# Hotspot advice?



## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Bumping up


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## Practically_Human (Jan 21, 2015)

Following...


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## photoweborama (Dec 6, 2007)

Silver.. it will cure it overnight.


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## Ffcmm (May 4, 2016)

yes you can use colloidal silver spray or silver gel. The wound is big but it doesn't look too bad and should dry out soon. usually I clean it with an antiseptic, and then apply the silver gel and it resolves really quickly.


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

it could be so much worse.. not a horrible one. Be sure he has plenty of water and he will pee more than usual given the steroids. 
In about a week or so he may start to try to irritate it because it's going to be @ that itch point of healing. 
Probably he got a flea bite or something that initially started him licking there, they do grow fast.


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## puddles everywhere (May 13, 2016)

Sips has reactions to flea bites.. well any bug bite actually. Process to treat is much the same, shave it so you can see how large the irritation area is (usually much larger than it appears). My vet gave me some aloe gel. I've never seen anything clear up an irritation so quickly. The redness went away overnight and was healed in 2 days. I keep a large syringe of this stuff on the shelf.


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## 153330 (Dec 29, 2016)

Thanks everyone. This is how it is today.








It still looks very red, but I think the edges are becoming clearer, which I think means the infection isn't 'running' any further. 
He's still miserable. I have to make him get up and drink and go outside.
He eats about half his food, then rushes back to his hidey place on the sofa.
I've given him 2 piriton tablets, and I'll get aloe gel as soon as I can. Is there anything else I can do to soothe it and cheer him up?!


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## Alaska7133 (May 26, 2011)

Make sure to stay on top of anal gland expression. Express maybe once a week. YouTube has some good videos on how to do it. I had a girl that got hot spots there often. When I stayed on top of the anal gland expression, she didn’t have the problem, and her anal glands weren’t full and needing to be expressed to a great degree. I did tend to keep her fur trimmed under her tail too. 

Another golden I had, had allergies. I’d see his eyes get puffy and the skin around his eyes get red. He’s start rubbing the side of his head on the ground, and boom he’d have a hot spot appear. I had prescription steroids I used for him. As soon as I noticed him rubbing his head, I startEd those steroids ASAP. One full day and start to taper on second day, and he allergies disappeared. It’s like the steroids just started his body to fight the allergy. And then he wouldn’t get a hot spot.

If any of my dogs got hot spots, I’d shave the skin like everyone says. Then we had best luck with bag balm and wrap with sports wrap (non-adhesive kind).

Good luck. Finding the trigger for the hot spots can be a long process.


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## pawsnpaca (Nov 11, 2014)

Ugg! 😢 I feel for you! That spot is the WORST for hot spots because any tail moving, especially wagging, irritates the area. The few times I've had to deal with a hot spot there I've resorted to covering the tail with vet wrap so it wasn't irritated every time the dog moved his tail. The problem with that solution is that it doesn't allow for air circulation and makes it harder to get the spot to dry up. That said, maybe doing it for brief periods of time (maybe during the day when he's most active) would be worth it to make him more comfortable? You could take it off at night when he's more likely to be sleeping. If you try this, definitely put something (gauze, etc. - but something that won't stick to the wound if it's still moist) between the hot spot and the vet wrap.

A home remedy for drying up hot spots is to use a tea bag (the tannins in the tea help the spot to dry). Steep a black (or green) tea bag in 8 ounces of water. Let it cool. Then you can use either the tea bag or a cotton ball to apply tea to the sore. Hold it to the hot spot for several minutes or longer if your dog doesn’t seem to mind it.


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## Jmcarp83 (May 4, 2018)

Poor guy. My 7 month old has one right under her neck. And it literally appeared overnight. We were at her breeders Friday night, which was a 4 hour drive, and she doesn’t like car rides...so excessive, I mean, could soak four towels ringing wet of drool (and don’t look at the inside of the car...)...and woke up in the hotel Saturday with the spot. So she’s shaved there and applying Vet Aid+ Gold Bond Powder & Benadryl every 8 hours. So far she’s the best little trooper but...next car ride...child’s bib.


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## 153330 (Dec 29, 2016)

Oh your poor girl - I really understand how horrible hot spots are now.... :0(
Scott's is improving slowly. This was the hotspot 2 days ago:








And this is it today:








It's drier, and the hair is growing.
He seems to be in less pain and is much more cheerful in himself; and we went for our first (lockdown) walk around the park today. We've also adapted a camping table so he can eat and drink without bending his head down (which seems to naturally raise his tail, which hurts!):








We've also finished the 5 day steroid cream course, so we've switched over to aloe gel.
Fingers crossed we're on the home straight now!


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## pawsnpaca (Nov 11, 2014)

I cursed myself by answering your post last week... My girl has also started one under her tail. She's incontinent and we're always caught between rinsing her when she's peed on herself or getting a diaper on her to prevent having to clean the rugs/beds/floors. So, more often than we should, she wears a diaper when she's wet from either rinsing or urine (and pulling the diaper on and off, or her wagging while it's on... just isn't good). 

Ah well, this morning when we discovered the spot she got a bath with Zymox and we rubbed in some Zymox rinse to leave on to dry (antibacterial products). So far she's leaving it alone. Tonight when she's dry I'll check it out and do some trimming and some colloidal silver and/or try the tea bag, followed by some Gold Bond powder and an inflatable collar for the night. Wish us luck... I really want to get it under control with simple home remedies and not a trip to the vet... Hope we caught it early...😢


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## 153330 (Dec 29, 2016)

Oh no! All I can suggest is a vet visit for a shave and meds, then keeping it as dry and airy as possible? And a cone...
:0( 
We've had 5 very miserable days with Scott, but today has been much better. 
Good luck to you, and keep us posted?


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## 3 goldens (Sep 30, 2005)

I have not had to deal with hotsots in over 10 years. None of my 3 Pyrs ever got one, and neither did my last two goldens. However, Idid have tdealwiththe for Hunter, KayCee and Buck had one once. They-can be dime size at night and almost dollar bill size the next morning. I always clipped the fur back so none of the wound was touched, scrubbed with peroxide and used Gold Bond Powder, via my vet's advice an it worked great.. Hope all the dogs with hot spots get healed FAST. Good luck


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## 153330 (Dec 29, 2016)

I had no idea how painful hot spots could be.
The vet did check his anal glands because of the location (all clear), and I did try bandaging his tail with non stick wound pads and vetwrap, but it was so sensitive, he cried..! I couldn't put any pressure on the site at all. Even steroid cream applied very gently made him cry...
He's better today. We'll see how he is tomorrow.
From now on, we will make sure we bring a towel any time we anticipate a swim, and we'll thoroughly bathe and fully dry him monthly.
I don't want to do any of this again....


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## diane0905 (Aug 20, 2010)

Poor baby. It looks like it's getting better. Whenever I see one starting, I carefully trim the hair off with scissors, clean the area gently, use something like Gentamicin in spray form or Neosporin if I don't have the antibiotic spray, let that dry, and then powder it with Gold Bond Extra Strength. Benadryl helps too.


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## pawsnpaca (Nov 11, 2014)

So far, so good with Moxie (my incontinent girl who started with a hot spot in the same place yesterday). Naturally, just to make life more challenging, yesterday was a "wet" day (several accidents). Thankfully, she only got urine on outer fur, and the very ends of her tail feathers, so I was able to carefully rinse or wipe the affected areas without getting the skin wet again. I trimmed a little last night (I SO hate to take tail feathers if I don't have to... it takes soooo long to grow back), and it looks like we caught it early. The skin is red and a little crusty, but not moist, and she seems to be leaving it alone. So last night I just did some Gold Bond powder and she wore an inflatable "cone" last night. She had at least two accidents overnight, but again, her fur miraculously stayed dry. So far today we're letting her go "naked" and without a cone (she's lying right beside me as I work), and, since she's not chewing it, I just repeated the Gold Bond. If she starts at it again, we'll repeat the Zymox wash/rinse and reassess. Fingers crossed...


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## 153330 (Dec 29, 2016)

Scott's tail is definitely improving. He's been out for walkies and a play in the park again today and is MUCH more cheerful. No cone of shame last night. Here is what it looks like today:








I am so relieved it's drying up and no longer hurts!!
How is Moxie getting on? I hope she's comfortable and her hotspot heals up quickly. Scott sends her a sympathetic snoot boop... :0)


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