A variety of things- humidity, excessive licking, matting, and sometimes overgrowth of bacteria.

To understand hot spots it helps to understand a little about allergies and the environment. The allergens are present in the environment no matter where one lives. In the case of airborne or seasonal allergens, you adopt a puppy or buy a dog and not have a problem the first year. It takes the second time around being exposed for the dogs to desensitize to them and have allergies manifest themselves.

While a dog's skin is incredibly durable it is also subject to a variety of disorders... most of which are treatable like allergies. Allergies can come from the environment called airborne pollen or food oriented with being allergic to a particular ingredient. The allergens cause the mast cells in the skin to irritate which brings on the itching and then the scratch. In the extreme the dogs immune system reacts and produces histimine which causes the dog to scratch more and then hot spots and such arrise. This is why an antihistimine like HHP is usually prescribed and eventually a low dose of a steroid like prednisone is used as a followup to give the dog some relief if needed.

Bob

Thanks.I have been using sulfodene I hope it works.I have gone to several pet stores and they don't have it on the shelf.I was able to get it online.Years ago I had a pet and I do remembered it worked.

I would shave that area clean- or take it to be shaved. Then apply some neosporin- if it looks worse then go to a vet. I wouldn't use sulfodene, a couple of years ago we had some owners use sulfodene on their dog for hot spots- he ended up reacting to the sulfodene, and his skin started peeling off we had to euthanize the poor guy because it was so severe and was too late by the time the owners brought him in.

I use goldbond powder in the blue bottle on my Newfs that get hotspots. It works like a charm! I clean and dry the area then apply the powder a couple times a day until it's gone. You want to keep it dry so I wouldn't use neosporin. Just my 2cents. Jennifer

Neosporin is effective to help kill bacteria- which is what can cause hot spots. Bacteria overgrowth + warm moisture=hot spots. Point in clearing them up is to shave the area clean to rid it of the hair and keep it clean. Neosporin will kill bacteria and help clear it up- not just my two cents but vets recommend it as well.

A great home remedy is original brown Listerine. Shave around the area to allow air circulation then apply to the spot two or three times a day. It acts as a drying agent and also as a mild antiseptic.

Lisa

This week I noticed my big wook monster (duke) licking and chewing himself constantly practically everywhere. Last week I noticed a bit, but not nearly as much as this week. So, two days later I decided to see what he was going so nuts over. He had a huge rash on his the lower half (groin area) he had chewing the rash so much that he developed a secondary bacterial infection. So, I shaved the area clean, cleaned the area, and then put on some antiseptic ointment. I've dealt with "hot spots" through the years, have had a lot of animals (foster mom). This was just nasty. Wait it gets better!

The next day, I came home and noticed his back right above his tail was really sticky, I parted his fur or what I could of it because it was so disgusting and another secondary bacterial infection! GOOD GOD! Then his legs, paws, and ears! I was in shock, never ever have I had an animal with this many hot spots! So the next day we took a trip to the vets office, because I was not going to shave him bald and lather him up with ointments, that's just weird and embarrassing for him. He had an allergic reaction, which started out topical on his belly and then spread after he broke open the skin. I'm like I've had him 7 months and he has never had an allergy before! What's the deal?

The doc gave him some massive antibiotics (oral) and an anti-itch spray and told me to give him benadryl 50mg twice a day (82 lbs). I've done that for two days now, the itching won't stop so I went out in my backyard trying to find the answer. Then WAMMMOO I see it!!! Like getting hit in the face with a softball! POISON IVY! You think dogs do not get it, but they can!

If a dog has not been exposed to the oils of poison ivy before, they will be susceptible to the effects. I had no idea, my other dog Lincoln has never had it, and she has played around poison ivy before in my friends yard! Why Duke? I will tell you why....it's funny because Duke has defied the laws of gravity sometimes when it comes to going to the bathroom. I've seen him in the exact area where this stuff is growing peeing with his whole groin area pressed against the fence. I have no idea how or why he does this, but he will do that with everything he goes to the bathroom on. Weird, but without a doubt this is how he got poison ivy. The vet confirmed that's what it is, and either way treatment is relatively the same except for the bathing him 2 times a week! Check it out.

Here is a link that might be useful: My Poor Duke - Evil PLANT!

Our older dog is having trouble with a hot spot since he won't stop licking it. I will try other remedies that I am reading about here, but Maria, what bad luck to have poison ivy in your yard. It can appear to quickly too.

I do have one suggestion. Tonight when I brushed Ricky, our 8 year old very long haird Golden, I notice that the Gold Bond Medicated powder was on his fur. I told my husband that he needs to pour it in his hand, and dab it on the spot. The powder on the fur will not help him. At least when my children were small, we were told to never pour powder, but to dab it with your hand. The dog does not need that stuff in his lungs, and if he is licking it off, he is also breathing it.

I won't be offended if you correct me, but it only makes sense to be cautious with what the dog breathes.

Sammy

Sammy,

Oh no, I completely believe in being careful for all things that are inhaled and ingested. You never know how your dog might react. The vet did the scratch test on Duke yesterday and determined that he is allergic to pollen, dust mites, and unfortunately poison ivy, oak, and sumac. It's weird that they can test for those things on dogs, but then again you can never be too careful. Lincoln got tested for allergies a few years ago, the lymph nodes on her face would swell up and it was horrible to see her in pain. She only has season allergies , Duke will always be allergic to the things listed. The benadryl 50 mg works great for both dogs. Duke has been scratching much less today, well thus far it is still morning. I believe that anything is possible. Dogs, are just like us, they can get things that we can and they always know things that we don't. I bet however that medicated gold bond is actually bad to inhale. Just like chocolate, ice cream, milk, sugar, and a ton of other things are also bad. Flowers are even bad! Daffodils, Tulips, even Roses. Keeping a watchful eye and telling your husband how to handle powder on a dog is the right thing to do by all means.

Maria

I have a golden retriever, she was given to us in October, she has been to the vet for a rash and hot spot on her face......after antibiotics and antihistamines I took her for a follow up appt., the vet checked her out and said the hot spot on her face looked great, when she went to look at her rash on the chest and belly that was gone but she had a sudden case of hives, the vet said she had never seen anything like it, usually it's related to something they eat or come in contact with and not emotional.....I said well maybe it was my driving or that she was nervous being there, so she gave her a shot of steroids, and I gave her some antihistamine when I got her home and she was fine. Now she has another hot spot on her hind leg, she is a nervous dog, jumped in bed with us one night with one clap of thunder. Anyone ever heard of dogs on Xanax or Valium? Just thought I'd ask............so do I try the gold bond in the blue bottle or Listerine or both.......I am thinking this could be another high maintenance dog for me......I already have a 4 yr old cocker spaniel with demodex.........but her situation is under control with ivermectin orally daily and thyroid med........any response would be helpful, is this common behavior for this breed......?

Yes, our dogs do not like fireworks, but one year we were gone over the 4th, and I think some neighborhood kids really frightened our bassett. We always medicated him after we had realized what happened. The Vet said it was important to use the medication and to use it early since it is bad for the dog to become so terrorized.

(Our neighbors were taking good care of our bassett, and were checking on him 3 times a day, but were not around the night of the 4th. None of us realized how frightened he could become.)

Sammy

We discovered a great hot spot remedy by accident. We had a dog with a particularly bothersome hot spot that crept up out of nowhere on a holiday weekend, and we were trying to avoid a trip to the emergency vet.

We had just been to the beach and had gotten sunburned, so it occurred to us to use the aerosol spray Solarcaine and spray it right on the spot. It has an antiseptic to get rid of the germs, an anesthetic to ease the pain and itching, and it tastes really nasty (judging from the expressions on their faces when they lick it--I've never actually tasted it myself), so they avoid licking the spot while it's on. We have used it with great success many times since.

My vet prescribed a wonder-powder for my dog's hot spots - something called Neo-Predef. He described it as an anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, and painkilling (like lidocaine) combo.

Worked great and fast. In her case, she began licking obsessively (paws, tail, groin) after we put down our 15-year-old dog, who had been a constant all the younger dog's life, although they had not been buddy-buddies. Thankfully, it's been 6 weeks, and she's getting back to normal (well, a "new" normal), the licking has stopped, and her hair is growing back in. But I'll keep the Neo-Predef around in case we need it next Spring when we bring home a baby brother for her :o)

Susan