vets is recommended to assess the wound and decide on the best treatment for Oreo. I suspect he may be prescribed an antibiotic cream or ointment to speed up healing.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My dog Pookie has a sore/ wound on his upper lateral thigh - appeared yesterday - no known trauma. He had a flea bath and preventative medication applied about a week ago. I cut back his hair to get a better picture - doesn’t seem too painful when be
From the pictures, the skin appears red and inflamed. It does look like it is infected. While this may not be a true emergency, I would recommend getting in to see your veterinarian very soon. Pookie will need the area shaved and cleaned up. Your vet may prescribe an antibiotic for this as well depending. Until you can get to your vet, you can keep the area clean and dry and use a mild soap and water to clean the wound. If Pookie is licking it, you can put on ECollar on her to prevent licking.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Open sore on dog after grooming. How should I care for it. Ty
Thanks for using Boop by Petco! I am afraid that this is an open wound and will require further local therapy with debridement, cleaning, stitches, antibiotics and pain control medications. I recommend that you have Coco evaluated by a veterinarian as soon as possible for further assessment and treatment as these wounds are painful and can get infected easily. Good luck!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Hi can you please help me identify what this could be & how to treat it?? I found this wound or ulcer on my Kelpie yesterday. Do I urgently need to take her to the vet? Thanks
Hi there and thank you for using Boop by Petco to address your concern. This appears to be a wound but I am unsure as to where on the body it is located since the photo is zoomed in. Based on its appearance, I would recommend getting Charlie in to be seen by a veterinarian so that the most appropriate treatment recommendations can be made. The longer this goes unseen, the more risk there is for infection. I would recommend having this evaluated and potentially putting Charlie on antibiotics and pain medications to help treat this. I hope this helps!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Can u tell me what to do
Thanks for using Boop by Petco! This looks like a fairly superficial wound at least based on this picture. However, it would still be a good idea to have him evaluated by a veterinarian to look at it more closely in case it is deeper than what it looks like. Also, these can be painful and can get infected so your veterinarian could potentially start antibiotics and pain control medications. If superficial, these wounds tend to respond well to therapy and heal relatively quickly. Good luck and have a good night!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Are you able to tell me what this is or what may have caused this?
Hello and welcome to Boop by Petco. It is impossible to tell from the picture how this happened, or how deep it is, but what can be determined is that it is a severely infected wound. Possible causes are penetrating traumas (sticks, bites, etc.), some parasites/worms can cause wounds like this, and some tumors can present in abnormal ways, however that is less likely. I strongly recommend that you have Star seen by a vet as soon as possible, as the wound appears deep and is definitely infected. It needs to be cleaned up, explored, and medications provided. Best of luck with Star, I hope she feels better soon!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My dog has a weeping wound on her haunch about the size of a £2 coin. She had the same on her other haunch a week or two ago. Didn't do anything with the previous one but have rinsed and trimmed the hair off this one and it looks really bad. Does she
Ouch! Poor Bess! This area looks pretty infected and if she had one last week my suspicion is she had allergies or some other cause leading to these areas of bacterial dermatitis (hot spots). You can try to clip some of the hair away from the area and gently clean it but I think Bess will probably need to see a veterinarian to get oral antibiotics. I don't think she has to be seen right this instant but you should try to schedule within the next day or so. Use an e-collar to prevent her from licking the area and making the issue worse. Thanks for using Boop by Petco and I hope Bess' skin recovers quickly!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Honey skin is got infected This infection removes his skin and flesh
Thanks for using Boop by Petco! This is quite severe and Honey should be evaluated by a veterinarian as soon as possible as this is quite serious. They need to assess the wound thoroughly so that therapy can be recommended. Antibiotics, pain control medications and thorough cleaning are needed. I wish you and poor Honey all the best!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Hi. I have a 5 month old red nose crossed blue nose puppy. She got bitten by another dog on her forehead, between her eyes. A day later her forehead was quite swollen then, the next day it went down so I thought it was healing. Today being the 4th da
Hi there! Thanks for using Boop by Petco! Sorry to hear this. Dog attacks can be quite stressful. The main problem with bite wounds is that you have to let the wounds declare themselves before knowing exactly what is going to happen at the end. It sounds like Zara's wound got infected and has now formed an abscess. She can develop a fever from this and this can make her feel quite sick. Also, it would be ideal to know the true extent of her injuries. For this reason, I recommend that you have her evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Your veterinarian would be able to prescribe medications for pain control and also antibiotics to treat her infection which is the only way it can resolve. Good luck! Keeping my fingers crossed for a speedy recovery.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Is this an Infection? Do you think it's contagious? Yesterday she had a small cut in her snout or puncture wound and now all a sudden this today
Hello and welcome to Boop by Petco. There are no pictures uploaded with your question so I can't see, however if there was a puncture wound and it was from another animal then antibiotics are usually required as they usually become infected. Any swelling and 'squishyness' (a pocket of fluid under the skin) is a sign of infection as well as any pus (yellow/green/cream discharge). If these are present I would recommend having Onyx seen by a vet as antibiotics and anti-inflammatories are probably needed. Best of luck with Onyx.
Updated on September 24th, 2025

Related Searches

Dog Supplies Dog Medicine and Prescriptions Dog Pain Relief & Arthritis Meds Prescription Dog Antibiotics Dog Bandages & Wound Care Dog Health & Wellness Dog Pain Medicine & Relief Pet Pharmacy Dog Ear & Eye Medicine Heartworm Medicine for Dogs Sulfodene Dog Pain Medicine & Relief Remedy+Recovery Dog Bandages & Wound Care Dermalone Dog Medicine and Prescriptions Natural Dog Company Dog Pain Medicine & Relief HomeoPet Dog Pain Medicine & Relief Sulfodene Dog Health & Wellness Prednisone Dog Pain Relief & Arthritis Meds Sulfodene Dog First Aid & Recovery Vetericyn Dog Pain Medicine & Relief Amlodipine Dog Pain Relief & Arthritis Meds
image
Have A Vet Question?

Book an appointment with the pros – our expert vets are here to help.

Book Now

Sponsored