I’ve heard of dogs getting “hot spots” in the summer and my neighbor says her dog gets them.
What are hot spots, and why do they happen?
Mary F
Tags: dog hot spots, hot spots, hot to treat hot spots on a dog, what are hot spots on a dog
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Hi Mary, Here’s a good explanation from About.com:
“A hot spot is a localized area of skin inflammation and infection. The infection can be superficial or deep. Other common names for this condition include: moist dermatitis, pyotraumatic dermatitis, and acute moist dermatitis. Broken down, “pyo-” refers to “pus”, “-traumatic” refers to self-inflicted trauma of biting, licking, scratching, and so on, and “dermatitis” means inflammation of the skin.
These common skin lesions are usually caused (and made worse) by biting, licking, or scratching. The important thing for successful long term treatment of a hot spot is to find the underlying cause to break the cycle of continued skin trauma and resulting inflammation.
Redness, oozing, pain, and itchiness are hallmark signs. Hair loss is commonly present. Sometimes hair can mat over the lesion, obscuring the size and degree of the problem. These lesions can appear suddenly, and grow rapidly in size. It is common for an owner to notice a small area of inflamed skin in the morning (perhaps an inch or couple centimeters in diameter) and come home from work to be met with a large area the size of the palm of a hand. The dog is usually highly agitated, and will not leave the area alone. Some dogs will even growl or snap if the area is touched.
There is usually an inciting factor to initiate the extreme licking and scratching behavior. Look for fleas, mites, or other external parasites, an insect sting or bite, allergies (food, inhalant, contact), or injury (skin wound, scrape, etc.). Some animals have been known to “start” a hot spot out of boredom or stress-related psychological problems.”
http://vetmedicine.about.com/od/diseasesandconditions/f/FAQ_hotspot.htm
Hi Mary
I broadly agree with the comments posted above. Hotspots are the result of self-inflicted damage in the itch/scratch cycle following an initial insult. It results in a serous / sticky discharge with inflammation of the underlying skin. The classical (Latin) description of these lesions is calor, dolor, rubor, tumor. This translates to heat, pain, redness, swelling. You scratch / lick because it feels sore. It feels sore so you scratch and lick it in a vicious circle. Mostly, (>90%) it will be flea related. Some dogs become sensitised to the saliva of the common cat flea. So a single bite will initiate paroxysms of scratching, whereas another pet may tolerate high levels of infestation without any symptoms. You yourself may be affected – the flea can bite you but not live permanently on you.
A simple test is to brush your pet’s coat onto a piece of white tissue. Moisten this with water. If you see signs of haemolysis (brown spots developing around very small specks from the coat) then this is a sign of flea activity. You will need to treat all pets in the household every 3-4 weeks. You may need to treat the environment (carpets, edges of the room, where the fiurniture is) with a long-acting anti-parasite spray. Your vet may recommend an injection which stops the flea eggs from hatching out.
You may experience problems afterwards even with treatment. The hotspot is a reaction to the flea bite. Even if you are using a product that kills fleas, there is a delay between the flea taking in the flea-killer and the flea pegging it; in the interim it may still bite your pet before it dies!
My dog has one of these hot spots on his tail, for one he is not able to reach that spot at least not easily and in Reno, Nevada where we live we don’t have fleas…I bought some Hot Spot treatment and gave him a dose of Temaril. If this does not start clearing up the redness, we are off to the vet….
My dog gets them in her face and neck..HER mom gets them really bad every year..I think its genetically tied also. My dogs dont have fleas and get treated.My Pups Hotspots are in the same location her moms are though(just not half as bad). I treat the Area with Cortizone powder for 3 days after cutting her fur short in that area. And that usually works.If your dog is prone to Hotspots just ask your Vet for a bigger bottle next time..this way you dont have to drag them to the Vet all the time
Is the cortizone powder available over the counter or is this something i need to get at the vet? My dog has a hotspot a few months ago and was giving a special shampooo and some oral medicine. It was very expensive. I still have some of the shampoo but I was wondering if there is something I can buy over the counter to help him again. This spot is higher up on his neck so he cant get to well. Before he would scratch like crazy and cry.
I have a pure bred English bull dog and she has regular hotspots. I find she will get them in her rolls right when the weather gets warm or when there is moisture from a bath or a run through th sprinklers. She also can not wear an ID badge in anyway as this will cause her to get hotspots as well. During summer I have a kiddy pool that she can climb in to help keep her cool but I like to dry her off with a towel it blow dry her before she goes to bed to keep from her beding getting moist. Also if she is tense for a long period of time I have found that she will break out with hotspots almost like a teenager with ance. Hope my experience/ stories can help 🙂