My dog has a sudden allergic skin reaction. Is it an emergency?

It looks as if your dog has a skin infection, most commonly caused by an allergy, a skin mite (Demodex) or fleas. 

The allergy could be a due to a protein in your dog’s food or an environmental allergy like to dust, pollens, grasses, etc. 

The allergy causes your dog to itch and chew at the skin which breaks down the skin barrier. This then leads to infection. Skin infections are typically characterized by large areas of hair loss, redness, crusting, flaking, and pustules. A thorough skin examination by your veterinarian should be able to determine the cause of the itch so it can be treated appropriately. Your dog will most likely need antibiotics to help clear up the infection and possibly an allergy/anti-itch medication like Apoquel, Atopica, or Cytopoint to give some relief while the infection clears up. A medicated shampoo may be beneficial as well. I would also recommend he be on a good flea control routinely too. Once the infection has resolved a long term allergy medication (like Apoquel or Cytopoint) can be given on a regular basis to prevent any future problems. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.


Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. From the pictures it appears that Dune may be dealing with a skin infection. If you are unable to get him in to be seen by the veterinarian, I would recommend the below products, which can all be found online quite easily. Do this for about 3-4 weeks and if there is no improvement, I would recommend having a veterinarian examine Dune so that the most appropriate treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. 1. Douxo PS Chlorhexidine Combination and bathe twice weekly until resolved 2. Malacetic conditioning spray and apply 2-3 times per day on the affected areas until resolved 3. Welactin omega 3 fish oil capsules for dogs 4. Essential 6 Spot On by Dermoscent

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. There seems to be two different types of 'spots' on Baxter. The pinky raised ones look like an allergic reaction, and the type that is usually caused by a bug bite. This would also make his ears swell and maybe his face including his muzzle/jowels and around his eyes. This will go away with time, and you can give him Benedryl as well, at a dose of 2mg/kg (which is about 50mg for a dog of Baxter's size). Please make sure the only active ingredient is Diphenhydramine, and that you don't get a 'non-drowsy' version as these have other drugs that are VERY toxic to dogs . The other spots that are only on his left side, under his left arm and down his left side, look like bruising on the picture, and more of a scratch, almost like road rash. If this is new as well then I would recommend getting Baxter seen right away, especially if he has no history of a big trauma. The bruising is especially worrying if he hasn't had a big hit/accident, as it is worrying for a clotting disorder. Best of luck with Baxter.

Yes, it looks like an allergic reaction. I suggest you get him to your vet for an exam. In the meantime you can give him some antihistamines to see if that will reduce his symptoms. I have no idea what antihistamines you have available to you in Australia so I will refer you to this link of common ones used. ( https://www.albertnorthvetclinic.ca/antihistamine-chart.pml )

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. From the pictures and your description, it sounds as though Mitt may be having an allergic reaction. I would recommend having a veterinarian take a look at him as he may require a steroid injection along with an antihistamine injection to be treated. If left untreated, allergic reactions can become much more severe. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Poor Bruno! His abdomen looks very uncomfortable. I would recommend that you have a veterinarian examine Bruno so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. This looks like a severe contact reaction or a severe skin allergy. There are many treatment options for allergies including Cytopoint injection, which helps in cases of atopic dermatitis. There are shampoos such as Douxo PS Calm shampoo and calming sprays that contain a steroid and topical anesthetic to provide relief. Your veterinarian can guide you in the right direction and make the most appropriate recommendations based on the physical examination. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

If you notice that Kronk’s ear gets debris in it very quickly, that is suspicious for an infection. I recommend to make an appointment with the veterinarian who will swab the ear and look at it under a microscope to know if an infection is present. The skin bumps you are describing could be related to the ear as well. Food allergies are a possibility but a more common allergy is an environmental allergy. When you are in with the doctor, go over Kronk’s history and then lay out a plan to try to determine the underlying cause. Use a non medicated ear cleaner you can purchase over the counter or get a medicated cleaner from the vet for the routine ear cleaning. The cleaner will help to break up the wax deep in the ear canal. Clean his ears once weekly for maintenance but you will clean more frequently when he has an infection. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.