Help !!! Hot Spot

[Shelloaz]

Both of my Rotties have a hot spot. I have been putting spray on 3 times a day that I got from Petsmart. What is the best thing to use to get rid of these gross things?

[chivas]

Gold Bond powder is the best thing ive ever found for hot spots.
I have a sheltie with chronic skin infections and this is the ONLY thing Ive tried that has worked and ive spent a fortune at the vets. He has long thick hair too and works like a charm.
Kim

[Judi W]

Also, you need to determine what caused them in the first place. Fleas are often the culprit for those dogs sensitive to the flea bite so I would for sure check that possibility out. The location of the hot spots will be a big clue.

[Shelloaz]

Judi...I live in AZ so I dont think fleas are an issue (WAY too hot). I think what happened is my puppy nipped the other dog in the fatty chin area. That is where his hot spot is. I just had my puppy at the vet and he said the lump (it's on her chest) looked to him like a bite of some kind and now it looks like a hot spot, it's about the size of a cheerio. It is crusty and raw looking. The breeder has horses and when we went to pick her up, their kennels were just covered in flies :( I think maybe it was a horse fly bite originally. I have never had this with any other dog I have owned. I have been spraying that stuff now for 3 days. How long does it take before it gets better? We will be going to the vet Monday if they are not better by then. Thanks for your help.

[Judi W]

If it is round like that you might consider that it could be ringworm. Especially since they both have spots as ringworm is quite contageous. did the vet put a black light on it? If it is ringworm you'll want to get right on it. A good topical since you have one one spot on each dog should do the trick.

[Shelloaz]

Hmmm ringworm?? I ruled that out because of it being so contageous, I thought it would of spread to one of us by now since they are in all day. No, he didnt put a black light on it, but I have a 60 watt black light for my geckos, does it glow if it's ringworm? I'm just going to have to go back to the vet. It's really weid because the pups is round but my other dogs is like 2 inches long, it may have started round though and I didnt notice it. I will definately ask about ringworm, thanks.

[Judi W]

Well, it was just a thought. Most horse people have cats around their stables to keep the mice down and out of their feed and they are usually ignored other than that. Cats are one of the biggest sources of ringworm that I know of. I know black light is used to look for ringworm, but not much more than that. If it does turn out to be such, ask about topical instead of systemic as it sounds fairly localized. The spreading is somewhat serrendipitous (phew - spelling???) and although waiting to see if you get a dose would confirm a diagnosis, I'd probably ask the vet to take a peek.

[rotts and roses]

Shelloaz
I was born and raised in Tucson, I moved here 13 years ago because I couldn't stand the heat anymore. literally:P My dogs often had fleas. even with flea collars they went through bouts of flea infestation.. I've never heard " too hot for fleas" I remember when I was little we lost a dog to ticks. I'm wondering.. did the fleas flee when I moved? LOL just curious

[Shelloaz]

Well...I called my vet and he said he still would not worry about it. He said it is a lump under the skin from possibly a bite of some sort. When I took her to training class the instructor said it was not ringworm because there is no hair loss. I go back to the vet in a couple of weeks so I guess we will wait until then. It still looks the same, no worse, no better. I do have a question about fleas though....My dad's dog had fleas and we could see them crawling on his tummy (really gross) is that usually the case with fleas? I would think they would scratch alot too? Keira isn't scratching at all.

[RottiMomCT]

Ben had fleas when we first adopted him - I never saw a flea on him, and he didn't really scratch...until I gave him a bath and washed flea dirt and a few fleas off of him. Whole house got treated, and Ben got another bath with flea shampoo to kill the rest of the buggers!!

You don't always see them on the dog unless they are really bad...if you take a flea comb (less than $1 at pet stores) and run it through their fur you'll see flea dirt and maybe a flea...once you see a flea you'll have to treat the whole area the dog has been living in, bedding, carpeting, and the dog itself, to make sure the house isn't a breeding ground for the buggers...blech!! I hate fleas and ticks!

[Judi W]

I assumed that there was hair loss as that is one of the parts of a hot spot.

[kimble]

My vet says to clip off the hair surrounding the hotspot and put Betadine on the spot.

[Shelloaz]

JudiW...sorry for the confusion, that was my fault. My older dog Harley is the one with the hot spot. Yes, there is hair loss, redness, clear oozing stuff (yuk), and it's crusty. Since the spray was not working for him after a week, I started doing research. I'm beginning to think that it might be localized mange instead of a hot spot. I read that mange in an older dog (he's 2 1/2) can be a sign of immune system problems. I made him an appointment for Sat. at the vet. I will let you know what he says. :( I'm really worried about him now, we rescued him from the pound when he was 3 months old, and was not in good health from the start.

[Judi W]

How can there be confusion. You said that both of your Rotties have a hot spot. That implies something contageous. Ah well, I'd stick with what your vet recommends. If it does not clear up ask for a scraping and sensitivity.

[godfreyc]

Just a word on hot spots.

Quote:

Yes, there is hair loss, redness, clear oozing stuff (yuk), and it's crusty.

This is how my girls started this year. She's never had one before. After tons of antibiotics, sprays and shampoos the infection on her skin is gone although she still is throwing up sometimes and I'm wondering if it's completely out of her system and she is effectively loosing every bit of hair on her whole back. The scabbing is not gone and they are dry and apparently itchy. Once the hair falls out the skin seems to become more healthy but that's only after awhile. I still have to bathe her at least 3 times a week with antibacterial shampoo and there's no sign of new hair. No matter what your vet says I'd would take this very seriously. My once beautiful girl will now be the only bald rottie I know.