# Dogs have strange rash, not mange though.



## psyco (Jan 29, 2012)

Hey guys, my first post but been reading this forum for a while and you all seem to have some good information. My papillon just recently got a strange rash on her back kinda close to her rear leg. I took her to the vet and she said its not mange but put her on antibiotics and prednisone it worked for a while but when the medicine ran out my dog's rash has reoccurred and now my toy poodle has one similar. I'm thinking food allergy now? But it is winter here and the papillon normally has dry skin in winter but it is odd that my toy poodle now has the same rash. If anyone might know of what this rash might be it would be helpful. Thank you.


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## stacey101 (Sep 20, 2010)

I think the vet should of been able to tell you what it was exactly, however any chance you could post a photo or two of the rash? hard to identify without being able to see


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## psyco (Jan 29, 2012)

Sure I'll post a picture of both dogs rashes tomorrow. Ya vet didn't really say what she thought it might be just told me it wasn't mange.


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## psyco (Jan 29, 2012)

Here is the rash that my papillon has on her face and next to her leg. 



















My toy poodle has one similar under his leg but it is not as bad as the papillon's is.


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## stacey101 (Sep 20, 2010)

That looks itchy, i'd go back to the vet for more meds seeing this has yet to go away.


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

Poor thing .... I would go back to the vet.  My little Schnauzer/Poodle had something very similar looking two weeks ago and it was a bacterial infection in his skin due to impacted anal glands. He needed antibiotics. The vet also gave him an anti-itch/pain shot.


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## AmandaG30 (Jan 31, 2012)

He could have allergies. My Prince had a similar rash. He was also licking and scratching quite a bit. (He’s a Jack Russell). It turned out he had allergies – to a bunch of things – but we were feeding him a chicken-based food and he was allergic to chicken. We felt so bad! We changed his food and his rash cleared up very quickly. (He eats Natural Balance L.I.D. Potato & Duck dry food now and loooooves it). I’d highly recommend this food and it really helped my little guy. Best of luck!


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## Griffon (Jan 29, 2012)

It could be allergies, one of my Griffons is allergic to everything... summer is worse than winter, especially humid summers... she seems to be allergic to the grass, she is allergic to fleas... one flea bit and she will have a rash like what is on your dog... and down south we have had wet and mild winter, that the weather isn't helping, and I found a flea on one of the dogs the other day... And I do use monthly flea prevention etc. This dog is also allergic to certain shampoos, topical flea preparations and also vaccinations... when she has shots, she has to have an antihistamine shot as well, because the vaccine makes her get hives all over her and she goes crazy scratching.

I feed Buffalo Blue, the fish variety and also extra omega oil... fish oil is great and my dogs love it but being Griffons the fish oil sticks to their beards and they rub their beards all over the carpet, the couch, pillows on my bed etc... so easier to give omega oil capsules.

She has had this condition since she was about 12 months of age, and I keep prednisone pills on hand, and once in a while so that she doesn't make herself bleed from scratching so bad, I will put her on the prednisone for 3 or 4 days until itching and redness subside and then she is good again. I only use the prednisone as needed, she isn't on it all the time.

The strange thing is though that your other dog has developed it too, so sounds more like a bacterial or fungal type of condition.

You need to get your vet to try and get to the bottom of it... make sure there aren't any fleas at all, only takes one bite for a dog that is allergic to start to get itchy in that area and it seems the more they scratch the worse they get... During the warmer months, I go over my allergic dog every day with a flea comb, just in case... as well as use a topical application... revolution.... she is allergic to frontline and other treatments.


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## psyco (Jan 29, 2012)

Thank you all for the info, I did take both my dogs back to the vet and she doesn't know what it is. She is pretty sure it isn't allergies since both dogs now have it which now has me worried. So far the dogs are on prednisone and some anitbiotics. I just recently discovered this on the belly of my papillon 










I kinda thought it looks like a pimple but I wasnt' sure. So far vet says no proof of fleas or mites, still guessing :frusty:


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

I am glad you took them back.  Maybe the prednisone will clear it up and the antibiotics in case of infection. It is soooo frustrating not knowing! I wish our dogs could talk .......  

The scabs on my wet dogs back in the photo looked like the sores on the first picture you posted before it turned into the scabs after the antibiotics .... I am still trying to clear Leeo's back up.  I may need to make a return vet visit myself. 

It sure is frustrating.


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## lulusmom (Nov 12, 2008)

It looks like sarcoptic mange to me. It is highly contagious, extremely itchy and dogs can pick it up anywhere they are near an infected dog. My last shelter dog had an advanced case and the mites never showed up on five separate skin scrapes. Demodectic mites are usually present on skins scrapes but sarcoptic mites are not. We treat with Revolution, a topical flea treatment containing selamectin which kills mites. Unfortunately, we had to treat 30 dogs who had been exposed to this one dog. I would recommend that you call your vet and talk about the possibility of sarcoptic mange. Vets usually have specialist they consult with so if your vet is unfamiliar with the condition, I would hope s/he would discuss it with a derm vet. Give those pictures to your vet so s/he can send them to the specialist. For dogs who have obvious infestations, the derm vet recommends three applications two weeks apart. Yeast infections are common so bathing with an antifungal shampoo is recommended as well. My dogs were not showing any signs but it usually takes two weeks after exposure for a dog to become itchy so they got treated too.


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## mporcelina (Oct 12, 2013)

I think it is likely your vet is wrong. No big deal it happens  Some forms of mange can be hard to diagnose sometimes because all dogs have some of these mites on them naturally. Also, the bacterial infection can occur for countless reasons, and one reason is the mites burrowed in the skin that causes mange...that's what the little pimple looks like to me. Try this-do some "home" remedy treatments for mange and see if that clears it. First night apply olive oil to the affected areas and leave on all night (this is to suffocate the mites if they are in fact there) In the morning shampoo with sulfur or coal tar (anti dandruff) shampoo. Go slow and be gentel, hopefully you will be sluffing dead mites away. Day two apply a hydrogen peroxide/borax (see below) solution to the area instead of olive oil. alternate back and forth day to day for as long as 2 weeks, if its helping of course. also you can go without shampooing on the peroxide days if you want to take a break. cost you no more than $10 and its worth a try because whatever it is will only get worse if not treated properly, right? I hope this is helpful, i have seen this so many times! Good luck to all three of you * 1 Part Hydrogen Peroxide 2 Parts water enough Borax so it just barely stops dissolving in the mix, a little gritty


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