Red Rash on Dog’s Underbelly

Hi Jennie,
What a great background history! And a good photo, too. It seems that when you adopted your dog he already had some health issues.

Often, when adopting from the pound or shelter, they will give numerous vaccinations. Giving more than one vaccine at a time can cause problems. But the main goal of the shelter is to find a good home for a dog, so the pound will often try to ‘compress’ a number of treatments and vaccinations very close together in order to get the dog adopted.

You did not mention if your dog received any vaccines. But he was treated with numerous medicines for earmites, conjunctivitis and kennel cough. These medicines would have suppressed his symptoms (of kennel cough and eye discharge), and this was followed by the hair loss, and now the skin eruptions, and itching.

Certainly a change of environment, exposures to irritants, allergens in the air, pollen, grass, etc. might continue to trigger his itching. And where the rash is located on his underbelly would be where he is coming into contact with an irritant by laying on it.

Going back to when he was ‘suppressed’ from the medicines received at the shelter, and possibly vaccinated, may be the key to start treatment holistically.

Your diet change to a grain-free food is a logical choice, but you might consider a raw natural dog food diet for him, and avoid DRY dog food.

Primal, Nature’s Variety, Barfworld.com, auntjeni.com, are some of the raw foods you could consider, among others.

I would not use the Frontline. Decrease the Heartgard to every 45 days.

It is ok to add the Omega 3 fish oil for dogs, about 250 mg two times daily to the food.

And use a mild shampoo to bathe him, like Baby shampoo, or an oatmeal shampoo would be fine. Bathe him once a week, or even 2 times per week, if it seems to relieve the itching.

Rinse his eyes 2-3 times daily with Saline, purchased from a local pharmacy. You can use the Benadryl as needed to provide some relief, the dose is 1 mg per lb 2-3 times daily. Therefore, if he weighs 25 lbs, the over the counter Benadryl is 25 mg per pill. So he would need one pill 2-3 times daily.

Answer continued below…

…continued from above:

Dog homeopathic remedies like Nux vomica, and Pulsatilla are good remedies to use for suppression of symptoms. Followed by Sulphur, Silicea or Thuya for vaccinosis. But once a homeopathic remedy is started, the ‘conventional’ drugs should be decreased or stopped. They might interfere with the remedy action.

Which of these remedies to choose should be determined by a holistic veterinarian. Specifically, one that practices homeopathy in your area.

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.

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

Hi, there’s no date to this query, so maybe you’ve found the cause by now. When I read that you’d used CarpetFresh, it reminded me of the time that all my cats (4) developed severe diarrhoea after I’d used CarpetFresh when it first came on the market. All the stool samples that the vet analysed came back negative for infection and it was only in discussion with him, that I wondered if it was the CarpetFresh. I stopped using it, hoovered all carpets thoroughly, and the diarrhoea cleared up. It may present different symptoms in dogs, but it’s a possible cause. I now use no chemicals when I clean, and my dog and cats have no diarrhoea or skin complaints. Hope this helps shed some light. Margaret

Hi Margaret,
Regarding the Carpet Fresh as a possible source of diarrhea in your cats, you wrote,

“It may present different symptoms in dogs, but it’s a possible cause.”

You are correct in noting that because dogs and cats are a different species, they will present with many different responses to irritants, allergies, drugs, etc.

Glad that you were able to solve your problem with your cats!

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.