<p>Sometimes with a hotspot you can’t tell how big or bad it is until you clip the hair.</p>
<p>We had a border collie who would get them. We discovered very quickly if we trimmed the hair with a pair of mustache scissors, and we put cortaid on the spot, licking would stop and within a day or two, the spot was well on it’s way to healing. Anecdotally, from my local dog park, this was the quickest and least traumatic way to stop the hotspot from getting worse. </p>
<p>We have had bossy dogs, as most of our dogs wre border collie rescues, but we have never had to crate. In fact our most recent dog was kept on a deck with a crate for four years before we got him. Dealing with the bossy issues was actually not hard. </p>
<p>Back to the hotspot, we also discovered after trimming the hair, washing and medicate the spot, going for a walk, long or short, distracted the dog, they saw getting medicated and trimmed was a recurser to going for an extra walk.</p>
<p>If you’re curious about your dog’s food, [Dog</a> Food Reviews and Ratings | Dog Food Advisor](<a href=“http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/]Dog”>http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/) is a very good tool. The 5-star foods are entirely grain free, the 4-star foods are mostly as well. The comments are also a great source of information on formula changes, someone usually picks up on them pretty fast.</p>
<p>You don’t need to crate to stave away dominance issues, it simply makes it that much smoother on both you and your dog to use one. And that previous owner was using a crate the wrong way, it’s not meant to isolate the dog.</p>
<p>You can definitely see the hotspot clearly even with long-haired breeds if you use a comb to part the hair or move it against the grain - something which you should be doing in regular brushing anyway. Remember that dogs would’ve died out a long time ago if hotspots formed and became septic issues so easily. Not being in the wild running through brambles and wind means dead fur stays matted on much longer. Regular brushing, just like maintaining your dog’s oral health with chews, is essential.</p>
<p>Edit: If anyone goes the boiled chicken route, make sure you don’t give your dog the bone. Cooked poultry bones are brittle, splinter VERY easily (try it yourself), and a lot of dogs die from them every year.</p>
<p>Okay, we got the magic potion (yay Amazon prime!). Have trimmed away just a bit of hair at the edges and sprayed it on. I like how it stays in place. Dog doesn’t seem to mind as we are rewarding him with doggie treats before and after. He’s figured out how to eat with the cone, but it took some scrambled eggs to motivate him to make the effort.</p>
<p>Here’s a conundrum - It’s hot and humid here and our doggie has had this cone on since Tuesday night. He’s old, he drools and pants and when he eats and drinks he slobbers and all of that moisture pools into his fur at his neck down at the bottom of the collar. This morning I took off the cone to dry that area off and to let him have a minute to wiggle. Ahhhh, did he like that! As I was drying his neck I realized that he looks like he’s developing another hot spot on under his chin. His haunches hot spot is drying out and looking much better, but this neck one stumps me. I sprayed it with the Vetericyn but don’t know how I can keep that area dry. I think I’ll try to punch out some holes in the bottom of the cone for ventilation…</p>
<p>Kathiep If you are home during the day, take the cone off. My standard poodle has recovered from paw and leg surgery without wearing a cone when I was home. I was very careful to keep her with me.</p>
<p>It you want that dry you need to really trim hair. Air is what dries it. Also no need for cone if home. Sometimes just the threats of the cone will get a dog to stop.</p>
<p>sglad to see this. My dog has been miserable this year. i have taken him to the vet numerous times. he looks motheaten. they said this has been a bad year for allergies, but i feel like a bad dog owner. It is so frustrating. he was ok on a special diet but they switched to another “non allergic” diet and he is not doing well. thcompany stopped making the other one. he gets benadryl twice a day, my mother suggested zyrtec. am definately getting the vetericyn thanks.</p>
<p>downtoearth - which non-allergic diet was prescribed?</p>
<p>Seahorsesrock - It sounds like kathiep did trim the original and it’s drying out. Trimming wouldn’t do anything for the new hotspot if the drool is pooling in the cone, since it’ll be moist there regardless.</p>
<p>kathiep - Thirding the recommendations to take off the cone. Just being attentive to your dog will suffice. I usually advise people who are “too busy” or think it takes too much time (not saying you’re one of them) to remember that every ounce of attention you keep on your dog early on will pay off many times over in how much faster recovery is.</p>
<p>its science dietdog food.
called the local petco they have the vetericyn. have to run but will look up the exact name of te food and post. I am going to stop buy the local “natural” pet store for some advice. enough is enough poor guy, also thinking about changing vets.</p>
<p>One area that many vets seem to know little about is nutrition. Looking at what dogs are eating can be one of the last things they look at - if they consider it at all. I made the mistake of trusting one of the vets when she recommended my dog go on one of the prescription diet foods they sell. My dog got seriously ill because he couldn’t tolerate the ingredients. The first ingredient in the food designed for gastrointestinal health is corn!</p>
<p>edited to add - there are much better foods out there than Science Diet. I’m amazed that vets push that crap.</p>
<p>Cone is off, neck area trimmed and Vetricyn applied. Wow, there was a lot of heavy hair there! Even with the cone off, I’m not sure it would have dried very quickly without the trimming. While we had him muzzled, I took off some small matted clumps around his ears too and trimmed some more heavy chest/neck hair. He was very patient and still, I think he liked that. We brush him at least once daily during warm weather, but goldens are such hairy dogs!</p>
<p>“edited to add - there are much better foods out there than Science Diet. I’m amazed that vets push that crap.”</p>
<p>Exactly, Cartera45. Actually, the reason they push it is because they are paid to do so by the manufacturer in many cases. It IS, in fact, a terrible food. There are great alternatives out there for dogs allergic to certain types of meat or certain other ingredients. However, you definitely won’t find them in Petco or Petsmart. With the exception of two brands they sell (Wellness Core and Blue Wilderness), the food pets stores sell is the equivalent of human junk food (that includes not just dog and cat food, but also small animal food, such as guinea pigs).</p>
<p>It definitely takes some research to find good food. The top ones, just to name a few, are Orijen, Innova Evo, Wellness core, etc. This is a great site to get you started, with the rest of the top choices:</p>
<p>For those interested, here’s a review of Hill’s Science Diet Canine Adult Active Formula by people NOT affiliated with any food manufacturer:</p>
<p>"This food receives a 1 star rating simply because there is nothing lower. </p>
<p>The primary ingredient is Corn meal, another low quality ingredient. Corn is a problematic grain that is difficult for dogs to digest and thought to be the cause of a great many allergy and yeast infection problems. We prefer not to see this used in dog food. </p>
<p>The second ingredient in the food is by-products. It is impossible to ascertain the quality of by-products and these are usually products that are of such low quality as to be rejected for use in the human food chain, or else are those parts that have so little value that they cannot be used elsewhere in either the human or pet food industries. The AAFCO definition of chicken by-product meal is a meal consisting of the ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines, exclusive of feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidable in good processing practice. </p>
<p>Animal fat is a further low quality ingredient and is impossible to determine the source. Unidentified ingredients are usually very low quality. AAFCO define this as "obtained from the tissues of mammals and/or poultry in the commercial processes of rendering or extracting. It consists predominantly of glyceride esters of fatty acids and contains no additions of free fatty acids. If an antioxidant is used, the common name or names must be indicated, followed by the words “used as a preservative”. It is a concern to see a fat as the third ingredient. Research at Purdue University has identified fat in the top four ingredients of a dry food as a factor that increases the risk of bloat in large breed dogs. Smaller breeds are untested.</p>
<p>Beet pulp is further filler and a controversial ingredient it is a by-product, being dried residue from sugar beets which has been cleaned and extracted in the process of manufacturing sugar. It is a controversial ingredient in dog food, claimed by some manufacturers to be a good source of fibre, and derided by others as an ingredient added to slow down the transition of rancid animal fats and causing stress to kidney and liver in the process. We note that beet pulp is an ingredient that commonly causes problems for dogs, including allergies and ear infections, and prefer not to see it used in dog food. There are less controversial products around if additional fibre is required.</p>
<p>This food contains chemical preservatives (BHA, BHT and propyl gallate) that are believed to be carcinogenic."</p>
<p>downtoearth - Others beat me to it, I suspected it was Science Diet since almost every vet seems to peddle that corn-loaded garbage. I’ve yet to determine whether it’s from willful intent or ignorance. Sell food which many dogs are highly allergic too, then turn around and prescribe steroid shots… I wouldn’t necessarily drop your vet, because I’ve tried and haven’t found any that DON’T do this. Though there are certainly those which are better about it (my current one has science diet in the waiting area, but is very averse to prescribing drugs and treatments in general which I appreciate).</p>
<p>If there’s any Pet Goods stores near you, they carry almost all the premium foods unlike Petco or Petsmart. Otherwise, Petfoodsdirect (a site, just google it) has very competitive prices even with shipping included.</p>
<p>My dog, a Boston Terrier, has a very sensitive stomach and a problem with his esophagus. I have tried so many foods and finally found one he can keep down - Nature’s Variety. Fortunately, I get the best price from our locally owned small pet store. He eats less of it than the cheap stuff so it isn’t much more expensive in the long run.</p>
<p>I went to the natural pet store, bought a yucca shampoo, and fish oil, also bought the vetricyn . got home he had eaten both elbows on his front legs. We already have a vet appt tomorrow. They also suggest an additive to his food containing, garlic and other things to help improve immunity. They said to hold off on his frontline, and heart worm. My vet always wants me to give it to him but I hate to. she thinks it helps if he is itchy from insects.
he owner also said to brush him out which my H had already done, trim the area. She has some food I am thinking of switching to. He is buying the cone of shame poor guy!</p>
<p>Our golden was prone to hot spots. I changed his food from a corn/beef formulation to a rice/lamb one. It did the job and also helped stop gas our other dog was having.</p>
<p>Nutro brand (at Costco and some grocery and feed stores) worked well and is fairly reasonably priced.</p>
<p>Downtoearth. Have you had your dog tested for scabies? You are describing a very mangey dog.</p>
<p>My dogs were misdiagnosed for months and it was horrible time for all of us. When the emergency vet saw them for the first time he diagnosed them immediately. </p>
<p>If it is scabies mites let me know and I will tell you our experience,</p>
<p>I highly recommend a raw diet for dogs. I have one dog that used to be prone to hot spots but she never gets them since a switch to raw. My big guy got hot spots as a “teenager” (normal because of hormonal changes) but hasn’t had any since he turned two in March.</p>
<p>Your vet will poo poo a raw diet, btw. Vets always do.</p>