What are the signs and symptoms of the poison ivy rash?

The poison ivy rash usually starts one or two days after exposure, though the delay between contact and its onset can be longer, up to several days. This may lead to confusion over where the exposure took place. The first signs of the rash are curved lines of red, itchy bumps or blisters. These continue to appear for many days, depending on how much resin touched the skin at a given point. This makes it seem as though the rash is "spreading," although the fluid in blisters is just part of the allergic reaction and contains no chemicals or bacteria. It also makes it appear that there may still be poison ivy in clothes and/or on pets. Although this is theoretically possible, repeated washing of these often produces no improvement.

Poison ivy is not contagious, neither from one person to someone else nor from one part of the body to another.

Many references emphasize that animals can carry the poison ivy resin. There's no doubt this is true, but its practical significance may be limited. The first sign of poison ivy, after all, is usually a curved line of rash on the skin. Unless your dog is shaped like a curved line, your poison ivy is more likely to have come from a stem or leaf which dragged against the skin, not from your pet.