Skin Rash under Neck, Tick collar, martingale, or something else?

tombo671

Cherry has had a bit of a skin rash under her neck for a while now, me and Dad have gotten into countless of arguments about what must be causing it. I believe it's the tick collar we purchased from her overseas (which by the way works tremendously, kills every tick we find on her, not one of those generic brands), however whether it kills the ticks or not i still wouldn't like her to also suffer from it. My dad believes it was the martingale collar we previously had, he believes that because she pulls so hard while walking, that it's damaged the region (I can't recall whether she had a rash before we got the martingale, but no doubt it's gotten worse). His argument is that IF it were the tick collar, she would have a rash right around her neck, not just underneath, we have stopped using the martingale now and have now purchased a harness to see if improvement will show. Her diet is pretty good, she eats almost anything, from vegetables to fish. If you believe it's the tick collar, please explain how it's only effecting the region below her neck, so i can pass the info onto dad. Cheers

Zerlett

i would not assume the flea collar because i think it would be irritating the whole neck, though the skin under the neck is thinner and easier to irritate. I dont like the idea of chemicals around a dogs neck as I find it potentially dangerous, I dont think its the collar but most likely pulling on walks. If your dog has a pulling problem a harness is going to encourage her to pull, and may irritate under the arms as well. I use a collar on my dogs at home thats loose fitting otherwise it seems to irritate the neck. Use a prong, head halti, or some strong training to behave better on the walk and you will see the skin improve on the neck im sure.

BulliesofNC

I agree with Danielle - I think it's the pulling while she's on a leash that's causing the redness and hair loss. This isn't uncommon since many Bull Terriers are strong and will pull hard while on a leash without a care in the world what it's doing to their neck. Why not try taking her collar off while she's indoors so the area can heal faster and the hair has an opportunity to grow back. During this time you could provide her with some salmon oil (high in Omega 3) which will help with her skin and coat.

It sometimes helps to get a different collar -- some dogs lose hair because their hair gets caught in the collar and pulled out and other dogs are sensitive to the fit of a particular collar or allergic to the substance it is made of (or at least it seems that way). If there is any evidence of skin disease, such as scabbing, redness, bumps or sores it would be best to see your vet first and worry about changing collars later. The rubbing of the collar tends to make skin disease show up at its earliest right under the collar in some dogs.

tombo671

Take which collar off? The tick one?
We have already stopped the use of the martingale and have switched to a harness.

BulliesofNC

Take off ALL collars from her neck so there's nothing there to irratate the area. Give that area some time to heal and for the hair to grow back.