Skin Sores

by Ken Kegris
(Middleburg, PA)

Sores at various parts of the body, I removed the hair around the sores. Most are usually on the underside of all four legs, He was on antibiotics, they were expensive and did not seem to help and the vet was not a whole lot of help, I bathed him for fleas and use flea drops, tried changing diet, he wont eat anything different. Sores have some odor which tells me it's infected. Any suggestions? About six years old it's hard to brush and groom because of the sores.


Response from Golden-Retriever-Magic:

Hi Ken,

So sorry to hear your Golden has been having trouble with sores all over the body. I agree with you that if there is an odor or discharge, it is likely the sores are infected. Also the location of some of the sore on the bottom of the legs can predispose them to be infected.

Multiple sores absolutely need to be treated, and often aggressively. The vet is your best bet. If your initial vet was not of too much help, you should really seek out another vet or another clinic. Antibiotics form the cornerstone of treatment for sores. And if one antibiotic doesn't work, often vets will have to try another class of antibiotics.

Sometimes, if the sores are severely infected, vets may need to debride the area (that is, do a procedure to remove some of the skin/tissue around the sore). So please seek the advice of a qualified vet--I hope with the appropriate treatment, your Golden will heal up quickly.