My dog has painful boils on skin folds. What to do without a vet?

Hello. The area is definitely irritated & probably infected. Clean the area with a skin antiseptic, one with either chlorhexidine or benzoyl peroxide as the main ingredient. If Wangu is licking the area, pick up an Elizabethan cone or collar to wear so he cannot reach the spot. Do not administer any medications until your vet has had a chance to examine the area. To help with pain & discomfort, take a bag of frozen vegetables like peas, wrap in a tea towel & hold against the area for 10 minutes several times during the day. The cold will numb the area giving him some relief. Once your vet sees this, I am sure he will start antibiotics & possibly advise other treatments. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

This looks like an area of moist dermatitis, or hot spot. They get these from licking or rubbing an area of skin that was irritated from an insect bite, allergy or injury. To treat this I recommend trimming the fur around the area, then cleaning off the discharge with warm water and antibacterial soap. Once it’s rinsed and dried you can apply a thin film of antibacterial ointment on it. The most important thing is to prevent her from scratching or rubbing this area so it can heal. Use a cone if needed. If it’s not improving then I recommend a veterinary exam and treatment. They may give medication to prevent the itching, and possible a topical spray or ointment to dry up the skin. Hot spots are common in Goldens so I’d have a cone and medication on hand to treat these at home before they get bad. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Daisy.

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to hear about Boondi. This is a bacterial infection caused by a staphylococcus organism which is a normal skin resident. This is very common in puppies due to an immature immune system, nutritional/intestinal parasite problems, and environmental causes. I would advise taking the puppy to your veterinarian for an examination. Your vet can advise you on treating this condition and also on providing the best preventive health care (vaccines, deworming, etc). If you cannot get to a veterinarian, I would advise a benzoyl peroxide medicated shampoo. Lather her up well with the shampoo and leave the lather on for 10 minutes so it can work. Rinse very well. Repeat this 2-3 times weekly until improvement occurs then decrease to once weekly until gone. She might need antibiotics to help clear this up. Good luck

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Dutchess. She may need to see a veterinary dermatologist if you are not having much luck with her regular veterinarian. Paws are commonly affected by allergic skin disease. This can be an environmental allergy or a dietary allergy. Some dogs suffer from both. I recommend allergy testing to environmental allergens such as weeds, pollens, grasses and molds specific to your area. She should also do a prescription diet trial for 8-12 weeks. She may require longterm management of her symptoms. However, reaching a diagnosis will make this easier. I hope this information helps!

Keeping the cone on Simba for now until you can get him to the vet is a good idea. He will likely need antibiotics to help the hotspot clear up. Also, depending on how severe the infection is, the area may need to be clipped and clean with the antiseptic solution. Sometimes the swelling and inflammation is so severe that dog will also need a steroid injection or a course of steroids to take at home to help it heal more quickly. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

It is concerning that these boils are not going away, and it's time to see a vet for them. I would not apply anymore pressure to them, and keep Nelly from licking them. Take her into the vet first thing Monday so the cause of the boils can be diagnosed and treated.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly due to allergies. This is quite severe and warrants therapy. The likely secondary infections need to to be addressed and the itchiness also need to be addressed to prevent this issue from getting worse. Medications like prednisone can be used for the itchiness and antibiotics for the infections. In the meantime, you can use an e-collar in the meantime to prevent further self-trauma. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing his allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!