I know that hot spots have been discussed on the forum from time to time.....but I got to tell you. I have NEVER had one before. This is the most discusting thing I have ever seen.....YUK In all my years of Labradors this is my 1st. I can handle, poop, pee and puke....but this just makes me ill. It's oozing and crusty and bloody in some spots. I need help on what to do. I took her to my vet, because this went from a dime size last Sunday to the size of a baseball in a matter of a day. My vet shaved a little hair, cleaned it, gave a her a shot and gave me antibotics to put her on. That was it!! I remembered about Domeboro from previous posts and for the past 3 days I have been either pouring it on the "spot" or holding compresses on it 2 x's a day. The spot is located just under the flap of her ear, she can't lick it, but she can rub and scratch it, therefore I put the E-collar on her. (which makes her paralized, she just can't move poor baby)
What else can I do to dry up this horrible thing???
She is miserable, we are miserable. I have been keeping her away from the others so they can't help her clean it. If any of you have any remedies to make this thing go away... We all here would be grateful.....
TIA

shaving..when the hair grows back, it will irritaded again.
We use tea oil, 8 times a day, after 2 day's the spot is all dry up, and can heal.
Good luck.

Thanks Diana and where do you buy tea oil, and how do you apply it?
Thanks again....

Gold Bond Powder. Works like a charm.

tea tre oil straight is pretty strong..be sure to dilute it with aloe gel or something. you can also use diluted listerine...most importantly keep him/her from licking or scratching it open over & over

Clean with witch hazel, and dry it out with Gold Bond powder. DRY it, that is the key. Ointments and such will only keep it moist.

I just had one get out of control on my male. It went from smaller than eraser to bigger than a golf ball in a matter of 24 hours before I got it under control. I have never had this happen.

Peroxide didn't work so I scubbed it with Novisan Scrub and used Getocin and the Gold Bond. That worked. I didn't shave it. It's healed now.

Of course it's under his cheek, on the judges side, but not real noticable.

I feel for you on this one. My old girl has a big nasty hot spot on the sid eof her neck which she keeps on digging. It's too low on her neck and upper shoulder for a ecollar to really work so I put a old tee shirt of my husband's around that hot spot and secured it.

I tried the gold bond which normally works for my other dogs for occassional hot spots due from them chewing on each other but my Mia's hot spot gets very irritated when I use Gold Bond. I spray it with a Cortisone spray and if she uses her rear leg to kick at the sore as it is trying to crust over and makes it super bloody and inflammed, I hold a warm wash cloth over it and spray with more cortisone spray.

If it doesn't get cleared up soon, she will need to go in for a cortisone shot and get her on antibiotics.

Some dogs get such bad hot spots that take forever to heal completely because of the location of the sore and the crusting over part keeps on itching them so they want to kick and scratch all the more.

Normally prednisone will work for my allergy girl when she gets a hot spot but this time around, it hasn't helped her one bit.

Have you tried one of those soft collars that look like a disc frisbee ? They are made of cloth material on the outside but they don't block the dog's view and get in their way as much as those hard plastic ecollars.

we have had them time to time. Cephalexin works like a charm, dries it up fast. We give 1500-2000mg per day depending on size of dog. Usually 10 days of it. Goes away. YUCK is right!!

I found this hot spot ointment that looks worth a try : http://www.calvetsupply.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1288

never heard of it...but it looks like a great product....maybe even safe for pregnant bitches? does anyone know?

My young boy had a hot spot about a month ago. I never shaved the spot, I put him on an antibotic Novalexin and I cleaned it everyday with Hibitane soap just until it started to dry up. It was clearing up within about five days and completely gone within a couple of weeks with new hair starting to grow. They are so nasty looking. Terri

So far, the best hot spot treatment that I have found is the homemade ear cleaner!
Mix equal parts of white vinegar and witch hazel--usually 1/2 C each add 12 drops of Tea Tree oil.
Clean the spot with antibacterial soap, apply cleaner then sprinkle Gold Bond powder on top of it. This really works like a charm! If the spot still has hair-you do need to shave it though.
Good Luck!

I have used Gold Bond Extra Strength with good results but it put a reddish tinge in the fur of my yellows. Has anyone had this experience? Maybe the regular strength Gold Bond is what I should have bought.

This works wonders on Hot Spots!! It is an ear cleaner also.

16 oz. bottle isopropyl alcohol (or witch hazel)
4 tablespoons Boric Acid Powder
16 drops Gentian Violet 1% Solution (will stain)

Mix all ingredients in the alcohol bottle & shake. (make sure you shake before every application). Put in a bottle for ease of application. I use a Sally's bottle for hair dye.

Treatment: Fill ear with solution & massage gently. The dog will shake the excess out. Be careful, the Gentian Violet could stain.

Treatment:
2 times per day for the first 2 weeks
1 time per day for the next 2 weeks or until the ears are clean of infection.
1 time per week, then once a month thereafter for maintenance.

If your dog has been swimming, playing in water, bathed etc. To prevent infections treat the ears afterwards.

All ingredients are available at a pharmacy. The Boric Acid is usually in the First Aid section where you find the alcohol, or ask for assistance from the Pharmacy. The Gentian Violet will be in a small bottle maybe near the iodine.


Even despite the alcohol, dogs don't object to even the first treatment. The Boric Acid soothes the ear & the Gentian Violet is an anti-infection agent. This solution is also effective for the treatment of fungus type infections on the dog including hot spots.

Avoid getting in eyes.

If they're real itchy, give them an antihistamine, as well as doing your topicals. I use Gentamicin Topical Spray as well as the home remedies. Gold Bond does have a spray also, that was recommended to me in the past.

If it's in a spot where an e-collar doesn't work, and they are scratching with there back legs, you can put a heavy sock on thier foot and tape it on. It will help minamize(sp) the damage from thier nails.

Thank you all for the responses....After reading what you all had to say I used what I had here at home. I washed her hot spot really good with anti-bacterial soap, then used witch-hazel to cleanse it. After it dried I put Gold Bond powder on it. She is still uncomfortable, it's a little drying and itchy. It's still oozing more than I would think by this time. It's a week today since I noticed this nasty ick growing. She just hates the E-collar, but without it she would be digging away. So we are all suffering right along with her. She feels like she has done something wrong....as I said in my 1st post, when the E-collar goes on she is totally paralized, feet won't move, she freezes right where she is. Poor baby!!
Thanks again for your advice. I will continue to "stick" with it (no pun intended) until we clear this yuk up!!

You need to get her on cephalexin. It should be healing by now.

My vet did put her on 200mg of Simpliex (sp) one a day since Tuesday.

I was told by my vet to apply Phillips Milk of Magnezia (sp?) to the hot spot three times a day. Do not have to shave either. It will dry the spot fast.
At the end of a week, gently rinse off the area with warm water, dab dry. Let air dry and reapply if needed. It worked for my girl. Good luck.

I find that by the time it has gotten this far (spreading, itchy and oozing and (if it is swollen) that vet meds is the way to go.