# Hotspots or not??



## geenz (Aug 3, 2011)

So a few months ago Murphy had a sore on his face and another behind his shoulder blade, so I took him to the vet and she prescribed some antibiotics and a cream and said they were hotspots. They cleared up within a week or so but it took a few weeks till the one on his nose was gone enough that he could wear his gentle leader again without rubbing on it and making it red again. Anyway to get to the point of my story, I found a sore on the side of his face today, and another at the base of his tail. Now, from what I've read online "hotspots" are more of a itchy, uncomfortable rash and they spread really quick and get quite large. Murphy's sores stay pretty small and are just a small scab type thing. My question is, are they hot spots or are they something else? He doesn't seem to be worried by them, I was touching the one on the side of his face and he was like yeah whatever


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## cgriffin (Nov 30, 2011)

Hm, odd, If it stays small and has a scab on it, I also doubt that they are hotspots. Toby currently has a hot spot on his right front leg. He had an attached tick on it and our dachshund tried to remove it for him and got a bit to aggressive with the chewing. Now poor Toby has a hotspot and I have to keep both him and Dachsi from licking it, arghh!!
Most hot spots start out red and then progress to a bit moist and get bigger and bigger, and yes, itchy, the dogs won't leave them alone. Thus they get inflammed.
If your dog is not very bothered by those scabs he has, keep them clean, maybe put some ointment on them and just keep an eye on it. If they start getting bigger and itchy, you know it is hot spots or maybe another type of allergy. May warrant another trip to the vet again then.
I take it your pup is on some kind of flea treatment?


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

Can you take a picture of it so we can see what it looks like?


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## geenz (Aug 3, 2011)

Yeah he's on comfortis, just had his tablet for the month two days ago and I've only ever seen a flea on him when we first moved in here 6 months ago so I don't think its fleas.. I'll try and get a photo, its a bit hard with all that fur but I'll see what I can do


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## geenz (Aug 3, 2011)

This is the best I could do, the one on the side of his face is only tiny but the one on his tail is about the size of a peanut and in two places. It just feels like a scab, he wasn't worried about me fiddling around with it, more annoyed that he wanted to roll over and I wouldn't let him haha. This is the one on his tail.


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## 3 goldens (Sep 30, 2005)

I really don't know if it is hot sot or not. My KayCee use to get them and they would go from little fingernail size to silver dollar size in a few hours and get even bigger over night. They would be yukky and the fur would stick to them. Always had to clip the fur back and used peroxide to cean it up and wehn dry appolied Gold Bond Power. She use to get them most often on the side of her face belong her ear and on her thighs. Good luck


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## Tailer'sFolks (Feb 27, 2007)

I use Gold Original Listerine to clean them up then after tat has dried I use the gold bond medicated powder to help dry them out.

Yes, that could be the start of a hotspot. Did the vet do a craping? Sometimes it could start with a flea bite, a stick scratch or mites. The scraping would help identify what was there.

What food are you using...some dogs are sensitive to corn, soy, chicken, etc. which needs to come out of the body somewhere...might be a food allergy. Good Luck!


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## elly (Nov 21, 2010)

Are these flat to his skin or is there any lump to them? How old is Murphy?


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## geenz (Aug 3, 2011)

He'll be 10 months old tomorrow. They are sort of raised like a thick scab. The two he had when we went to the vets were much the same, she just shaved the patch of fur and we put the cream on them. He eats Purina Supercoat adult chicken flavour at the moment. When he had the first two he was on the Large breed adult supercoat so I'm not sure if food is the cause or not. I was planning on switching to a different brand after we finish the bag we're on just to see if that will help. Last time I cleaned them up with warm salty water but I'll pick up some peroxide tomorrow and give them a clean and trim up


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## Tailer'sFolks (Feb 27, 2007)

Peroxide will dry out the skin...I do believe. I'd use the original gold Listerine.


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## geenz (Aug 3, 2011)

Ok, well I ended up forgetting to get the peroxide when we went out this morning anyway so I just used warm salty water and trimmed the hair around the area and applied the cream the vet gave us last time. He wasn't bothered when I was cleaning it up, the scabby bits all came off and it just looks like a red sore, no bleeding or anything. Poor fella has a patchy tail now hahaha


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

It looks to me like a staph infection. I had a dog that had a couple spots like that, and that is what the vet said it was, and what we treated. It takes a longer and stronger course of antibiotics and shampoo to get rid of it.


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

There is one reason I don't think it is a hot spot. Hot spots usually develop when there is moisture - and tails always dry out first and stay dry (from all the wagging!). I would investigate some sort of skin infection. The fact that the sores don't grow and expand also are sort of anti-hot-spot (at least the ones I've known). 

I'm glad they don't seem to bother Murphy, but I'd have him tested for some other skin issues.


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## cgriffin (Nov 30, 2011)

Listerine has alcohol in it, does it not? That is what causes the drying out of a sore. 
I usually use hydrogen peroxide on hot spots or some antibacterial/antimicrobial spray cleaner, made for dogs. Then I usually put some neopredef powder on it, that I buy from the vet. 
If it is a hot spot, you want it to dry and scab over. But, this still does not look and act like a hot spot to me.


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## desi.n.nutro (Mar 18, 2011)

It doesn't look like a hot spot to me either. Blake got a bacterial infection that started out like a hot spot which I would describe as more of a red/raw spot. The skin looks like it was touched by something hot without a rash or without being open. Moisture usually soothes a hot spot but provides the perfect environment for "things to grow." Clean and dry is perfect for some sort of infection thing. Looks like if it started as a hot spot, you have moved on to something else. That is my 2 cents worth anyway.


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## geenz (Aug 3, 2011)

cubbysan said:


> It looks to me like a staph infection. I had a dog that had a couple spots like that, and that is what the vet said it was, and what we treated. It takes a longer and stronger course of antibiotics and shampoo to get rid of it.


Are they a constant kind of infection or do they just crop up whenever? Because the first one I noticed was around christmas and it cleared up on its own (we didn't know what it was) then the one on his face and back were about 8 weeks ago (which I thought I'd better take him to the vet since they were back again) and now he's just got a tiny one on his face and the bigger tail one.


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## Craftingclare (Nov 23, 2014)

I know this is an old thread but can I ask if you found out any more about this? I found a couple of patches behind Eva's ear today. Definitely not ticks - I was wondering if she'd rolled in something nasty as she 'went snake' in a field yesterday (slithering about on the ground, rubbing the side of her face along!)


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