hot spot - Page 1

Hi all, I've just returned from the afterhours vet with my puppy who has a hot spot. By the time I got done with all the charges they tacked on it was quite expensive. They put her on Clavamox and Gentamycin spray. The would is large, about the size of a man's fist . I asked the vet what causes this and there was really no answer she said. Do any of you know what the cause is so I can prevent another one? Is there anything else I can do for her besides the medicine ?

It sounds like the vet thinks the hot spot is an area with a bacterial skin infection. Follow the treatment. What surface does the dog spend most of its time? How old is the pup? How often are you bathing, if at all? More information might help, maybe not. The important thing is to get it stopped asap. Hopefully, it will not get another. Clavamox is expensive, even though I buy it cheaper than most. The gentamycin is also an antibiotic and may be gentamycin sulfate.....

Hi hodie, the puppy is 9 months old. She spends most of her time in the house, at night, and during the day she has a run with concrete bottom but runs alot during the day with the other dogs. The wound was infected,and stinky which is why we went to the vet as soon as I found it. Now that the fur is clipped I can see there are no puncture wounds. She has not been bathed in a long time. The wound is located between her shoulder blades.

Just because there is no puncture would does not mean she was not scraped perhaps by another dog when they were out together and this got infected. Smell is a first clue. It is a good thing you got some medication for this. I would segregate her from the other dogs until it heals and watch carefully their interaction. It is unlikely, in this position, to be something related to what she lies on. Good luck.

I agree with hodie, but perhaps could it also be an allergy? GSDLVR 2, have you switched food recently? I have heared that Bacterial infections and allergies can cause them, anyone care to confirm or deny this thought?

The fact is that people often think first of allergies, including food allergy. In fact, food allergies, as has already been noted in other discussions, are not common in the GSD. Allergies are normally caused by inhalational exposure to environmental contaminants like pollens etc. The first thing to do, always, unless you know something specific, is to treat for the most common reason for a given problem. Skin bacterial infections are not uncommon in GSDs, but since this is in a limited area, and especially because of where it is, it is most likely an abrasion that became infected. The vet has prescribed appropriate antibiotics. After treatment, if this does not heal or other spots begin to develop, then another cause should be considered. Again, food allergies are not really all that common. People just jump to conclusions and assume a dog has an allergy to a food and then all hell breaks loose as they change thing after thing after thing and the dog gets worse and worse and finally one has a huge puzzle to unravel, often at high cost.

Hot spots seem to appear out of no where and can be caused by heat/humidity in general. We have had a warm winter and we have seen alot of hot spot cases in our veterinary hospital. They can go from dime size to softball size overnight. My GSD had one when she was about 6 months old and has never had once since (she is 2 now). The Clavamox antibiotic was prescribed to prevent/cure further infection. Sometimes antihistamines are also prescribed as well as topicals such as Gentomycin Spray.

Two things came to mind when I read this post. These are just possible things and I might be way off base, but here goes. Not a hot spot, 1). But a cyst that was subcutanious (sp) under the skin. Cyst opened slightly because of pressure, bacteria entered and resulted in infection. 2) Some Vets will give shots between the shoulder blades and there was a reaction or abcess form from the shot. Had a horse that got an abcess from a shot on her hip, UGLY UGLY.

I may add that in addition to specific antibiotics for an especially large hot spot, a topical that works very well is Neo-Predef powder. This is available only by prescription, and is "dusted" onto the area. For smaller hot spots that are discovered very early and before the dog has a chance to chew, lick, and further irritate the area, this topical powder works very well. It also works well for minor abrasions. But in this case (due to the size of the area) I certainly think it best to follow the recommendations of the veterinarian. As a matter of fact I am treating a female for a hot spot at this time, and the response to the topical powder is not going as well as it should. So, next week we have a short trip to the veterinarian for a regimen of antibiotics. Bob-O

WiscTiger and Bob-O, of course, possibilities as you note. But since she does say there was no open wound, a sebaceous gland cyst is not likely. Yes, they can be quite messy and result in infection, but the post is talking more about a surface area that is closed. Certainly hot spots for other reasons could occur, but most are due to bacterial infection. In this case, it seems the vet is on the right track and hopefully it will all be soon resolved. Bob-O, how old is the female in your situation? Are you certain it is only a "hot spot" and not some other abnormality? Please describe the lesion and location and how long it has been present etc. Perhaps I might have some ideas, although a good course of antibiotics might well be in order. Cheers from cold Colorado.