Prevention, Treatment, Diagnosis and Symptoms of Hot Spots in Dogs

What exactly is a Hot Spot?

In the simplest of terms, a hot spot is an area of skin that has an infection. Typically, dogs with thick, long coats, dogs who swim and dogs who live in moist, humid environments are the most likely to have these localized skin surface infections. In addition, flea or bug bites can bring on these infections as well. Initially, these hot spots occur when an excess amount of moisture remains on the skin changing the environment of the skin and allowing bacteria to be present and grow. The bacteria release toxins which then inflame the skin and cause it to be itchy. As a result the dog will chew, bite and lick the area searching for relief. This action unfortunately causes the infection to get worse. This becomes a vicious cycle that can enlarge the spot quickly. It is amazing to note that these spots can appear quickly, usually within twenty to thirty minutes. As mentioned earlier, flea and bug bites can initiate this process as well.

Hot Spots – What to look for

These spots are very easy to identify. They are large areas of the skin that are red, inflamed, hairless and sometimes oozing or scabbed over. Most commonly these spots are found on the rear legs and neck but can appear on other areas of the body as well. This are will be so irritating that a dog will not be able to stop licking, chewing, biting and scratching at it. This can make the area very painful to touch.

Diagnosing Hot Spots

Diagnosis of a hot spot is very easy and is usually made just with a visual inspection or physical examination.

If a dog seems to get many hot spots, some diagnostic tests may be needed to find out why. These include:

Skin Scraping – This test will rule out other possibilities such as mange.

Fungal cultures to rule out ringworm

Testing of Blood – This test is performed in order to ensure that seasonal or inhalant allergies are not the cause.

Blood and Skin Test – This can rule out an allergy to fleas.

Extensive flea treatment even if no fleas are present.

Food Testing – This is performed in order to rule out an allergic reaction to food.

Treatment for Canine Hot Spots

The important things to remember when implementing treatment are:

Alleviate Itching

Clear up the infection

Prevent the dog from biting or scratching the area

Keep the infected area dry

The hair around the area must be clipped and the skin cleaned with an antibacterial soap and dried thoroughly. Sometimes the hot spot can be so severe that this procedure is painful and the dog must be sedated.

The next step is for the area to be treated with oral and topical antibiotics. The topical antibiotic will generally contain a corticosteroid to reduce inflammation while the oral antibiotic will contain a corticosteroid to reduce itching. The most important thing is to stop the itch, chew, infection cycle. By making your dog comfortable, the healing process can begin more quickly.

An Elizabethan or lamp shade like collar may be needed if your dog can not stop licking the area. These are generally only needed for 24 hours. In about one week’s time, the hot spot will usually be completely healed.

Preventing Hot Spots

There are many things you can do to prevent hot spots. They include:

Using effective flea control both on your dog and in your environment

Clip long-haired and heavy-coated breeds during the summer

If you can, prevent your dog from swimming

If a dog does swim, dry it well afterwards

Heather Fox is a an experience veterinarian who writes and shares her knowledge with others. She is a featured writer on Clivir.com where she shared more information about Dog Illness Diagnosis and Hot Spots in Dogs.

No related posts.