Dog has some red skin and irritation under her back legs. Pictures aren't great, but somewhat show it. She licks the area periodically, which seems to make it worse. We plan to see the vet this week, anything we can do in the meantime?
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Thanks for using PetCoach! This is possibly due to allergies. Here is what you can do in the meantime. Use an e-collar when she is unsupervised to prevent more licking and further self-trauma. Also, you can use a medicated shampoo containing chlorhexidine as that can help with the possible secondary infections that is affecting her. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing her 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!
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