Treating Dog Hot Spots

Dog hot spots are what you call the inflammation that often happens on a dogs skin. Its easy to identify them because they appear as red inflamed areas on moist patches on the skin. It appears and destroys the dermatitis, which is why it is also medically known as moist dermatitis. Hot spots occur because of excessive dog biting as well as other skin allergies currently experienced by the dog.

There are telling signs that can alert you if your pet has dog hot spots. Among them is excessive itching.

If you see an inflammation that might already be a hot spot. Of course it helps to bring him as soon as possible to the vet but if you cant just yet, there are important things you can do on your own to treat it.

Soon as you find the dog hot spots, it would be best to have the area shaved off. You should do this especially if your dog has a heavy coat on them. This will be the best way for the hot spots to get treated because you will see how bad the current area is. This would also help you assess more or less how worse the hot spot has become. At least it would already prompt you to bring your dog over to some vet care.

When the area has already been shaved off, you should then proceed to cleansing the wound. Even if you have only seen red patches, you should still take the time to cleanse it to prevent from further infections. You can use a gentle skin cleanser to wash out the dirt and kill the bacteria from the area. This can also help alleviate the itchiness from the area.

Once youve done the cleansing and until such time that you can bring your dog to the vet or he gets better, you can apply a cool compress over the dog hot spots. You can do this for two to four times daily using a clean wash cloth submerged in cool water. Tea bag compresses are also known to help dry and disinfect the area.

If you also want to keep your dog from scratching the affected areas during the healing period, it would be best to make them wear an Elizabethan collar. This way, they would not be prompted to scratch at the areas and further infections can also be avoided.

If the hot spots still persist for more than three days, you should already take your dog to the vet. They can prescribe your pet with oral antibiotics as well as topical drying sprays. To help cure the affected area, a specialized shampoo may also be prescribed by your veterinarian.