Accepted Answer

Thanks for the description,
I suspect your dog has a skin infection. Dogs develop "epidermal collarettes" which are roundish, reddish splotches on the skin. They aren't raised, but can be a little crusty or flaky looking. The majority of skin infections occur on the stomach and armpit areas, so the pattern matches. They will also be itchy.

I don't put much stock in flea baths--they kill any fleas on the dog, but as soon as the dog is dry, fleas from the environment will hop back on. Products like Frontline are much more effective and will last a full month. Frontline will also protect your dog from ticks. I'm not sure that this infection is due to fleas, but any type of allergy can lead to a skin infection.

Skin infections almost always need to be treated with oral antibiotics. Medicated shampoos (ones containing chlorhexiderm) can be useful, but don't usually clear up the infection on their own. So I would take your dog in to your regular vet for an exam. Expect to be sent home with 3 weeks of antibiotics, likely cephalexin. It can take skin a long time to heal, so 3 weeks is often a minimum.

As far as the scratching, once the infection starts healing, the scratching should go away. In the meantime, you can give your dog some Benadryl--50-75 mg for a Golden would be about right (it is 1 mg/pound). You can give it every 12 hours.

Hope that helps!

Expert:	vetlori
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Answered:	11/5/2009

Dog Veterinarian

I am a practicing small animal veterinarian with 13 years experience.