Rash on belly

[shanniesue2]

Georgie has this really red awful looking rash on her belly. I noticed it for the first time last week, but I thought maybe she was just chaffed from playing in the snow and in a wet yard. But this week it's even more red. What do you all think???

[SalemWitchChild]

I think she needs to see a vet. Anything new in the home she could have had a reaction to?

[shanniesue2]

no, but I had to take my cat in yesterday because she (the cat) has lost some fur on her back and the base of her tail. The vet suspected a flea, but couldn't find any signs of fleas on her, and I haven't seen any signs of fleas on Georgie or any of our other animals.

[FairyDogMother]

I would take the pup in seperately even though you've had the cat looked at. It's possible they don't have the same malady. There is a type of mange (sp?) that starts on the belly. I know I'd want that at least ruled out. A simple test should tell. I don't know about cats and dogs sharing ailments though?? Good luck and I hope it's something very simple for all of you.

[shanniesue2]

Well both the dogs have been in boarding all weekend while we were out of town. So while they were there, I had the vet check her out. On Friday, he said he thought it might be an allergy or a reaction to her food. He was also going to do a skin scraping to rule out demodex (which she had in the fall). If it wasn't the mange, he was going to give her a long lasting cortisone shot to reduce the irritation. When I pick them up tomorrow, I will find out if it's the demodex or an allergy. I am considering having allergy testing done on her though. I've had her on 5 different foods now. She has had a slightly different reaction while on all of them.
Science Diet-horribly itchy
Nutro Ultra-flaky skin (not itchy, though)
Chicken soup for the puppy--gas
chicken soup for the dog--gas, diarrhea
Natural Balance Duck and Potato--seems to be doing really well. We've had her on this since before Christmas, and she's had no problems till now. So I don't know if the rash is cause by this food or not.

My thinking on the allergy test is that at least we could stop guessing. I just don't know if we could afford it. I'm supposed to find out how expensive it is tomorrow. Has anyone in here had the allergy testing done? How much did you pay? Do you think it was worth it? What was the deciding factor for you to get the testing done? At what point did you decide that it was time to stop guessing with the food?

[jnc_mcguire]

Looks like she could be allergy to something are you sure she hasn't got in to something thet you don't know about if the cat has something causeing her to loseing her hair maybe the cat gave it to the dog

[golden&hovawart]

Priska is allergic to fleas and also gets a rash,so everytime she gets it,I give her, an Adams flea shampoo,wait 2 days and put some frontline plus,on her.The rash is pretty much gone,in 4 days.With Titus,he only needs his flea medication,every 2 to 3 mths.
Another thing, it could be poison ivy.

[shanniesue2]

Well, I got them home last night... Georgie also has a yeast infection in both ears. The vet said that it is VERY common that with allergies both the ears and the skin can react. Anyway, I've got stuff for her ears and they gave her a cortisol shot for the rash. I asked him about allergy testing... and he said that typically the point at which he recommends testing is when we can't manage the symptoms. He said that allergy test results are great info to have, but they aren't completely necessary if we can manage the symptoms. He also said that if she's got a food allergy, the only way to figure that out is trial and error with different foods. He recommended that I keep her on the food we've got her on, and then see what happens after a few weeks with the cortisol shot.