My grandmother is moving to upstate New York (from connecticut) and recently she has been packing up and the house and such.
Her dog recently has been chewing at himself and making these hairless circles that the vet refered to as "hot spots". The vet put him on anti-biotics and itch medicine but the dog continues to do this in the same area.
Any suggestions?
Answers:
You can use a collar to prevent him from chewing on the spots. They make inflatable ones that give your dog a bit more liberty to move around normally, or the stiff "lampshade" looking ones. The latter are usually really cheap at the pet store, and if you need an immediate solution, that would be easier to find.
With Hot Spots, some people find it helpful to shave the area around the spot so that it's exposed to the air to help it dry up and heel. You can do that by covering the spot with Vaseline (to prevent it becoming irritated during shaving) and then carefully trimming the area all around the spot using clippers. Then wash the vaseline off.
There's a product called Sulfodene (Wal Mart carries it in the pet aisle, and PetsMart does as well) that seems to work well for many kinds of skin problems. It also smells / tastes nasty to dogs so they tend to stop chewing on the area.
Have your Grandma call the vets and get him a e-collar. This will prevent him from getting to the spot and reinfecting it by chewing.
Try asking your vet for an anti-itch powder, or get him a cone collar till they heel.
E-collar is a good idea. I am wondering if the dog has developed an allergy to the grain in it's food. I would switch to a dog food with little or no grain. Try Innova. she has a dog with hot spot, well she doesn't any more. She still has the dog, but not the hot spots. She swears by it. It's a great food for ALL dogs. My friend has 12 and they are gorgeous and healthy! Dog might have a flea allergy too! Advantage always worked for my dog! Dog could also be allergic to all the dust being kicked up in the move or she has anxiety from it all. Good Luck!
I worked at a vets office and know exactly what your talking about. The thing is with animals is that if they do itch for a long period of time it can become a habit. Make sure you keep the medication on it. Most vet places have a spray or gel that you can buy over the counter called Yuck Gel, or BanGaurd. It does not hurt the spot but it will stop them from chewing because it tastes bad. Good Luck
yes,go back to the vet for a recheck...he may just need a different antibiotic or another med altogether.
Other than prednisone and all the rest of the course of treatment, I found that Smith's RoseBud Salve ointment works to soothe the irritated little hairless areas and keep my dog from chewing the skin after the hair is off. They like it too and it isn't toxic.
I spoke with a woman named Linda at Rosebud, about two years ago, she was soooooo kind, she knew exactly what my dog was going through and overnighted me a case of the stuff, bypassing all the normal ordering procedures. It is fabulous stuff, I use it for my lips and my dog, still, loves this stuff and stops licking his hot spots as soon as I start saturating his skin with it.
Say hi to linda for me if you do contact her, she is in Woodsboro Maryland somewhere I think, and.she was so kind and so concerned, I sent her a little sequoia pine from where I live (about a 5 inch sapling). If you send her a little bit of greenery from where you live she might end up with global garden of reminders of how kind she hasbeen and how many dogs she has helped.
You can contact her through the Rosebud Perfume Company at Woodsboro Maryland, 21798 or go online and google her.
This company has been around over a hundred years and my grandmother and mother in law have been passing out these little ointment tins to all of us girls, for soft lips, elbows and heels, for as long as I can remember.
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