Hi Jeff,

Thanks for your question.

So the first thing I’ll say is to determine if allergies are present you have to rule out other causes first. Although I can’t see this patient or a picture of it, red bumps usually indicate a bacterial infection. These are also really common with all dogs so I have a greater confidence that you might actually be dealing with a bacterial infection here rather than allergies.

Even if allergies are present, you would first have to deal with secondary issues like an infection that may be present. So my advice is to see your veterinarian and perform something called a skin scraping. This would confirm that it is actually on infection and then it can be treated with antibiotics either topically or orally. If the red bumps are over a small area then you could consider applying Polysporin or some other type of antibacterial agent. You could also consider antibacterial shampoo and perform a couple baths, leaving the shampoo on for 10 minutes and then rinsing it and most importantly dry in the area thoroughly afterwards.

Allergies usually presents as general redness of the skin, sometimes there are flat large elevations of the skin called wheels, and of course there is general itching most commonly all over the body that has been occurring for a long period of time. Please consult your veterinarian for further advice.

I hope this helps.

Dr. Clayton Greenway