Recommended hot spot spray?

[nsany]

Hey all,

I have an awesome pem that has a real fixation on licking his paws. I know this topic has been covered over and over, and my vet and I agree that it is likely a contact allergy.

I'm looking for advice from anyone who has used over-the-counter topical sprays with any success. I've read about the Doc Ackerman Hot Spot Relief spray, and have also read about salmon oil.

Does anyone have a product that worked for them to get the licking under control?

Thanks!

[MyPemCharlie]

Charlie has some really mild contact allergies. They've gone away over winter while most of the yard grasses and weeds are dormant, but I'm sure they'll be back this spring/summer when everything comes alive again.

Last Fall when he was licking, licking, licking his paws, I spritzed them with PetRelief (brand) Anti-Itch Spray and it seemed to cure the itch for two or three hours. We also go outside about that frequently to play. Just wiping his paws off with a damp cloth when we came inside didn't seem to help, but the spray did.

[Michael Romanos]

I just only today had my article about "when a dog itches/scratches/licks themselves to the degree that requires vet assistance" published in a magazine.

My article says that contact allergies are the second most common reason of six that can promote a dog to itch etc. It gives a simple test but no solution past the observation to keep your dog away from any possible offending vegetation or material. The most common is Wandering Willy (or Jew). I have a packet of tiny pink pills from a vet since my Taylor was a young pup and everytime he gets a contact allergy, I give him two of the the pills and rub on some pure Aloe Vera to the affected foot and/or walk him for 10 minutes paddling in the sea (if you are not near the coast put a couple of tablespoons of table salt into a half filled bucket of water). All this process has never failed yet.

[MyPemCharlie]

Dog's can take over-the-counter Benadryl. Charlie's allergies aren't that bad, but my last dog took a Benadryl every day. I'd ask the vet for an "OK" and the right dosage if your dog can't get relief from cleaning his feet and an anti-itch spray.

Michael, there's no way I could keep Charlie "away from every possible offending vegetation or material" as you suggest. My yard is much too big with too many things growing and I would certainly not want to seclude Charlie to living indoors 24 hours a day. Mild allergies are fairly easy to control. Severe allergies (like my last dog had) are not 'easy' but can still be managed with vet care.

[nsany]

Last summer, my wife and I tried the entire gauntlet of Benadryl, Chlortrimeton, and Tavist. None of them seemed to be a real solution, regrettably. I'm really hoping that one of these topical sprays will be the fix. We changed his food over to Canidae, so hopefully he's getting as good a diet as he can.

[Peggy]

Originally Posted by nsany

Last summer, my wife and I tried the entire gauntlet of Benadryl, Chlortrimeton, and Tavist. None of them seemed to be a real solution, regrettably. I'm really hoping that one of these topical sprays will be the fix. We changed his food over to Canidae, so hopefully he's getting as good a diet as he can.

This might be what you're looking for:
Gentocin ® Topical Spray (Brand)

Peggy

[glencorgi]

Is the only hot spot he's having is where he is licking his paw? Or does he have others? Did the vet say anything about lick granules? Sometimes this kind of licking can become an obsessive compulsive type thing rather than actually being bothered at the moment. An e-collar along with a topical spray might help to break the cycle.

Canidae is an excellent food, but you may need to look at one that has one protein and one carbohydrate source.

I had a black headed tri fluffy rescue girl a few years back that was hypo - allergic, foods as well as environmental sources. Her pads were cracked and would bleed, crusty sores in her ears, hot spots on her body. With her we went on a couple of courses of prescription allergy pills from the vet. Food wise I put her on a fish and sweet potato food and supplemented her with salmon oil, gse, 500 mg vitamin C and an immune system supplement, along with a TBS of plain yogurt with active cultures. We saw dramatic results. After the prescription allergy series, I was advised to use benadryl for "maintenance." A new drug called Atopica was just hitting the market and it was one we discussed and I passed the information along to her new owner. Atopica is for a dog that presents with a number of allergies. It was a fairly expensive medication at the time, but showed great results.

When she went to her new home, I thought she was an "after" picture, but the last one I got a year afterwards - never seen so much fluff. However, this wasn't her owner's first time dealing with these specific needs.

You might also want to try Listerine (yes, the mouth wash) as an astringent wipe on his legs and paws to help with the licking. It works on hot spots, better before they get open and weepy, then Gold Bond Powder works well.

Debbie

[KJohnson]

We use Grannick's Bitter Apple spray as a chewing deterrent (chairs, molding, etc.), but it is originally manufactured for hot spots and the like (you can buy it at PetsMart or PetCo).
But if it's allergies, we give Westin over the counter Benadryl also. (vet recommended of course!)

[Michael Romanos]

Chris - if the problem is Wandering Willu - get rid of the weed in your garden/property or if you can identify another weed or plant that is the cause - get rid of that/them. That's a great way of avoidance.

[MyPemCharlie]

Originally Posted by Michael Romanos

Chris - if the prpn;em is Wandering Willu - get rid of the weed in your garden/property or if you can identify another weed or plant that is the cause - get rid of that/them. That's a great way of avoidance.

I had to look up photos of Wandering Jew and have seen a little bit of it which has been pretty easy to pull up (though I didn't know that's what I've been pulling for years). It doesn't run "rampant" as the grass normally smothers it out. I've always pulled anything that looks viney (like the Wandering Jew) but have three or four varieties of low-maintenance naturally growing grasses plus an area of high-maintenance St. Augustine "carpet" grass. Any of these could cause Charlie's mild allergies.

The problem with trying to get rid of any "possible" grass/weed allergen is with those of us with large lots (or with farm/ranch properties) where there is essentially a "field" of multiple naturally growing grasses/weeds. (Also those of us taking our dogs on hikes and outings to area parks.) It would be virtually impossible to single out the specific plant producing the allergen...and then to totally get rid of the offender.

[Michael Romanos]

dogs often do gain an immunity to possible allergic contact weeds/plants (apart from Wandering Willy/Jew). Just try and get the pink 'masking' pills (or equivalent) ftom your vet and try the healing processes that I had suggested and the problem may not occur again or only very occasionally in the future

[LaRogue]

Just try and get the pink 'masking' pills (or equivalent) ftom your vet and try the healing processes that I had suggested and the problem may not occur again or only very occasionally in the future

What is a "masking" pill? Is it something like benadryl (they are pink) to relieve the sysmptoms?