hot spot....

[angelbow20]

What are some good things to put on hot spots? My dog is starting to get them again and I been putting on cortizone spray but it doesnt seem to be helping him as much, can you use humans cortizone lotion from like the pharmacy? I cut his hair around the spot and put more pray and gave him a pill but it just seems to still be there bothering him!

[luvofallhorses]

I would call your vet. I have no expierience with hot spots, sorry.

[Giselle]

Treat the cause not the symptom :) Be sure to rule out medical conditions like fleas and mites, first. Secondly, are his hot spots due to allergies (enviornmental or food) or maybe even less than desirable nutrition? Lucky had some pretty nasty hot spots when he was on a corn based food. The vet gave some topical medication that worked temporarily. A few food switches later, Lucky's skin conditions and immune system have improved and we have not seen hot spots for years! Hope that bit of info will help you determine the cause.

[angelbow20]

It seems like the rainy weather does it, whenever its wet or rainy out he gets them like crazy. sometimes it could be the food also because i switch it off and on to see what they like better, right now they are on purina dog chow but I dont know if its actually the dog food though.

[borzoimom]

We need to look at the diet first. Second- wet weather can have the grass etc stick to the paws.
First Purina dog chow has more rendered by products and poor grain quality. It sustains life, but so does a leather shoe soaked in vegetable oil. I would put on a lamb and rice diet first- Any of the better brands would be better at this point. It looks like more money- but its not- you are feeding literally half b ecause a better food is more digestable.
Second- if this is a contact allergy from the weather, with a better immune system, the dog will be less likely to react. however- with a really bad case I had many years back, I got a bottle of puppy shampoo ( very mild) and rinse off the dogs feet adding a tiny dab of puppy shampoo to get off the dirt if its really bad. Remember shampoo does dry out the skin so use the rinse more and dry with a towel.
Human corizone has too much alcohol in it for a dog. It will actually dry out the oil in the skin faster than if you did nothing. Really bad cases, the internal veternary medications are better. Better to give at night so the antihistimine is in the body longer with out passing through the urine.
I still would however- first and foremost= take the dog to the vet. If the dog has infected skin, there is no way we could not know that without seeing the dog, and we are not vets.
Foods- Eagle holistic or lamb and rice, or even Nutro lamb and rice would be better than Purina.

[wolfsoul]

I would switch him on to a different food. An elimination diet may be in order. :) What are you currently feeding him? I would try California Natural or Natural Balance Duck and Potato.

Also, cleaning products are one of the worst for causing hot spots. We have an akita mix that used to come into the shop with the most terrible hot spots ever. After years, the owner finally got a new maid who used all natural cleaning products (vinegar, lemon juice, that sort of thing) and the dog hasn't had an issue since!

Meanwhile you can try to soothe the spots. Try a shampoo with lavender, wheat grass, calandulla (sp), tea tree oil, etc -- ingredients that are known for healing. And avoid the icky chemicals that most shampoos have. I would avoid using cortisone -- cortisone is one of those things prescribed to everything and anything when they don't know what the problem is, and it has ALOT of side effects. The cortisone you buy in stores isn't often a large dose and isn't reliable anyways. I'd run out and buy some calandulla gel. I love the stuff.

[wolfsoul]

It seems like the rainy weather does it, whenever its wet or rainy out he gets them like crazy. sometimes it could be the food also because i switch it off and on to see what they like better, right now they are on purina dog chow but I dont know if its actually the dog food though.
Ah I didn't see this before I posted -- when moisture comes in contact with the skin and usually when it becomes trapped in the coat, it tends to feed bacteria which cause hot spots. Istill believe it's an immune system issue but in order to prevent the hot spots I would keep him out of the water all together and when he becomes wet, dry him really well.

[borzoimom]

yes rinsing the feet really helps..

[angelbow20]

Thanks for the tips everyone...

[cyber-sibes]

Ugh, I hate hot spots. Do you have either a cone collar or a no-bite collar? You've got to keep him from licking it, it will get ugly fast.
Star used to get them fairly frequently. Stress seemed to trigger them, and we re-roofed their sleeping area so it no longer gets wet. As you noted, moisture made it worse. If it's getting bigger, I'd get to the vets for a shot. It really helps. This last time the vet told me to give her benedryl when I first noticed one. It really seems to have helped - she hasn't had any large hot spots for quite a while now.
Good luck with it, hope your sweetie heals up quickly.

[Giselle]

Yup, that's absolutely correct. Moisture builds up and it can really aggravate hot spots. If you don't want to switch foods, the least you can do is to help aerate the inflamed area by swabbing down the spot with a cotton ball once or more a day. When the hot spot clears down, you can opt to clip/thin down the hair on the irritated areas to improve aeration. Other than that, you've received fabulous advice and I hope your dog gets better.

[cyber-sibes]

Oh, I forgot to mention that I use Tea Tree Oil on Star when she has a hot spot. You can get it at some health food stores & pharmacies.