Grooming your dog isn’t just about making your dog look good by brushing their fur a couple of times a week. Grooming also gives you the chance to check out your dog’s skin and see if there are any problems. The health of your dog’s skin is a pretty good indicator of their overall health. When you are brushing your dog you can make sure that they don’t have heat rashes or hot spots. If you do find a hot spot you are probably wondering what to do about hot spots.
What are Hot Spots
Hot spots are open sores that your dog gets on the top most layer of skin and they can spread causing your dog a great deal of discomfort. Hot spots can be brought on by fleas, allergic reactions or too much licking in one spot. Bacteria gets into the sore and then you have an infection. It starts off as a small rash and then it turns into an open sore. The spot irritates the dog and they start scratching and licking the area making the hot spot works. Here is what a hot spot looks like and how to identify them.
What to do About Hot Spots
Hot spots will happen to most dogs from time to time but they happen more often in the summer months. If you do find a hot spot on your dog then you need to take care of it before it gets worse. Here are the steps to treating it.
- When you brush your dog check the skin thoroughly, don’t neglect small pimples or red spots that can be the beginning of something more serious. It doesn’t take long for hot spots to develop.
- If you find the hot spot clean the area with antibacterial soap. Get all of the skin around the area to keep bacteria away. Dry the area completely.
- Add a small amount of hydrogen peroxide to the area, put it on a cloth first and dab the area, don’t pour it directly on the spot. Let it dry completely.
- At this point you want to put either an antibacterial cream, if there is none then you can use tea tree oil. Tea tree oil has antibacterial properties and it will keep infection out of the area. Your dog also hates the taste of tea tree oil which will keep them from licking and picking at the area.
- Reapply the tea tree oil every day for about 10 days to make sure the area is cleared up.
It is important to keep the area around the hot spot dry that will help it heel faster. If the area doesn’t heal or gets worse then you need to take your dog to the vet immediately for treatment.