Ugh, you don't wanna know!! They are a pain in the butt!

It's basically a bacterial infection on the skin. They can be caused by the skin staying wet for a period of time, an environment bacteria love! They can be caused by any kind of irritation on the skin, making the dog scratch or chew at the area, which in turn makes the skin more irritated and the infected area grow!

The only way to get rid of them is to dry out the area. Gold Bond powder really does a great job of that. Trimming the fur away from the area so it can't trap the moisture in helps a lot too.

Hope you never have to experience one! One of my dogs has never had one, the other got a ton last summer caused by irritated flea bites, but this year has been hot spot free!!

 

I have been puzzled by the phrase "hot spot" because one time Brooks and I got bitten by fire ants. He licked at the bites so much that he wore the fur away on his paw. The vet called it a hot spot.
So why is a licked place a hot spot? Why wasn't it just called an insect bite

 

It was an insect bite that turned into a hot spot when he licked the irritated area and caused it to spread and become a bacterial breeding ground.

 

So they don't just get them in the Summer? It's perplexing to me. Hannah swam a lot and I know sometimes we didn't dry her off...she just dried in the sun. Didn't get one.

 

It's technically called "moist pyoderma". Any skin irritation that is chewed or scratched, or not, that becomes an open weeping wound. They can be caused by not getting completely dry after a bath or swimming, but not always. The first think you usually notice is a wet sticky spot under the fur, part the fur and find the wound and the really irritated skin around.

I hope you never have to deal with them, they start small and then explode in size nearly before your eyes. You have to shave the fur off the wound and a margin around it, keep it dry, and if it is larger than a quarter see the vet for medication.

Home remedies are gold Listerine to disinfect and Gold Bond medicated powder to keep the wound dry. I've also seen some of the board members have used an athletes foot spray, but I haven't tried that one.

 

I'll certainly be watching for her to see if she's licking one area too much. Thanks.

 

In addition to what others have written, they also have an awful smell to them. Basically they smell like an infection. So if ever you're sitting grooming your dog and you smell a funny smell from them (not anal gland smell) then it could be an indication a hot spot is going to begin.

I am the board member that is always yelling about Athlete's foot spray, but I have also seen so many people have so much success with the Listerine/Gold Bond remedy.

I hope you never have to deal with one! They are just awful and sooo uncomfortable for our poor babies.

---
Kim

 

"Hot spot" isn't a technical term, so it can get used on a wide variety of skin issues.

"Moist pyoderma" is the one that's most common, and what GRFers usually mean when they say hot spot.

However, an acral lick granuloma, which is a raw spot on a limb caused by licking, is also called a hot spot sometimes. The only difference is that a lick granuloma is created and sustained by licking and isn't necessarily sustained by an infection (yet). A lick granuloma can become acute moist pyoderma pretty quickly, so we often just blur the terms and say "hot spot" any time we have a raw or infected patch of skin that needs attention.

In either case, the dog will tend to lick or scratch at the spot and make it worse, so whether it's a granuloma caused by licking or dermatitis caused primarily by an infection, keeping the dog from getting at it is a key part of healing. Also, since a granuloma is really prone to infection, it needs to be kept clean just like moist pyoderma.

It's important to figure out if you have a lick granuloma or straight up pyoderma, because a lick granuloma can be a behavioral problem that needs to be addressed differently as it heals. Lick granulomas are usually acral (on a limb) and there's a lot of licking involved. Pyoderma often shows up almost magically and faster than you'd think it could happen.

 

Hello,

My Cindy has an acral lick lesion on her front leg. It looks like it is getting better, but I want to stay on top of it. What is the Listerine/ Gold bond remedy, specifically?

Thanks

 

This isn't the best picture as the hair is parted more over the skin than the hotspot....
I cut the hair away and put gold bond on it daily multiple times a day until it dried out. (I didn't have the listerine on hand at the time)

Now looking at it healed, it seems he had a small cut that turned into a hotspot.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App

 

Mvra, I believe that the Listerine (I prefer Betadine) and Gold powder home remedy suggestion is for typical hot spots, ie more for the oozy, itchy wet kind. It helps to dry out the infection.

I think that you need a vet for an acral lick lesion.