Possible hot spot?

seebrown

Cannon has a very small (about 1/8") hairless circle on his chest that is red and slightly raised. I called the vet and they said to "keep an eye on it" and if it gets worse, bring him in (what they always say...). He's had it for about a week now, and it hasn't worsened, but it's not going away. I was trying to figure out what it might be. It looks a bit like some pictures of minor hot spots. He does have pretty bad allergies (sneezing all the time, rubbing his face on everything, etc. The vet said we can give him a half benadryl a day, which we haven't started yet.), and I've read that allergies can be a cause. Does anyone have any other ideas of what this could be or how to treat it? He's not licking/scratching it (he can't reach it).

Mikey

If it's not going away I would go in and get the vet to look at it and do a scraping or biopsy...

I haven't had anything like this. But here's some links to skin issues in dogs-might be helpful. Maybe try the benedryl over the weekend first so you can rule out allergies-then see the vet monday?

Pets with MRSA superbug infection: MRSA in dogs cats animals: Questions and Answers from Dr. Tim Nuttall on dermatitis in dogs

All about skin related problems & diseases in dogs, including natural treatments - Chinaroad Lowchens of Australia -

On hot spots
"
Note: First check with your Vet to see if there is a medical reason for the hot spot, such as a staph infection. If not, then your dog may be chewing from boredom or anxiety. The pain of their chewing or licking releases endorphins and other comforting neuro-chemicals into their blood stream, and this calms the dog. Spraying the hot spot with a numbing agent like Lidocaine should break the cycle. Orajel (baby teething pain medicine) spread around the hotspot is another way to break the cycle."

On allergies-signs:
" Itching is the primary sign of allergic skin diseases in dogs. The affected skin may appear normal, or red and moist in patches called ‘hot spots.’ Pus and dried crusts are apparent if a bacterial infection is also present. The dog tends to constantly scratch and lick affected areas. Initially, flea allergies are most evident over the dog’s back and near the tail. A dog’s face, feet, chest, and abdomen are more often affected by pollen and dust-type allergies. Contact allergies are seen mostly on the hairless areas of the abdomen and on the bottoms of the feet"

Mikey

There is a wonderful table here:
All about skin related problems & diseases in dogs, including natural treatments - Chinaroad Lowchens of Australia -
I can't post it-it just lumps all together but scroll down to 1/4 down and it has most skin issues by condition/description/symptoms/diagnosis/treatment

Brittany

When we first got Kelsey. She was having allergy problems like CRAZY. So our vet told us to stop giving her anything but her food and water. If her symptoms go away that's good because you know it's not her food. Then every two weeks you can start adding the other stuff (bones, treats, etc) back into her diet one at a time. If she starts to have a reaction you should be able to identify the culprit. So we did that and it turned out she was allergic to pig ears. We haven't had any other troubles.

seebrown

I think he's allergic to the grass outside (probably along with a lot of other things). He puts his face in the grass (likes to eat it), then sneezes all over the place. I found some hot spot spray that helps heal hot spots and take away the itch, and the redness has gone away, so hopefully it will begin healing. I also gave him the half benadryl, and he doesn't seem to be sneezing. Now if only it would make him sleepy, so he wasn't as hyper!

Mikey

I know for sure bendryl does that to me!! I took it once, I got back from Cuba and was covered in mosquito bites-so itchy so my mum gave me a benedryl-twenty minutes later I felt totally drunk and I had to call Dave to drive me home lol

fawkese1

those are great links mikey...thank you!