Hot Spot Help...please!

[macdaddy]

My Mango has developed a hot spot on her right front leg...she'll lick it until it's raw. We've been to the vet twice..she was tested (negative) for mites and ring worm and treated twice with oral antibiotics and a cream. I put the muzzle on her and run the course of treatment for 10 days to two weeks and it seems to clear up. A few days later she be right back to licking. I've tried Bitter Apple spray...no luck. The only way to stop the licking is to keep her muzzled and she really DOES NOT like having it on all the time. Of all my dogs and fosters this is my first experience with a hot spot and I'm getting very frustrated. Any suggestions ???

[Guest Swifthounds]

Hot spots are a symptom, not an illness in and of themselves. You can go mad treating each one, warding off licking, cuasing all sorts of system stress with antibiotics, but if you can't figure out the why, they keep reoccurring. Sometimes it's a food allergy manifesting as skin discomfort. It could also be nerves. Unfortunatelt, most vets treat the symptom only, and don't bother to look for the root cause (it's easier to just treat them - in some aspects - and it's money for the vet).

[Guest LindsaySF]

Antibacterial hot spot spray or cream a few times a day, and muzzle 24/7 until it heals. If she's really persistent with licking it, the muzzle is really the only way. If she creates a new hot spot after the first one heals there might be an underlying cause like anxiety, boredom, etc. Good luck!

[Guest Paige12]

Definitely check the food, if it has corn that is a pretty common allergy. Also when we had a Newfie, he would get hotspots. We would mix up a ratio of Listerine 1 part to 2 parts water, put in a mister bottle. Spray that on the hot spot. Spray it as often as 3 - 4 times a day. Also it's the cortisone cream not the ointment, it makes a difference. A groomer was the one who told us about it 20 some years ago and it's worked great.

[Guest lasharp1209]

We had a similar situation. We tried bandaging, socks, leggings, anti-lick sprays and gels, and finally we just had to muzzle with stool guard 24/7 unless he was eating or on a walk. Yes he hated it, but it was better than the alternative. The thing seemed to take FOREVER to heal. He even found a way to lick around the stool guard so I had to duct-tape around the edge as well. I didn't like having to leave him unsupervised with it on, but in this case I thought the benefits outweighed the risks, and I didn't see another option.

 

For a while I was using EMT gel on it twice a day, but I found it seemed to make him want to lick even more, so finally I just let it heal on its own while I kept him muzzled. Do think about whether anything like an allergy could have triggered it - his came about after I had tried switching his food, so I switched back to what we were on before.

[Guest BooBooMama]

I am not a vet so this is just a guess- my BooBoo got the nickname at the kennel because she licked her front leg over and over until it was raw. Anxiety was the cause. There are many different things you can try for anxiety. Things like:

DAP diffuser (didn’t work on Boo)

Bach’s Rescue Remedy (didn’t work on Boo)

Touch Therapy massage (didn’t work on Boo)

Essential oils (did not have access to the knowledge on how to use them at that time so I never tried them)

Medications finally helped Boo

Good luck. Sometimes it just takes time for them to relax and then the behavior stops.

[Hubcitypam]

Look into Genesis (sp) spray.

http://reviews.1800petmeds.com/1800/prod10681/genesis-topical-spray-reviews/reviews.htm

At least as a short term solution.

Edited September 20, 2010 by Hubcitypam

[Guest TeddysMom]

Definitely check the food, if it has corn that is a pretty common allergy. Also when we had a Newfie, he would get hotspots. We would mix up a ratio of Listerine 1 part to 2 parts water, put in a mister bottle. Spray that on the hot spot. Spray it as often as 3 - 4 times a day. Also it's the cortisone cream not the ointment, it makes a difference. A groomer was the one who told us about it 20 some years ago and it's worked great.

 

I second the Listerine treatment but I spray it full strength. I can't believe it has worked so well on all kinds of skin irritations.

[tbhounds]

Sounds like she may now have a lick granuloma

[macdaddy]

Hi Guys..thanks for the info..don't think it's food allergy...we don't feed corn and everything's the same as when she first got here in March..she didn't start licking until July...maybe some type of weird pollen problem???...I'll try the Listerine spray...can I use a OTC human cortisone cream like from CVS ??...I've friends who have a Rottie that has had nervous licking problems and there just doesn't seem to be any end to it..Mango just doesn't seem the type pretty well adjusted as far as we've seen so far..maybe I'll just have to be a 'meanie' and keep her muzzled 24/7 for the next month or so...hate to do it but can't afford to keep going to the vet or even worse go to a vet dermatologist ..let me know on the cortisone issue and thanks again..Macdaddy

[DesiRayMom]

Let us know how the Listerine spray works......I'm interested.

[sweetdogs]

Definitely check the food, if it has corn that is a pretty common allergy. Also when we had a Newfie, he would get hotspots. We would mix up a ratio of Listerine 1 part to 2 parts water, put in a mister bottle. Spray that on the hot spot. Spray it as often as 3 - 4 times a day. Also it's the cortisone cream not the ointment, it makes a difference. A groomer was the one who told us about it 20 some years ago and it's worked great.

 

I second the Listerine treatment but I spray it full strength. I can't believe it has worked so well on all kinds of skin irritations.

 

 

OMG - won't that sting like the dickens? I can't even use it full strength in my mouth. Can't imagine it on a sore.

 

And don't rule out food allergies - if you've had her since March, it could be kicking in about now. Once I switched my boy to raw, he's never had another one. (Recreational licking is a whole other story.)

[GeorgeofNE]

Could just be a case of OCD at this point.

 

I personally don't believe a food allergy would cause one itchy spot on a dog's leg.

 

Food allergies tend to manifest as itchy feet, and inhalant allergies as itchy ears/armpits.

 

You could try dosing her up with Benadryl for a few days and see if there is any change.

 

We had a Lab who licked both front legs raw. We spent thousands of dollars on him, and even took him to Tufts to see a specialist. They put him on antidepressants! Absolutely NOTHING helped. He spent months wearing a cone too. Finally we gave up and he started wearing a long sleeve cotton turtleneck with the ankles taped shut (and the neck split as he had a massive head! Once he couldn't actually lick them, he stopped trying. But as soon as we took his shirt off...

 

He got out of the yard once (very rural area) and was running around in the woods. A neighbor called us and said, "Uhm, there's a dog in a turtleneck in my yard. Is it yours?"

[Guest krystolla]

If you are sure it's not a food allergy, you might talk to your vet about getting an allergy test done (for pollen/dust/etc). We had this done for one of my cats whose allergies just kept getting worse, and we were able to get an allergy serum for her. It wasn't cheap but way better than repeated trips to the vet, lost fur and skin problems.

 

The other thing to try is exercise -- tons and tons of exercise. If she's too tired to move then she won't be licking. Exercise is the best way to undo stress too.

[kickchick2000]

If it's really a hot spot try "Sulfadene" you can buy it at most pet stores for just a few dollars. It's a yucky yellow liquid but it does wonders. I have an english bulldog and we use the stuff all the time on her.

[Guest mcsheltie]

Ditto Sulfadene. If you can't find it, use cortisone cream and Gold Bond medicated foot powder.