Tree Tea Oil......you can get it at a natural food store or pharmacy, maybe any drug store. I googled around and found the Tree Tea Oil idea when I noticed our Golden's first one at age 6. Worked great. It dries it right up, I would put it on a few times a day at first. It did not seem to burn or bother him, and it is not appealing to lick. We had to say good-bye to him last November at 13.5+yo but he had a few more hot spots in his later years. High humidity or staying damp after too many times after swimming seemed to be when he would get them. He had a really thick (beautiful) coat. If you try it, check the bottle opening. Some just pour out (you don't want this) but one main brand has a top that only lets out a drop or two so no chance of pouring out excessive amounts. It is only a few dollars. My bottle is Tea Tree Therapy brand. dark glass bottle, white label with grey/green print with a leaf. It is good for other uses as well but the dog had his own bottle.....

Amber's Jack Russell has seizures and they are pretty frequent. He has been to Purdue for treatment and to so many vet's. He is on I think 3 medications and an herbal something she got from the vet. The herbal stuff has helped but he may have a seizure once a week. You never know when it will happen. It is bad to see and I have seen him have terrible ones and one right after another. I have held him while he was having them and we are hurrying to the vet's. Sometimes it is weather related, like a storm moving in. Your little Gracie is so sweet I wish the best for her. Sue

Hi SG- thanks for the reference to Dr. Kummel. I will browse the vet library for her book. About the food trial and not being on meds- The problem with trying to assess a response to the food trial while the patient is on meds is that you'd expect the patient to get better because of the meds, regardless of the effect on food. And then you don't know if they got better because of meds or because of diet change. Truth be told, if food allergies are suspected, it makes sense to change the diet ASAP, and that's usually what happens. But you just can't assess the effects of the diet until the secondary problems (ear infection, hotspot, etc.) and meds (especially steroids) are cleared. When I was trying to get Aleksander's allergies under control, I switched his food while he was being treated for a hotspot and ear infection. He was on steroids at the time (he had food, environmental, and flea allergies- I have no idea which one set him off this particular time, but it was before he was allergy tested). His original diet was chicken and rice, and I knew beef didn't agree with him, so I switched him to lamb and rice. Because of the steroids, he wasn't itchy, and the antibiotics helped clear his ear infection and hot spot. But as soon as the meds were done, he blew up in a major way- worse he had ever been! Turns out, he was VERY allergic to lamb, and had been on it for a month while under treatment. But this time I switched him back to his original chicken and rice diet while he was under treatment for another hotspot/ear infection combo, and waited to start a novel diet after his treatments were done, and in the winter when his environmental allergies were not a factor. Turns out, he wasn't allergic to chicken or rice at all, and the first flare up was most likely due to environmental and/or flea allergies. I've seen similar things happen to other people too. Now when I suspect a food allergy with environmental allergies, I tell people to not bother doing an official food trial until whatever season the environmental allergies are at their lowest. But it doesn't hurt to switch foods before that, with the understanding that major flare ups in environmental allergies may require medical intervention and make us unable to judge the effect of the food.

Yes,Des. Holly is a Corgi. If you can believe the internet, she's a pembroke welsh and yes, she has a great temperment! Very smart; almost too smart. She's also very loyal. I didn't get her until she was four months hold. We were her third owner. She came with a few problems, such as pooping on the floor. It took awhile to 'train' her and she' is much better. She still won't 'ask' to go outside though. She'll look at you expectantly or stand in front of the door and dance like 'open the damn door! I gotta poop!" but she won't bark or scratch the door. It took her awhile to trust and respect us too but she's fine now. Corgis are such characters. When she is in trouble she rolls over and over then looks at you as if to say 'you can't stay mad at me cause I'm so cute' She needs a lot of exercise. If she is left alone too long she finds things to do, like a child trying to get your attention and it doesn't have to be good attention. LOL Lori