Does your dog get "hot spots"

Through long experience with dogs that develop "hot spots" I can give you a few of my tried and true techniques.

The FIRST RULE is that if the hot spot is not in a place where the dog can 'worry" it by biting or scratching, you will feel it as a "bumpy area" or perhaps a "scabby area" and when you part the hair you will find what appears to be dandruff or flaky skin. This is a hot spot that the dog can not get to with his mouth to lick or to bite, and it will have a dry lumpy appearance. The best thing to do with this type of hot spot is to leave it entirely alone.Just lightly comb out loose hair and dandruff but do NOT break open the scab. this type of hot spot eventually dries completely up and simply can be combed away after a week or so.

If the hot spot is wet and oozing, this usually means that the dog has been able to reach it and he/she will continue to "worry" at it, and it will usually get worse rather than better. you need to shave away the hair from the hot spot and surrounding area if at all possible so that you can get to this type of hot spot . First, clean the hot spot with hydrogen peroxide. Secondly, either buy an aloe vera plant for yourself or find someone who has an aloevera plant and get a couple of aloe vera leaves. Cut off a piece of the leaf and split it open and rub the gel substance directly on the hot spot. You can do this three or four times a day. This is abslutely the best healing and fastest healing method I have ever found.

Hot spots are best treated by prevention. Some useful tips are as follows:  Keep the dog's coat free of "dead hair" during the shedding season. For some dogs this requires a daily combing or brushing. Bathing frequently is fine but only if you make very sure that you thoroughly dry the coat clear to the skin, which is difficult to do once you have removed the natural oils from the dog by washing him with shampoo. I have found that  it is mucy wiser to wash the dog less frequently and instead comb and brush daily and use a spray made with 2 tablespoons of listerine in 8 oz. of water, spraying frequently whiile you cob or brush the coat. The listerine kills bacteria and cleans the coat and makes your dog smell clean and you avoid the danger of removing all of the oils from the dog's coat.

In summary; hot spots should only be treated with a medication if they are wet and oozing, and then the best form of treatment that Ihave found is cleansing with hydrogen peroxide and treatment with natural aloe vera.