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  1. #1
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    Hot Spot Treatment

    Last week on Tuesday we noticed a wet spot on his cheek, upon further inspection the base of his fur looked like it was oozing/full of pus so we did some research and concluded it was a hot spot. He's 5 years old and never had this before so it was kind of shocking... The next day the area was considerably bigger and we decided to put the e collar on him so he wouldn't irritate the area and on Thursday took him to the vet. They concluded it was indeed a hot spot and gave us some anti macrobial solution to apply to the area, and shaved around it. To my surprise, the shaved area was much bigger than the original irritated spot we had seen just a couple of days ago and it was all raw and irritated! This thing spreads like wildfire, it's nuts!

    Anyway, fast forward to this week, that area is starting to heal which is good, but it's formed a crust and sometimes it cracks and bleeds, we don't know if there is anything we can do about this? We're told to keep the area dry but it's gotten a bit too dry! Furthermore, the oozing spot has now moved up toward his ear and that area is not shaved, we tried to trim the hair but it's not enough, now the hair is all matted and is an absolute mess! The more it oozes and dries, the thicker the mat is getting and the whole thing is becoming very stressful for everyone.

    Should I bring him back to the Vet to get the area shaved? I don't know how they'll be able to shave it without irritating the skin, it's like we're back to square one, by next week it'll probably be crusty like the lower part of his skin that we think is finally healing, but it'll probably crack and bleed... We have CBD infused coconut oil we're applying to the dry area, not sure if it's helping. We're also applying iodine solution a few times a day to both the dry and wet spot and wiping it off gently and applying the antibacterial spray to the wet area that's still actively oozing. He's also now on antibiotics, started yesterday, the vet initially just sent him home last Thursday with the spray and said if it didn't improve or it spread, that she would RX antibiotics, maybe she should have from the get go?

    Any help is much appreciated!

  2. #2
    Senior Dog
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    Huggie has a hot spot in the same place. What we have done is apply a cortizone cream during the day so she doesn't scratch and polysporin at night. hers has dried up nicely and has stopped oozing. It has been about 5 days of treatment..

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    Sam (06-18-2019)

  4. #3
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    If you're stressed out by how it's looking, I'd take him back to get it shaved and checked. The antibiotics will probably help but if it's looking that bad, I'd go to the vet to get it cleaned up, shaved more if needed, and make sure you're doing what needs to be done. You've got a lot going on, the CBD coconut oil, antimicrobial spray, iodine solution, matted fur, etc. I'd probably not use anything other than what the vet suggested unless they say it's OK. One of our dogs had a big hot spot on his back between his shoulders that got big fast but the antibiotics cleared it up pretty quickly.

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    Sam (06-18-2019)

  6. #4
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    Thanks for the fast replies, much appreciated! We had been doing the Cortizone cream until the vet sent us home with the antibacterial solution, I think we will hold off on the CBD coconut oil and I'll make a same-day appt tomorrow to get the area cleaned and shaved and also to find out how the rest of it is healing...

  7. #5
    Senior Dog bmathers's Avatar
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    Oh boy, hotspots are so difficult to get rid of and they spread so fast. Diggity recently had a small sore on his paw that was turning into a potential hotspot. We’re not sure if it was a bug bite or something he got from rough-housing with other dogs when I boarded him at the breeder, but it was red and puffy and was quickly getting worse. We didn’t end up shaving the spot because I felt that would cause him to lick it more. I used diluted iodine to clean it every morning and then used a topical spray (Gentaspray) 3x a day for about 10 days and it really helped. He also got the cone of shame when I couldn’t watch him very closely (especially at night.) I can still see the mark where the fur was gone, but it is slowly growing back now. His skin underneath is dark, so I am wondering if he will always have the mark as a little scar.

    Good luck to you getting rid of it on your pup! Poor thing!


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    Sam (06-19-2019)

  9. #6
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    We've had good luck with Vetericyn hot spot spray https://www.amazon.com/Vetericyn-Plu...s%2C151&sr=8-3 . Since we've been using it, we haven't had a hot spot get as big and nasty as you were describing. That said, Cookie's the only current dog who gets them and she's never had one get that bad. Mulder had a couple of doozies in his lifetime and we didn't have the spray at the time. So maybe hers wouldn't have gotten bad anyway? It certainly wouldn't hurt and did seem soothing to her.
    Annette

    Cookie (HIT HC Jamrah's Legally Blonde, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015
    Sassy (HIT Jamrah's Blonde Ambition, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015

    Chloe (HIT HC OTCH Windsong's Femme Fatale, UDX4, OM6, RE) 6/7/2009

    And remembering:

    Scully (HC Coventry's Truth Is Out There, UD, TD, RN) 4/14/1996 - 6/30/2011
    Mulder (Coventry's I Want To Believe, UD, RN, WC) 5/26/1999 - 4/22/2015

    And our foster Jolie (Windsong's Genuine Risk, CDX) 5/26/1999 - 3/16/2014

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    barry581 (06-20-2019), Sam (06-19-2019)

  11. #7
    Senior Dog POPTOP's Avatar
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    Melody had one on the side of her face hidden by the ear flap. I treated with daily warm water washes to soften and remove the crusties (used the sprayer on the shower). I did not rub in any way, just let the water do the work. Patted dry, no rubbing. Then let air dry. Applied Gold Bond, in the yellow/gold container. Be careful, it is lofty so protect eyes and nose. This was a daily routine for about a week and a half and she healed beautifully. HOWEVER, if your vet has prescribed a different treatment, be sure to follow his directions. Fortunately, Melody did not need any antibiotic creams.
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    Sam (06-19-2019)

  13. #8
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    I'd like to thank everyone for the advice and sharing your experience with hot spots! I just wanted to post a quick update, we did end up going to the vet early this AM and they shaved the area further so we can now clearly see where the irritation really is. Some spots are worse than others, they said the bottom part of the face had the deepest scars, almost little holes where the infection probably started from and spread out.

    They said to not use anything on the wound except for warm water and soap to clean the area and to prevent it from getting crusty. Other than that to keep it dry. He'll have to wear the cone for at least another week when we can't watch him closely... Poor guy! He'll continue his antibiotics and also started on Prednisone. We were told it might take up to a month for the area to clear up and it looked really bad and raw when we left the vet's office, they had to scrape stuff off and shave, etc which irritated the skin even more.

    It looks better tonight though and he's in a better mood. This has been quite the ordeal we wish to hopefully never repeat. Attached is the pic, parental discretion advised!

    -sam-jpg

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  15. #9
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    Oh, poor pup! That must feel awful. It's so surprising how quickly those things can spread. I'm glad you took him back to get it checked out. Hoping for a quick resolution!

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    Sam (06-26-2019)

  17. #10
    Senior Dog bmathers's Avatar
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    Oh gosh! I feel so bad for the poor guy! :-(


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