Red, Swollen & Crusty Dog Rash with Sores on Belly & Hind Legs

Hi Nicole,
Your female Pit bull has a superficial dermatitis. This is caused by bacteria in the skin proliferating in the skin fold areas (she appears that she may be a bit overweight, helping her to lose weight will decrease skin folds).

Due to her sparse hair coat, there may be moisture, friction and/or irritation in these skin fold areas which would be causing this ‘dermatitis’ to develop. The treatment is to keep her CLEAN!

1. Bathe 1-2 times per week with a mild baby shampoo, for the next 3-6 weeks. Rinse and dry her well.

2. Follow with baby powder or corn starch, or an astringent such as witch hazel in these areas to decrease friction and keep the area dry.

3. She may need to wear men’s cotton boxer shorts (put her tail through the fly) to keep her clean.

4. Her diet should be a RAW and/or canned diet. NO DRY DOG food.

5. Consider immune support with some or all of the following supplements:

1. Missing Link Canine Formula
2. Immuplex from Standard Process
3. OrthoMolecular Specialties, Mega C Powder

For the Immuplex, open and sprinkle one capsule in her food two times daily.

6. NO VACCINATIONS should be given to her this year. If she is due for a rabies, seek the help of a holistic veterinarian to write an exemption.

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

Related Pages:
– Dog Skin Conditions
– 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.

I know its been a while since you posted this, but since it took my vet a long time to figure it out, maybe you’re in the same boat and still trying to figure it out, too! There’s a chance your dog has ringworm. The picture of your dogs skin condition took me back in time. It looks EXACTLY like what my dog had. It took several visits to the vet trying to solve the problem. First he thought it was a standard skin rash. When all the changes didn’t correct it, the vet said it could be diet or environmental allergies causing itching and sores, but my dog didn’t really scratch himself often. When that didn’t work the vet finally took a skin culture and it came back positive for ringworm. It took almost a year to figure out what it was because we had to give all the changes in diet environment shampoo benedryl etc time to work before knowing if it was solved. It was a pain to get rid off, but on the positive side, I didn’t have to buy expensive medicine. Regular anti athletes foot topical ointment kills the same fungus as ringworm. The trick is to be 100% consistent and address the all the things your dog touches. The fungus can live on any surface. Carpet tile wood couch rug dog bed, you name it. So even if u get rid of it on your dogs skin, it’ll keep coming back if they lay on anything with the fungus on it. Oh what a pain!!

Dear Anonymous,
Regarding your own experiences with ‘ringworm’ (a fungus found in the skin in dogs, see our page https://www.organic-pet-digest.com/dog-skin-conditions.html#Parasites), I am glad that you were able to have it diagnosed and correctly treated.

Although, I would like to comment on what you wrote,
“Regular anti athletes foot topical ointment kills the same fungus as ringworm.”

This may be the ‘easy’ solution in humans, but for my animal patients I do not recommend topical ointments. Dogs and cats will lick off all topicals, so oral medication is what I will recommend, such a Fulvicin (griseofulvin). This is not holistic, but in some cases I will use it while supporting the rest of the patient’s immune system, improving diet, etc.

I do agree with the rest of your statement! Very true!

“The trick is to be 100% consistent and address the all the things your dog touches. The fungus can live on any surface. Carpet tile wood couch rug dog bed, you name it. So even if u get rid of it on your dogs skin, it’ll keep coming back if they lay on anything with the fungus on it.”

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