hot spot - Page 2

Just want to run this by you. Back in the 80s I had a pregnant bitch with a very bad toe infection caused by a wasp or bee sting. After walking out of two vets clinics who insisted to put the bitch under anesthesia to “fix” the infected toe, I took the half day trip to my remote vet who is to this day considered to be one of the best vets. He told me to wait for the infection to open up, gave me a small bottle of Xenodine and told me to keep tabbing it around the wound, preventing it from getting into the open wound. Xernodine is a Polyhydroxidine Solution. It was used for several years by vets instead of Iodine for surgical site preparations. In diluted form, diluted with water, I used it later on cuts, abrasions, fungal infections and prevention of topical bacteria. The product was originally distributed by a Belgium company, which later sold the animal product division to an American company. This company folded, and when I ran out of my supply a few years ago, I found a couple of suppliers through the internet. Although the vets confirmed that the product was excellent, they stopped using it because their suppliers did no longer carry it. One of the ingredients in Xenodine is the same as in Anti-Freeze, which means that you have to prevent the dog from licking the spot until it dries. When you dab it around a wound, you can actually see the surrounding flesh take on a healthy pink color within 20 minutes or so. With regard to Anti-Freeze, I have seen farmers use it on farm animals over and over. With horror I watched a farmer pour it over his Blue Heeler and rub it into the badly deteriorating coat. Three weeks later, the dog showed an amazing new start of a coat. Not something I would recommend.

Check for fleas. I bought a puppy awhile ago that had fleas before I brought her home which were the dickens to get rid of, she ended up with a hot spot on her hip from them. I found a cone around her head and bag balm on her hot spot worked very well to get it to heal.

Hi all, thank you for your responses. As I lay awake last night wondering what was going on here with her, I remembered she had Frontline in that spot on her back on 12/29. I wonder now if that was related. Has anyone ever heard of that being the causative agent?? She has had frontline when she was a small pup and then I switched to Advantix because of the repellant effect not due to any problems. But ,this last time she got her first adult size dose of Frontline, for her weight. She looks better this morning, the wound is starting to get crusty from being open to air.

I too am having trouble with hot spots on my GSD, along with itchy skin. What caught my eye is that I too have another GSD who had a skin reaction between her shoulder blades, along with intense itching only to remember I had just put frontline on two days before she had never had a reaction to frontline before but I am sure this was the cause of all the reddness and itching she was now having.

Unless she is having a very unusual reaction to the Frontline or it was applied incorrectly, no, this is not likely, especially since you used it before with her. Is it impossible, no, but these products undergo heavy and long term testing. I will look at the tox data to see just how frequently skin reactions happen. I would bet the frequency was incredibly small. Don't stress over this. Just follow the vets instructions and it will probably heal up just fine.

I've owned dogs that were hot spot magnets. One day no hot spot, the next one the size of a basketball. Some of my dogs never had a hot spot, all lived in the same environment and ate the same food. I think hot spots love double coated dogs and they seem to thrive when the coat is damp from a bath or Mother Nature. Common locations are bewteen the shoulder blades and at the base of the tail, but they can pop up anywhere. My dogs were most likely to break out in a hot spot the size of a meatplatter the day before the big show. Many got them when they were shedding. Never had flea problems, so that was not a factor. Cortisone shots will help more than anything and work the fastest, but at the dosage necessary to stop the irritation, they often cause most dogs to drink a lot and urinate a lot not to mention they eat like they are on death row. I found that witch hazel and Gold Bond medicated powder worked for most of my critters cleaning the spots between treatment with a mild soap like Ivory. Don't think I ever used an antibiotic for a hot spot, but it can't hurt. If the spot is bad enough and the hair surrounding it is wet and sticky , sometimes you have to bite the bullet and shave around the spot so the air can get to it and it will dry. Hot spots are often call moist pyoderma. I call them a royal pain in the arse.

blueskyes, yes ,I have switched food recently, to Wellness puppy. To all, is it the normal thing to have to shave the fur off for a hot spot or was this most likely due to the fact that it was infected? and we had to see why.

Hodie, you asked about my most recent hotspot issue. It began as a dry scab on the side of the left dorsal area that I could feel. Since it was dry, I did nothing past applying some triple antibiotic salve. Two (2) days later. the bitch began to lick it and inflamed it until it became a typical hot spot. At that end I began to apply the Neo-Predef powder, but noticed that she kept licking it. I think that she has finally stopped aggravating herself, and the area is becoming dry. There is no foul smell, and the area appeared first to me as a healing wound that was caused by contact with a sharp or pointed object. I was concerned that it could be a graze from a stray bullet, as until very recently it was still deer season (it very well may still be) and I can hear a lot of gunfire in the distance on Saturday afternoons. But, the location and angle say otherwise for this theory. Bob-O

gsdlvr2, most vets love to shave dogs when they have hot spots. In my experience it really doesn't make much difference one way or another unless the spot is really wet and ozzing into the surrounding fur. Then I think it's a good idea to shave the area assuming the dog won't be in a show in the next few months.

Bob-O, I do hope that no one has been shooting in the vicinity of your dogs or your home!!! Oh dear, that would be quite unsettling, not only just for the deer! I wonder if she might have gotten stuck by the end of a tree branch? Or a tick bite festered (although it must be pretty late for ticks in your area)? If you see an opening, most likely there was some sort of wound there. Your experience with these issues will undoubtedly prevail and I bet the wound will heal. I am very, very lucky perhaps. I have NEVER had a dog, either one of my own, or a rescue, who gets hot spots. I believe that often hot spots are caused by inadequate intake of certain amino acids, oils etc. But there are also other possibiliities too. I am lucky to live in an area where the normal humidity is very low. Once the kennel is washed out, I do all I must to make sure it drys too and usually the humidity in there is as low as that of the outside ambient air. Low humidity can make a difference I am sure when dogs are prone to hot spots. Dog skin is much more fragile and thinner than is human skin. It has, along with bone, the least water content. Using an inappropriate shampoo can dry the skin unnecessarily and that too can result in problems. Most of the literature that talks about true hot spots suggest that they are due to dietary insufficiencies, or an inability to metabolize certain important minerals like zinc. Another important factor however is realizing that the skin pH of a GSD is very different than most dog breeds and even humans. While it can not be measured directly, one should note that the GSD skin is normally about 8.6. That is very, very alkaline as skin goes. Most dogs are between pH 6.8 (slightly acidic) or 7.6. This is an important thing because anytime one changes the environment for normal bacteria, the ones that are normally held in check can then proliferate. Feeding a proper food can help make sure the skin remains healthy and holds in check the bacteria that are not so good *(like staph which causes many GSD skin infections) remain in check. When bathing, one must be sure to use an appropriate pH shampoo. I normally just use Johnsons' Baby Shampoo and make sure I get it all off. Normally, sebum secreted from the sebaceous glands, and sweat, keep the skin appropriately moist and provide a natural anti-bacterial environment for the wrong bacteria. When dogs sweat excessively, this can all change because the skin stays more moist than it should and fungal and bacterial infections arise. In Blitzens' example, it is possible that these dogs were excited and were sweating more than usual as she prepared them for shows etc. Also the coat type can make a huge difference. The area where most hot spots that are true hot spots show up are where the sweat glands are located: Larger, more numerous glands in the GSD are found under the chin, at the base of the tail, around the front of the neck, the loins and most significantly, the abdomen, the axillae and inside of the thighs. Minimizing sweating or making sure a dog has an opportunity to dry thoroughly probably will minimize many hot spots. I may bathe a dog once a year before a show. I almost never brush them because they simply shed and I rough that out. I do have one dog who does have a few sebaceous gland cysts and one is large enough that I am going to have it removed. I am also going to switch him to a lighter variety of food with less fat to see if that reduces the incidence that these cysts need to be expressed. Let me know if I can help with the female, but as always, I suspect you have it completely under control. Best regards.