Hot spots

 
What is a Hot Spot?

A Hotspot is a acute wet pyodemie or wet rash. A hotspot is a superficial skinn infection, that appears very fast.  Moastly it starts with a round spot, that is swollen and pushy. Often it is a spot were little of no hair grows. The spot is itschy, and that's why dogs skratch, lick and bite, that's why hotspots grow so fast allready within an few hours they can get very big.Het is een plek waar veelal geen of weinig haar op zit.

On the photo you see a sheltie with an spot who is very rusty collar, the white collar has an (red) rusty glow. If the collar looks rusty, than you have to look if their is a hotspot.

 
If you pull the hair on the side, you will see a wet spot, with red framework around the spot. This spot has nearly no hair anymore while it is infected
If an hotspot is allready as big as this one, is the best remedy to shave it, and get rid of all the hair on this spot. Shave the spot a bit extra, so you can see not infected parts. The skin and coat around the spot has to stay dry. You can not wash this spot for a while.
The hotspot is shaved, now the healing can start.  You can give you're dog something homeopatic to help the resistance.

Good food can help you're dog to to heal very fast. Since Keshia gets complete raw meat, she heals very vast. The last time the skin was healed within 3 weeks. Normally she had needed antibiotics and that did take moast of the time 7 weeks to heal.
 

Causes of hotspots:
A hotspot can have different causes.

1. The heat, can cause an Hotspot. A hotspot causes by heat is moastly because the dog has an thick coat because of that, the skinn can not breath.  Beneath the thick coat it starts to get hot and it is heating, because of this the skin will be infected. A dog who swims a lot, you need to dry this coat of the dog very good. Examen you're dog very good, when they have a thick coat and with warm weather.  If you find a hotspot do take care immediately, the sooner it will be healed. Give you're dog some "resistance" till the skin is healed. It takes a while before the coat is growing back. If you have a long haired dog, you can see after a year still some difference on the length of the coat.

Hotspots can exist after a fleebite or food allergie. If their is an allergie, than the hotspots will appear also on the belly of you're dog. Sometimes the reason of hotspots are a thyroid problem. This will not say that every dog with hotspots has a thyriod problem, but it can be a possibility. If you're dog is very slow and sleeps a lot and has hotspots it is better to test the dog on Thyroid gland problems.

If a dog is getting bored, he can start to pull his hairs out. It can be irritated and infected. Also insectbites can cause a hotspot.

Also after a tickbite there can be a hotspot, I have seen it a several times with our Keshia. The spot started to itch, the dog itches, licks or bites at that spot. Within an hour their will be a hotspot. The same can happen with an earinfection, or earmite.

Very important is to find out what the cause is of the hotspot. Hotspots do take daily care. If you're dog has a flee allergy, you need to spray you're dog with an anti-flee product regulairy.

A good hygiene take care of an good condition ot the skin and coat. In case of an food allergie give you're dog other food. There are a lot of dogs who are doing very well on BARF or Complete Raw Meat, it gives you're dog a better resistance and the skinproblems will moastly dissapear very soon.

Comb the caot of you're dog daily, to let it breath. Keep the hotspots dry and clean, the hairs around need to be cut away, and the spots need to be desinfected with a spray. If the itching stays, you can use a skin oil to rub in, to take care of the itching.

 

 
© Copyright Jacqueline Bosch