Hot Spots

[GrumpyBunny]

Ranger will lick and chew at his paws and legs as well, but I think he mainly does it when he is bored or pouting.  I never seem to see any redness or irritation, and he doesn't seem to do it on any other part of his body...

We have been fortunate so far not to have too much of a "laundry list" with him or Gwen (knock wood), and Cabo did not have much of a one for minor items.  But his major item laundry list?  Whooo boy!...

1.  Polyp removed from his rectum (ouchies!)
2.  Polyp re-removed from his rectum when it grew back (double ouchies!)
3.  Lipoma removed from his side
4.  Lipoma removed from his gumline
5.  Stay in the ER for pancreatitis
6.  Treatment of a toenail that wouldn't heal and was eventually determined to be cancerous

This really isn't even all of it, just the major stuff.  

And you wonder why I am still in debt?  Worth it though, for every extra minute I got to spend with him...

Marsi
 

[vizslamaniac]

OMG after hearing you listsI just have to share Austins BooBoo list here:
1. Chipped his shoulder running like a maniac through the apartment.
2 Allergic reaction to... something. Big welts all over his bodyand then had a reaction to the Benadryl- Christmas eve 9:00PM
3. Ate the entire contents of my wallet.  He passed all of it I think! Three dollar bills actually came out intact and I saved them (after much cleaning) to tip my dog walker! LOL
4. Ran into a fish tank at our friends beach house. Blood everywhere!  5 Stitches Holiday weekend!
5. Swollen toe webbing.
6.  Surgery to remove a mole on his eyelid. Thank GD it was non-cancerous, I combined it with and OFA test teeth cleaning and a identification chip. Im still paying the bill for that one.
7. More swollen digits.

BTW The Benadryl was supposed to make him very drowsy but instead he became seriously agitated. He had a counter-indicated reaction because he was so young.

He's putting me in the poorhouse but I love him. but because of Mister A, we have found the best Vet ever.

[shangrila]

I think an oatmeal bath is a good place to start. Recently I noticed Zoey had wicked dry skin on her tail and was biting a lot at her hind legs. I was concerned she might have mites  so I took her to the vet. Turns out, she didn't (and boy did she hate that skin scrape) $60 later the diagnosis was "looks like she barbered some of the fur on her leg, and her tail has some dandruff. Give her an oatmeal bath".

One question: have you changed food recently? It is is all over I would be concerned about a food allergy.

As far as everyone's laundry list of ailments: boy have our pups been through a lot!

Zoey hasn't had too many major issues compared to everyone else I suppose. Here's her vet list so far:
*Big ugly worms as a puppy
*The 'bunny hop' classic hip dysplacia sign pretty much from the get go - and the terrifying tearful trip to the surgeon when we realized what it meant.
*A 2am trip to the emergency room when she woke me up by throwing up on the bed - and I promptly discovered my whole house was covered in puke and diherea. Diagnosis: pancreatitis, probably caused by a ham bone. We had to withhold and limit food for almost a week afterwards and it was SO hard for me to see her cry for food I wasn't allowed to give her.
*An umbilical hernia removed during her spay (she also had a preventative gastropexy at the same time). We visited her that night and it was heartbreaking: they told us she was too sedated/in pain to even walk, and when she saw us she started trotting and wagging her tail, until she realized we weren't taking her home. Then she stood still and wouldn't even move her eyes and just frowned and looked so sad it broke my heart.
*She ate something at doggy day care that led to another case of pancreatitis and the worst explosive diharea I have ever seen.
*Mysterious sores on her back that same vet trip that look suspiciously like a dog bite. In addition to the antibiotics, we obviously also pulled her out of daycare (can't trust them anymore).
I think those were pretty much all of her unexpected vet trips that i can think of.

[greek4]

I think Rocco is feeling better.  We (me and Brianna, my friends 3 yr old) gave him a bath with oatmeal dog shampoo. Rinsed and dried him really well.  He also got some benadryl which made him snore.  Either the benadryl knocked him out so he couldn't chew himself or he is feeling better.  He was groggy this am but he still chased Maia around the soggy backyard.

Thank you guys for all the wonderful advice.

[lins_saving_grace]

That is good news.    Give him a big hug from me. 

[SaraphWolf79]

My rotty Ben had hotspots around his backhind and would itch profusely...I was constantly having to take him to the vet and get him treated for it.  My German Shepherd Naga has allergies, so every spring I take her to the vet and get her an allergy shot...that works wonders for her for the rest of the season.  Poor baby, it's awful when you see your pet suffering like that and you can't figure out for the life of you *why* they're scratching.  With Ben I'd do the whole nine yards, oatmeal baths, creams, everything...i t only eased the hotspots temporarily.  I sometimes wondered...wha t's the odds of two of my dogs getting skin irritations?  Is there something in my backyard doing it to them?  My chow is perfectly fine and as never had any probs whatsoever...b ut of course, her hair is so thick and there's so MUCH of it a flea or tick would need a drill to get through to her 

[Tammy A.]

I give my GSD Benedryl.  MAKE SURE IT IS JUST PLAIN-BENEDRYL.  Benedryl-D is bad for dogs.  The vet told me I could give him up to 4 pills at a time.

I also give supplements - Brewer's Yeast tabs (with garlic) and fish oil capsules.  All are tasty treats.

Finally, for hot spots or wounds, I follow the advice of an older dog breeder.  She uses Bactin spray.  It tastes bad, thus prevents chewing (watch to make sure your dog won't lick it though), dries quickly, cools the itching, and is an antiseptic.

Good luck!!

Tammy

[moonlitcroatia]

I've heard that Lamb & Rice formula dog foods is best for Rotties due because they are prone to skin irritation.  Mine have only had one incident and that was when I took them off the Lamb & Rice formula.

[brigid67]

I have been forever researching feeding Raw.  One of the things in everybook and website is hot spots, skin irritations, etc.  Most of the Vets whom I have read that agree with a Raw diet state that most skin conditions are allergies due to nutrition.  Even the good kind of processed food can cause allergies.  The skin will be one of the 1st signs that there is a problem with the food.  Most Raw feeders I have talked to state that the skin conditions go away after they started on the diet.  My friend has a cocker (bought from a pet store)  who has had nothing but problems.  terrible stinky skin, loss of hair, etc etc.  She started feeding Raw and everything started to clear up.  She has been feeding that way for about 6 months and you wouldn't even recognize that cocker.  One of the reasons I started looking into it.  Just something to think about.

[BabsT]

I should knock on wood, we havent had any issues what so ever except a ear infection.  I know just clean his ears with white vinegar and water which seems to be doing the trick.

I really dont give many baths, zero has had 3 since 9 weeks old and he is now 8 months

I do feed an all raw diet, just meat, organs and bones