How do I treat a rash on my dog s belly

Dog belly rash? Heres how to soothe it

Dogs get belly rashes for a variety of reasons. Without pinpointing the exact cause, treatment can be ineffective and leave your pup still scratching and chewingso its essential to find the underlying cause. When your vet examines your dog, theyll be searching for signs of certain causes as the culprit for their belly rash.

Skin infections

Skin infections are one of the most common causes of belly rashes in dogs. These infections can be caused by multiple pathogens, like bacteria or yeast. A common type of bacterial skin infection is pyodermaTrusted SourceVCA HospitalsCommunity of veterinarians with up-to-date veterinary information.Go to source or impetigo. It can cause pimple-like, pus-filled lesions, and crusty, dry, flaky skin.

A pyoderma infection, on the other hand, is often caused by the staph species of bacteria, which usually occurs because of bacterial infiltration that stems from the skins surface. If the skin has been traumatized, such as through a cut, licking, or chewing, bacteria can multiply.

Fungal skin infections

Fungal infections, like ringworm and yeast infections, are also common. Ringworm is characterized by circular lesions that are usually hairless. These spots can appear red and scabby and generally dont cause itching, but that isnt always the case.

Keep in mind that ringworm is contagious and can be passed from your pup to you and other pets in your household.

Yeast dermatitis, caused by the fungus Malassezia pachydermatis, can appear as thickened, scaly, or flaky skin. Changes in skin pigmentation, a musty smell, itching, and redness are also common. Youll probably need antifungal medication from your vet to fully resolve this type of issue.

Excessive heat

Like people, dogs can also develop heat rashes. Often caused by the Staphylococcus bacteria, heat rashes can flare up in hot, humid weather. Heat rashes most commonly pop up in areas where the skin rubs, like under the tail, the neck, and the ears. Typically, a heat rash will start as mild skin irritation (or hot spot), which leads to excessive scratching. With time, it can progress to pimples or scabs that have a foul odor.

To soothe the heat rash, soak a washcloth in cool or room temperature water and apply it to the affected area as it may provide temporary relief from any inflammation.

Dont apply ice packs directly to your pets skin. Instead, wrap packs in a dry towel or washcloth to create a cold compress.

Allergies

A belly rash is a common sign of allergies in dogs. Pets who are allergic to certain fabrics, shampoos, cleaners, fertilizers, and other chemicals can develop itchy, red skin and pimple-like bumps on their stomach.

Seasonal allergies can also cause belly rashes on your pup. If your dog has an allergic reaction to grass, pollen, weeds, or trees, they may develop a belly rash after playing in the yard.

Parasites

Parasites, like fleas, ticks, and mites, can cause your pup to break out in a belly rash. Bug bites and stings from ants, bees, and wasps can also lead to irritated skin, and mites in particular can lead to painful conditions like sarcoptic mange. In the cases of bites or bug-related irritation, youll likely notice hair loss, hot spots, scabs, or a rash on your dogs lower back, hind legs, and tail base.

Keep in mind that fleas like to hang out on your dogs hind end, though, so they may not cause an abdominal rash.

How Do I Treat a Rash on My Dogs Belly?

Youre on the couch gently scratching your pooch when suddenly you realize she has a rash, bumps or acne-type lesions on her belly. Uh-oh what does this mean? Do you know how to treat a dog skin rash? How can you help her get rid of it?

Causes of Dog Belly Rashes

• The four most typical causes of a belly rash are:
  • • • Allergic or contact dermatitis
      • Bacterial or fungal infection
      • Parasites like fleas or mites
      • Heat rash

Allergic or Contact Dermatitis

The best way to avoid getting a rash as a result of these allergies is to avoid the allergen.

Your dog may have eaten or inhaled something like mold, or pollen, or come into contact with poison ivy, fertilizer, road salt, hay, or other irritant. The subsequent rash is often itchy, so your dog will try to relieve the sensation with excessive scratching, biting or licking. And because its an allergic reaction, multiple other symptoms can shortly plague your dog, including watery eyes, sneezing, paw-licking or biting, diarrhea and vomiting, and hair loss.

It appears that certain dog breeds have a higher risk of suffering from allergies, including terriers, German Shepherds, Standard poodles, golden retrievers, and breeds with flat faces like the Pug, Bull-Dog and Boston Terrier.

Clearly the best way to avoid getting a rash as a result of these allergies is to avoid the allergen as much as possible. As a preventative, vacuum frequently, bathe your dog with a hypoallergenic shampoo or a gentle but dynamic medicated Shampoo such as Banixx. Consider a change in her diet, etc. Moreover, if you feel the rash is the result of an external source such as poison ivy or other plants, avoid those areas where those plants may be growing. If they happen go be your backyard, its best to simple remove them.

If the rash persists, consult with your veterinarian. She may be able to pinpoint more clearly what the allergen is or might even diagnose another condition altogether (see below).

For more on treating dog skin allergies, click here.

Bacterial or fungal infections

A Vet may take skin samples or scrapings to determine the type of infection.

Sometimes the cause of a rash is a bacterial, fungal or yeast infection, which gets started as the result of a cut or scrape. Or, it may be due to too much moisture in her environment (summer swimming) or even a dietary intolerance to your dogs current food. These infections usually cause lesions that look like pimples, or alternatively will show up as crusty, scaly, flaky skin. All of which may be itchy or painful. Your dog could also suffer hair loss and inflammation and be entirely miserable.

Ringworm is a type of fungus infection that shows up as circular, bald patch lesions that have a red ring. Sometimes they are scabby too. Be careful this particular type of infection is contagious and can be passed on to your other pets and YOU! For more information on dog ringworm, click here.

A visit to your Vet may result in her taking skin samples or skin scrapings to see if the infection is fungal or bacterial. He/she will then prescribe antibiotics and/or anti-fungal medications where appropriate.

One type of bacterial infection that can look like small, pus-filled bumps on your dogs belly is impetigo. This usually affects puppies rather than older dogs. The bacteria staphylococcus causes patches of infection to appear in hairless sections of the stomach. The lesion is filled with pus that oozes and then crusts over. It can be very painful. It is also contagious, so keep an eye on the health of the skin of your other animals. To cure it, youll need to use a chlorhexidine-type solution or, much simpler, get our Banixx chlorhexidine based medicated shampoo. But, its always a good idea to consult with your veterinarian to make sure youre on the right track and using the right products.

For more on bacterial or fungal infections, see our page here.

Fleas, Mites and Ticks

Controlling those pesky bugs is your number one priority!

Your dogs belly rash may be the result of bites from fleas, mites, ticks and other insects. Flea saliva is an especially potent cause of allergic reaction in dogs leading to everything from itchy red bumps to hot spots and hair loss.

When youre searching for answers about how to treat my dogs skin rash, heres where to start: Controlling those pesky fleas is your number one priority if you want to prevent misery in your dog. If your dog is left untreated for fleas, they will take up residence in your home and even eventually bite you! There is a wide variety of flea shampoos and topical or systemic treatments that are available from your veterinarian. Also, be sure to wash your dogs bedding with a mild bleach solution (and clear water rinse). And remember, its not just in the summertime flea control is something you may need to do year-round.

If the bites are caused by mites, you may be looking at a case of mange. This can cause a rash on your dogs skin, including the belly and groin. You will need to go to the vet to get an anti-parasitic medication to kill the mites. Mites may be contagious so act quickly to determine what type of mite is involved. Treatment is very simple and quickly achieved for your dog. Again, its a good idea to wash your dogs bedding with a bleach solution followed by a clear water rinse. Along with the anti-parasitic medication prescribed by your Vet, you can use Banixx Pet Care as a soothing, calming product for your dogs skin.

Heat Rash

Heat rash is also caused by the staphylococcus bacteria.

Just like with impetigo (see Bacterial Infections above), heat rash is also caused by the staphylococcus bacteria. It looks like a red rash on your dogs belly. It can also appear on the back, folds of skin, under the tail and neck, and near her ears. Hot, humid weather conditions tend to be perfect conditions for this skin malady to flare up.

Heat rash starts off as a skin irritation that causes your dog to scratch a lot. Then it progresses from a rash to boils, pimples, scabs and a nasty smell. If your dog is scratching constantly, he can easily create a sore that can develop into a secondary infection. With that in mind, start your dogs heat rash treatment as quickly as possible to prevent it from morphing into something more serious. Wondering how to treat heat rash on dogs? First, your vet should be involved to make sure the diagnosis is correct. If it is heat rash, cool your dog off by applying cold compresses or ice packs (ice cubes wrapped in a wash cloth) to the area for about 10 minutes. Try to do this several times a day until the condition eases.

How To Treat Your Dogs Belly

Whether the rash is due to allergies, parasites, infections or heat rash, when youre wondering how do I treat a rash on my dogs belly, there is one sure-fire way to help heal the damage and soothe the irritation. Its Banixx Pet Care that works on contact and usually relieves the itch within a day or two (results might vary from case to case).

Banixx Pet Care works on contact and relieves the itch within a day or two.

It not only eases your dogs itchy skin but it also helps resolve the infection. Banixx is an anti-fungal/antibacterial formula eliminates the environment in which bacteria or fungus can grow.

Simply apply Banixx 2-3 times daily to your dogs rash, being sure to saturate your dogs skin. Massage it well into his skin. It is non-toxic, so if your dog licks it off after application, it will not harm him, though you will need to reapply so the Banixx spray has a good opportunity to work. A good tip here is to find an activity to distract your pup so that he doesnt lick it off such as going for a walk, playing ball or any favorite game. Or simply, take a dob of peanut butter and swiftly stick it to the roof of Fidos mouth. It will take her several minutes of continuous licking to absorb that treat!! Keeping her very busy!!

Banixx Pet Care is:

• • • Odor-free
    • Painless
    • Steroid and antibiotic-free
    • Not sticky or oily
    • Gentle on the skin, rash, eruptions
    • Proven effective

You may decide to follow this up with Banixx Wound Care cream that is not only anti-bacterial and anti-fungal but also contains moisturizing, rejuvenating, soothing marine collagen that smooths onto the skin as an effective medicated band-aid. Having now read about how Banixx can do so much for your dog, perhaps its time to consider making Banixx part of your pets first aid kit.

If you enjoyed this article, you canlearn more about taking care of other small pets by readinganotherblog; such as rabbit care.Or if you have ever wondered about something more frivolous such as if Monistat is effective on a dog ear yeast infection.or, more seriously,what if mydog eats a grape. On the other hand, you may be just want to learn how to maintain your best friends physical and mental health by reading our dog blog. Its full of well-researched, useful topics like how to maintain your dogs nails/claws or what about that annoying rash on Fidos belly? is it a cause for concern or a call to your Vet? we help you with these types of questions.

Sources

• • https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/dog-rash-on-belly/
  • https://dogshealthproblems.com/rash-on-a-dogs-belly/
  • https://www.dogscatspets.org/dogs/dog-rash-on-belly/dog-rash-belly-causes-pictures-treatment-rash-dogs-belly/
  • https://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/skin/c_multi_contact_dermatitis
  • https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/dog-rash-on-belly/
  • https://www.dogscatspets.org/dogs/heat-rash/heat-rash-dogs-symptoms-home-remedies-prevention/