Hotspot on my dogs neck, advice please!

[7mmfan]

Well I blew it. When we were camping a couple weeks ago, the dog did MEGA swimming, and I forgot to take her collar off and let that area dry. Well a few days after we got home, I noticed some scabby material on her fur so I checked it out and she has BAD collar rash/hotspot/whatever where her collar was. I've cleaned it well, and shaved the area to keep it dry, anything else I can do that doesn't involve going to the vet and spending ridiculous amounts of money on antibiotics/special ointments?

[BIGINNER]

whats a hotspot?  how does a dog get that?  i'm asking cuz my dog always has his collar on.   

[Blacktail Sniper]

Try this, probably any decent sized store with pet supplies should have it:

http://www.sulfodene.com/medfordogs.htm

[quadrafire]

Keep it clean and dry. (antibacterial soaps are ok).Clipping was the best thing you could have done. If it is just raw and not obviously infected you can just treat it with cortisone cream to reduce the redness/itching.
I'm doing the exact same thing with my dog as we speak 

[Skillet]

Yep.  My dog gets them occasionally as well.  Fact of life for some dogs.  Once they get one in one spot, that seems to be the spot they always get them in.  Cortizone cream is your friend.  Make certain your dog doesn't aggrivate it by scratching.  My dog gets one on his leg from time to time, and has to wear the "cone of shame".

[Happy Gilmore]

colorless iodine gets it dried out and will scab out fastest. Don't put any lotion/cream based product it. Just make it last longer. Cortisone cream is for rashes caused by irritants like poison ivy etc.

Hot spots are often(not always) from the area being wet and the contact points rubbing off a layer of skin. Sometimes, some dogs can have reactions to the metal on the points. If you left the collar on a long time, he was wet and doing a lot of swimming, just plain old hot spot.

Don't use bag balm, neosporin or any other sticky/gooey stuff. The single exception I might consider would be a Novalsan anti-biotic/anti-septic paste used commonly on horses. Even with that stuff, you'll end up with a matted layer of hair in the wound which will not promote fast healing.

For "wet wounds" Iodine is great. It dries up the surface fast and doesn't make a matted mess out of the flesh.

[7mmfan]

Good stuff guys thanks. This is my first experience with it, and from what I've read online it is a regular old hotspot caused by prolonged wettness and bacteria. Need to kill the bacteria and dry the area to heal. The iodine sounds about right. Thanks alot! 

[ORCA_SIX]

You can try EMT spray/gel or vetericyn.

[sven]

  I use Hydrogen peroxide, dry's it out and kills bacteria.........

[12Gauge]

Your dog needs one of those protective cones so that the wound can't be scratched.  Pet smart sells them for about $7 for small dogs and about $20 for big dogs. 

And of course they sell spray on stuff to protect the wound too. 

If the dog can get to it, it will not heal.  Dog needs to wear the cone until scab forms and falls off, normally a week to a week and half.

[Mike450r]

Witch Hazel works the best in my experience

[Rooster1981]

colorless iodine gets it dried out and will scab out fastest. Don't put any lotion/cream based product it. Just make it last longer. Cortisone cream is for rashes caused by irritants like poison ivy etc.

Hot spots are often(not always) from the area being wet and the contact points rubbing off a layer of skin. Sometimes, some dogs can have reactions to the metal on the points. If you left the collar on a long time, he was wet and doing a lot of swimming, just plain old hot spot.

Don't use bag balm, neosporin or any other sticky/gooey stuff. The single exception I might consider would be a Novalsan anti-biotic/anti-septic paste used commonly on horses. Even with that stuff, you'll end up with a matted layer of hair in the wound which will not promote fast healing.

For "wet wounds" Iodine is great. It dries up the surface fast and doesn't make a matted mess out of the flesh.

  great advise.

[Happy Gilmore]

I use Hydrogen peroxide, dry's it out and kills bacteria.........

Problem with peroxide is it also kills the living skin tissue.

Vetricin is over-rated and overpriced. Waste of money in my opinion. Buy a bottle of Novalsan Concentrate and for the same price it makes 30 gallons compared to Vetricin's 12 oz? Novalsan can be used for irrigating wounds, sterilizing concrete and deordorizing kennels. I have a old bleach spray bottle with the dilution. I spray it on my hands after handling dead stuff, when I get a cut, cleaning up puppy potty accidents etc.

I started using it when I was working at a fancy cutting horse ranch in Thorp years back.. I've found most horse people know about Novalsan and have it around in the liquid concentrate and paste. I've kept a bottle ever since.

[7mmfan]

she wasn't scratching to bad until I shaved it and now shes scratching like crazy. Guess a cone is in order. Poor girl she'll be the laughing stock of the cul de sac!

[Happy Gilmore]

she wasn't scratching to bad until I shaved it and now shes scratching like crazy. Guess a cone is in order. Poor girl she'll be the laughing stock of the cul de sac!

tape a sock to her tail and she'll forget about her neck. 

[YellowDog]

she wasn't scratching to bad until I shaved it and now shes scratching like crazy. Guess a cone is in order. Poor girl she'll be the laughing stock of the cul de sac!

Probably not worth the drive for you but I have one or two of those plastic cones that I got when my dog had knee surgeries.  She never really wore them because we were able to spend just about all of her recovery time with her and when we weren't with her we had one of the inflatable neck collars that worked okay for her.  I'd give you a basically new cone that all you would need to do is attach a collar.  Unfortunately, I would worry that the collar would just continue to irritate it if the hot spot is on her neck 

[WRL]

she wasn't scratching to bad until I shaved it and now shes scratching like crazy. Guess a cone is in order. Poor girl she'll be the laughing stock of the cul de sac!

The scratching is a good sign. Means its healing.

Betadine is your friend when it comes to surface abrasions like hot spots etc. The spots on the neck are almost always caused by and allergic reaction to the nickel in the contact points. Try painting them with nail polish.

A good old "airing and drying" out is what she needs.

It will heal on its own.

Hydrogen Peroxide and alcohol are not good for the living flesh by the abrasion and can actually make things worse. BE KIND TO THE HEALTHY FLESH.....betadine or a diluted iodine are best.

WRL

[7mmfan]

colorless iodine gets it dried out and will scab out fastest.

For "wet wounds" Iodine is great. It dries up the surface fast and doesn't make a matted mess out of the flesh.

Why colorless iodine specifically? I honestly didn't look THAT hard, but all I could find was regular iodine. I've shaved the area completely, removed all scabby material and applied regular iodine. In the 24 hours since I shaved the area it already looks significantly better. She is scratching it like crazy though and I won't be able to go track a cone down until tomorrow.

[Dick in the Dirt]

WD-40

[quadrafire]

WD-40

NOT

[ghosthunter]

My wife's Corgi gets hot spots and Vetericyn works great on them.
My wife is a nurse and she loves that stuff for her dog.

I heard about it on here last year and bought some for my truck dog med kit.

[wiremonkey]

tape a sock to her tail and she'll forget about her neck. 
[/quote]

  That's funny. I just saw my brother-in-law's dog with a cone on the other day. Couldn't help but laugh. It just seems so pathetic and he was clearly not impressed with the whole thing

[BOWHUNTER45]

Goodwinol Ointment ...have to go to a vet to get some ... Our dog that problem and we tried everything ..then I finally went to the vet ,,and he gave us the ointment and 10 days later it was gone ,,, never had it again 

[Happy Gilmore]

Colorless Iodine because it doesn't leave a big orange stain-

Use ointments, powders and such and you'll leave a bunch of crap in the hot spot. You've got to get it dry, get the hair out and it will heal. Getting it dry will heal it. Iodine of any kinds will work best for hot spots. Anything which leaves it moist and wet(ointments, creams and powders) will prolong any type of rash on a dog.

And again, for about the fourth million post, peroxide is not a dogs friend. It kills living tissue. Betadine is ok. Vetricyn (sp?) is alright but, the stuff is a rip off. You can buy a bottle of Novalsan concentrate which makes about 10 gallons for the same price of a 12oz bottle and use it to disinfect kennels, clean, spray wounds etc...

Just my coupla pennies to try and save you a pile of them...then again, dog people are full of cash and buy vetricyn spray for topical treatments....lol....