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Originally Posted by shila104
Has anyone here ever had any issues with hot spots? I have a 2 1/2 year old pembroke with an extremely dense coat. I brush and bathe him on a regular basis. Recently he developed spots under his front legs and chest. I tried to keep the area clean by washing with an oatmeal shampoo. I even clipped some of the hair. Within a few days it spread to his entire upper chest and neck. Consequently, I brought him to the vet and they had to shave the entire area. He is on antibiotics and also a spray that has to be applied twice a day. The vet said they were hot spots and I've done some looking around on the internet but I'm still not quite sure what to do to stop this from happening again. As of now, it's cleared up, he's just got some shaved patches. This is the first time I have ever seen anything like this and he just looked so uncomfortable. If anyone has any advice I would really appreciate it.
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Yup, I have more experience with hot spots than I care to have. I had one girl who was allergic to dog food with meat in it. It took us awhile to figure out what the problem was. In the mean time she got hot spots and I got as good as the vet at recognizing them and treating them. Once we changed her food (to a vegetarian dog food) she never got them again.
Hot spots can be caused by a large variety of causes, sometimes from the undercoat not drying well after a bath. And in your case since you say he has a very dense coat, I'd start here in looking for a cause. Get yourself a dog dryer, these are made to not heat up like a human hair dryer. And after a bath dry your dog thoroughly.
Are there any self service dog washes in your area? These would have the type dryer you'd need. Maybe try one of them for bathing him.
Other causes for hot spots are allergies (can be to food, plants, fleas, shampoos, carpets, or ????), stress, or who knows what. Some dogs get them and no one knows why.
The key to curing a hot spot is to dry it out. If you find them when the skin is just pink and not broken you can spray or dab it with Listerine (the amber one). If it's broken skin or very red and hot, use Gold Bond powder. The Gold Bond will dry the spot and stop the itching. If it doesn't itch the dog will stop biting at it.
The topical spray the vet gave you will work well too. I've had very good luck with them too. But I don't always have it on hand and Gold Bond powder works so well I don't go to the vet for hot spots any more.
I don't even shave the spot any more. I just put Gold Bond powder on it. And they heal pretty quickly.
Good luck. I hope you can find the cause and stop them from re-occuring.
Peggy