Rash on belly or hotspots?
 

Hello everyone. This is my first time posting on a pet forum, but my dog seems to be in no immediate danger/health risk so I thought I'd seek out help from fellow pet owners before making a run to my vet and paying a ton of $$$ (I've recently hit financial hardship so I try to save where I can).

Anyway. A few days ago, I noticed a couple of pink spots on my dog's stomach area near his groin. It didn't seem like much, I thought he may have just scratched a little too hard. However, the next day the pink kind of developed into a light red and seemed to be more prominent. My boy is a 2 year old German Shepherd/Golden Retriever mix, and has once had a bad case of hot spots around his neck. I figured this red "rash" couldn't be hot spots as it wasn't oozing puss or giving off any foul odor. But I've been doing some research online that may lead me to believe he may have hotspots again possibly triggered by allergies?

His behavior is completely normal, as is his stools (there was one single time where he had diarrhea, but he had gotten into the garbage the previous night and there were no times after that one time where he had diarrhea). He doesn't really itch the spot, but I have put coconut oil on the rash so maybe it's relieved itchiness? He doesn't lick his belly more than he usually does, but recently I've noticed that when he does lick the rash area, it gets more red.

Before I rush to the vet, I just wanted to get some advice from people that may or may not have had any experiences similar to mine. I've attached a picture of his rash as well.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Well, could be flea bites. I don't see any flea dirt but a good combing might show some of little buggers.

My dog recently had Folliculitis and he looked like that but all over his groin and stomach. We treated him holistically and some topical applications we used to calm the itch and dry up the pustules (they did become pustules on him) were 50/50 witch hazel/strong black tea (cooled). Or 50/50 organic apple cider vinegar/water. Both of these helped but had to be applied many times a day. He was getting better till the OH put some vaseline intensive care lotion on his spots and they all surged up again.

Now that I have dealt with spots like that I would self treat but of course the only way to know for sure what you are dealing with is to VEt. We did Vet, that's where I got the tea recipe.

[url]http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/skin/c_multi_contact_dermatitis[/url]




I found this web site and said there been an increase in GS dogs getting rashes , I did not check the date of this site so I hope it's not outdated.

It does kinda look like a hotspot, but skin things are annoying - could be a number of things :/

Have a watch, it may help.

[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVQWqH1IvME[/url]

[QUOTE=MaxaLisa;1068737]It does kinda look like a hotspot, but skin things are annoying - could be a number of things :/[/QUOTE]

I wonder if the urine is causing the rash , does her pee smell strong to you ?

[QUOTE=Longblades;1068709]Well, could be flea bites. I don't see any flea dirt but a good combing might show some of little buggers.

My dog recently had Folliculitis and he looked like that but all over his groin and stomach. We treated him holistically and some topical applications we used to calm the itch and dry up the pustules (they did become pustules on him) were 50/50 witch hazel/strong black tea (cooled). Or 50/50 organic apple cider vinegar/water. Both of these helped but had to be applied many times a day. He was getting better till the OH put some vaseline intensive care lotion on his spots and they all surged up again.

Now that I have dealt with spots like that I would self treat but of course the only way to know for sure what you are dealing with is to VEt. We did Vet, that's where I got the tea recipe.[/QUOTE]

I highly doubt it's fleas. He's up to date with his flea & tick repellants, I've searched and found nothing on him, and we also have two cats who don't seem to be having any reactions to fleas either. However, I've read up on folliculitis, and it may be the culprit... The rash has gotten better, but it's still not gone, so I may end up going to the vet.

[QUOTE=rhynes;1068738]Have a watch, it may help.

[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVQWqH1IvME[/url][/QUOTE]

Thanks! That was informative. The only reason why I'm ruling out hotspots is because there's no open wound. But maybe I prevented it going any further by applying a topical cream to the rash?

[QUOTE=Barkingdog;1068743]I wonder if the urine is causing the rash , does her pee smell strong to you ?[/QUOTE]

My baby is a he :P But no, his urine doesn't smell strong to me at all. Would urine on his skin cause a rash?


[B]Update:[/B] I've applied Polysporin to his rash, as well as given him some Benadryl (my cousin apparently had something similar happen to his Lab so he suggested I give it a try), and it seems to have gotten a little better. His rash no longer has those visible bright red marks all over it. Instead, the skin in that area is a slightly brighter pink than his usual skin color. Does that mean it's getting better? I've never dealt with rashes on dogs before, so I'm unsure how long it takes to heal, or what it looks like during the healing process. Any input would be great!