Doggie hot spots

[Mooshi]

Hello everyone :)

I have a 3 year old american bulldog he's healthy and amazing but problem is he keeps getting hot spots almost all the time and really big bad ones on his behind i always take him to the vet and he shaves the area cleans it and applies medication 3 days and it's healing and everything is back to normal then maybe 2 or 3 weeks out pops another one on the exact same place! and the same procedure goes on and on. Once the vet said it was so inflamed it's like he was bitten by fire ants!! i've never seen a fire ant in our house we don't see them here at all which was weird to me. And one my poor baby turned pink :confused: i rushed him to the vet he said it's some sort of allergy he gave him a shot and thankfully within a couple of days his color started to go back to normal. i really worry about him i know that the bulldog breed has skin issues but i never knew it could reach to the point that my poor baby turns pink and gets hot spots on a regular basis!

Any ideas on how i can control it?

[Freedom]

Bichons are prone to hot spots, as well. VERY frustrating, it takes trial and error to find the trigger. It usually is an allergic reaction.

You can treat the spot with Gold Bond Medicated powder, start the MOMENT you see something odd and apply 3 times daily. This just helps the symptom.

The cause could be food related, or environmental. Or even a reaction to a flea bite. The fact that it is always in the same spot suggests an allergy.

Think about what food and treats you use. Be consistent in what you give for a week or 2, then change ONE THING.

For bichons, we mostly use grain free foods, as the grains are a high trigger. I have 2 which are highly susceptible, so I must use grain free treats for them, as well.

Chicken is a high allergen, as is fish.

If it is environmental, it will depend where your dog goes outside. Maybe you visit a dog park once a week, and it is something there. Or maybe you both visit a friend on th weekends.

I found keeping a journal helped (lots of bichon folks must) as you WILL forget which day you gave the dog which food, or went to visit which place.

Good luck!

[Mooshi]

Thank you freedom!

Now that you've mentioned it Zeus loves chicken i usually gave it to him every now and then but i've stopped doing that months ago after putting him on a diet and since then i haven't seen any hot spots! you might have just helped me solve the problem lol but it doesn't mean i shouldn't watch what treats and food he eats just incase a hot spot pops up again.

Thanks again for helping me out this issue was really frustrating me!