Pinkish to Slightly Red Rash Under Dog Armpits

Hi Adam,
Molly looks like she has taken over your household! Can’t wait to see how she will look when she is FULL grown!

From the photos and the very thorough background history that you submitted, (thank you), I am suspicious that this ‘rash’ is a superficial pyoderma, due to bacteria, common in skin fold areas. The harness that you stopped 3-4 weeks ago, *may* have started some irritation, but from the picture of Molly wearing her harness, I am unable to tell from the photo if it is actually in contact with her armpit area.

Treatment for superficial pyoderma is as follows:
1. Clean with a mild soap such as a Baby shampoo, ONE time daily in her armpit area, (you do not have to give her an entire bath!) Rinse and dry well.
2. Continue to clean the area one time daily for 5 days, then 2 times per week for 2 weeks to completely clear it up.
3. Diet should be MORE than just dry food. The skin needs to have an internal source of moisture, therefore consider adding in some ‘canned’ Nature’s Balance to the dry, and/or consider adding in some RAW diet to her food. Considering her size, it might be cost prohibitive to have her on a totally RAW diet!!

See our page on 10 Best Dog Food Options, https://www.organic-pet-digest.com/10-best-dog-food-options.html.

4. Vaccinations are a MAJOR cause of stress to the system. At 6 months old, she has now completed ALL of the ‘series’ of Puppy vaccinations that breeders, and veterinarians give to a dog. As a Giant Breed dog, she is still growing and will not reach her full maturity until she is 2 1/2 years of age. Therefore, all of these vaccines have been given to her BEFORE her immune system has had a chance to mature! And have triggered a weakness in her immune system, the first symptom showing up here on her skin.

If the skin rash/pyoderma, does not clear up in the next 3 weeks, then I suggest treatment by a holistic veterinarian, for ‘vaccinosis’ and avoiding further vaccines until she is 3 years of age, (or consider antibody titers!) might be prudent.

Another resource for vets knowledgeable in homeopathy is AVH.org.

Please keep us posted by coming back to this page and clicking the ‘click here to add your own comments’ link below.

Take care,
Dr. Carol Jean Tillman

DISCLAIMER: This educational advice is based on the depth of your question and the picture you submitted. The above should never replace the advice of your local veterinarian, as they have the ability to evaluate your dog in person.

Try one capsule of fish oil for a month. Cleared my dog’s skin rash.

Hi Adam,
The anonymous suggestion to try fish oil capsules is a good one. Supplementing with Omega 3 fatty acids are another good way to moisturize the skin ‘from the inside’.

One capsule 1,000 mg per day would be a low dose for your growing Great Dane. But it would be better to start with a low dose and work your way up higher (you could go up to 3,000 mg per day).

Please keep us posted.

Take care,
Dr. Carol Jean Tillman

Related Pages:
– Dog Skin Rash,
– Ask a Vet Online Library – Dog Skin Rashes, Marks, Spots, Lesions & Patches (including itchy skin and mange) Section,

DISCLAIMER: The above should never replace the advice of your local veterinarian, as they have the ability to evaluate your dog in person.

Our shepherd had sensitivities. Soak them for about 5 minutes 3 (or more) times a day with a steeped tea bag (earl grey, tetley, whatever). It cleared up within 3 weeks both times it happened to our dog

My 2 yr old male daschund has developed a red rash under his is arms. He does not scratch or lick the area and the rash doesn’t not appear anywhere else. There has been no change to his diet besides a small decrease in the amount of food he is given since he is a few pounds over weight. I tried giving him a bath and cleaning the area but the rash has not gone away. Any ideas as to what this rash could be and how to treat it?

Ophelia Balan
International living

My pug developed these red rashes two weeks back !! She has been on antibiotics injections, skin ointments and anti allergy injections by the vet. But it has become bad to worse!! I gave her bath with benzoyl peroxide shampoo once a week !! She has been eating chicken rice n curd even since she was born !! However Delhi is experiencing rains n it is humid here too but we keep air conditioning on most of the time!! I am so worried!! What should I do ???

My pug developed these red rashes two weeks back !! She has been on antibiotics injections, skin ointments and anti allergy injections by the vet. But it has become bad to worse!! I gave her bath with benzoyl peroxide shampoo once a week !! She has been eating chicken rice n curd even since she was born !! However Delhi is experiencing rains n it is humid here too but we keep air conditioning on most of the time!! I am so worried!! What should I do ??? Pls anyone suggest!!

August 18, 2015

Hi Vinita,
Thanks for your question. I’m happy to help, but we only accept new questions from subscribers (the original question above was from a subscriber). Also, I no longer am the consulting veterinarian for Organic Pet Digest.

Hopefully, there is a holistic veterinarian in India that is located close to you, that could treat your dog with homeopathic remedies.

Take care,
Dr. Carol Jean Tillman