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Hello, My 3 year old golden retriever has been gnawing at a spot on his lower back near his tail and has started to turn red and bleed from the excessive scratching

Hello, My 3 year old golden retriever has been gnawing at a spot on his lower back near his tail and has started to turn red and bleed from the excessive scratching

Updated On October 29th, 2023

Pet's info: Dog | Golden Retriever | Male | neutered | 3 years and 8 months old | 90 lbs

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Answered By Dr. Strydom, DVM

Veterinarian

This question includes photos that may contain sensitive content. Click to view.

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Hello, thank you for using PetCoach. About 99/100 times if a dog comes to the vet clinic with something like this they also have fleas. If you don't have him on a good flea prevention then he is likely scratching this location due to fleas. I do think I see some "flea dirt" in the photo. I strongly recommend you get him to the vet for an exam. If he has fleas you need to get a good prescription flea prevention. Also, this type of lesion almost always needs oral antibiotics and some type of oral antiinflammatory to stop the itch cycle for it to heal. As long as he keeps scratching it, it will not heal no matter what you apply topically. If you choose to try and treat it yourself at home, you can use this hot spot spray gel 3- 4 times per day. ( https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/3-oz-3-fl-oz-hot-spot-antimicr-2877113 ) You will also need to get some dog boots to put on his back feet so if he tries to scratch the area it won't continue to traumatize the skin. ( https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/search?query=dog%20boots ) If you do this at home for about 5-7 days and there is no improvement or it looks worse at any time then he needs to see the vet. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

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