# How long does fur take to grow from hotspot?



## Ffcmm (May 4, 2016)

This is my second post regarding Lily's hotspot. It's been a month and i really can't tell if looks better. 

How long is the fur going to take to grow ):

sorry for having to post this twice, i feel like my other thread is dead already and no one is going to respond :crying:


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

It could take a couple of months. My Robbie's fur was always slow to fill back in over hot spots. I think the skin has to heal before the fur can start growing.


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## goldy1 (Aug 5, 2012)

I agree with mylissyk. It still looks raw but dry and that's good. The fur will definitely fill in just make sure Lily doesn't "get at it" which could be a setback for healing. Hang in there.


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## Ffcmm (May 4, 2016)

@goldy1 @mylissyk sigh a couple of months seems so long away. I make her wear the cone of shame in the day while im off for work ( as my aunt who's at home and cares for her is unable to monitor her scratching) 

I've noticed that her hotspot turns bright red after she comes back from her walks. is this normal??


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

I've never seen that before, but maybe just getting warm might cause that. As long as it doesn't stay red I wouldn't worry.


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## goldy1 (Aug 5, 2012)

She shouldn't have to wear the cone that long. Once it's healed, it won't be itchy anymore. Then it will just be a bare spot that she won't even notice. Did you take her to the vet or are you treating it yourself? If you took her to the vet for initial treatment, maybe you can email a photo to your vet to get an opinion of how the healing is progressing. I have done this with Chance when I was newer at this business of hot spots. The reason I suggest this is, one time, the vet felt he needed an antibiotic for a secondary infection that developed. Lily's does not look infected to me in the pictures you posted.


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## Ffcmm (May 4, 2016)

@mylissyk yeah it does disappear when shes cooled down post walk, its really quite strange.
@goldy1 i brought her to the vet about a month ago, and in for a repeat visit ( just for a checkup for her insurance plan), during which a different vet examined her. the vet told me it'll take about 2 months to grow and that it looks like its healing. I made her wear the cone after i came back from work and discovered that she had scratched it someone! she doesn't bite the spot or take any interest in it other than that. Its just the skin is delicate and im afraid she'll reinfect it if she nibbles her body. ): 

i really just wish her fur would grow!


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## goldy1 (Aug 5, 2012)

Ffcmm said:


> . . .after i came back from work and discovered that she had scratched it someone! she doesn't bite the spot or take any interest in it other than that. Its just the skin is delicate and im afraid she'll reinfect it if she nibbles her body. ):
> 
> i really just wish her fur would grow!


Yes - you are exactly right. That is what would happen with Chance. It only takes one good scratch on her delicate skin to get you right back to square one and potential for infection. FWIW, it's in a good location for healing and for you to be able to monitor it. Chance tended to develop his hot spots on his neck or below his ear. Very hard to get good air circulation there and I wasn't able to look at it to monitor without directing his head up in a certain way. It was usually necessary to shave the area around it. If I didn't, his finer very thick neck hair would keep the area moist and delay and greatly complicate the healing process. I am having flashbacks now --- ugh!

On a separate note, back in 2009 we switched Chance over to a grain-free diet for a different reason. This had a beneficial side effect of eliminating the problem of hot spots for Chance. I think he as only had one since 2009 and the reason was an infected tick bite that got oozy and a hot spot developed. Is Lily on a grain-free diet? Just a thought ... works for some dogs.

Hang in there - hotspots really are awful to deal with!!!


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## jennretz (Jul 24, 2013)

Duke has not had a hot spot this summer (knock on wood), but he had 3 last year. He's been on Apoquel for a year and this seems to be helping. He had one similar to Lily's on the top of his neck. It would get very red after he was out in the sun and my vet said to cover it so it didn't get burnt which makes sense as there's no hair there to protect it. An alternative to the cone is to put a t-shirt on her as long as it doesn't need to dry out still. Here's a picture of how Duke's looked before I knew to cover it when outside...


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## Ffcmm (May 4, 2016)

goldy1 said:


> Yes - you are exactly right. That is what would happen with Chance. It only takes one good scratch on her delicate skin to get you right back to square one and potential for infection. FWIW, it's in a good location for healing and for you to be able to monitor it. Chance tended to develop his hot spots on his neck or below his ear. Very hard to get good air circulation there and I wasn't able to look at it to monitor without directing his head up in a certain way. It was usually necessary to shave the area around it. If I didn't, his finer very thick neck hair would keep the area moist and delay and greatly complicate the healing process. I am having flashbacks now --- ugh!
> 
> On a separate note, back in 2009 we switched Chance over to a grain-free diet for a different reason. This had a beneficial side effect of eliminating the problem of hot spots for Chance. I think he as only had one since 2009 and the reason was an infected tick bite that got oozy and a hot spot developed. Is Lily on a grain-free diet? Just a thought ... works for some dogs.
> 
> Hang in there - hotspots really are awful to deal with!!!


Hello! Lily isnt on a grain free diet, she's currently on wellness large breed puppy. I plan to switch her to fromm 4 star nutritionals when im through with this bag. ): I can't afford to put her on grain free diet at the moment as the price difference between fromm's normal range and their GF range is pretty big!


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## Ffcmm (May 4, 2016)

jennretz said:


> Duke has not had a hot spot this summer (knock on wood), but he had 3 last year. He's been on Apoquel for a year and this seems to be helping. He had one similar to Lily's on the top of his neck. It would get very red after he was out in the sun and my vet said to cover it so it didn't get burnt which makes sense as there's no hair there to protect it. An alternative to the cone is to put a t-shirt on her as long as it doesn't need to dry out still. Here's a picture of how Duke's looked before I knew to cover it when outside...


Hi! Lily's look very similar to duke! do you remember how long the fur took to grow back on lily? her spot is pretty big and taking awhile (like REALLY LONG WHILE) to fully be covered in fur.


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## jennretz (Jul 24, 2013)

Ffcmm said:


> Hi! Lily's look very similar to duke! do you remember how long the fur took to grow back on lily? her spot is pretty big and taking awhile (like REALLY LONG WHILE) to fully be covered in fur.




It took a while to grow back; it grew in gradually while it was still healing. I didn't want it grow too fast so that the hot spot could heal. It was probably 4-6 weeks to cover it again.


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## Ffcmm (May 4, 2016)

jennretz said:


> It took a while to grow back; it grew in gradually while it was still healing. I didn't want it grow too fast so that the hot spot could heal. It was probably 4-6 weeks to cover it again.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


it's been a month since the vet visit. I can see the little strands of fur coming in but sometimes i speculate and worry that her skin is going to be hairless forever D: i will post updates!!


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## jennretz (Jul 24, 2013)

Ffcmm said:


> it's been a month since the vet visit. I can see the little strands of fur coming in but sometimes i speculate and worry that her skin is going to be hairless forever D: i will post updates!!




It will grow back gradually. It might get a little itchy when it does


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