My dog has a raw patch on his ear. Is it a hotspot? When to see a vet?

Ouch, poor Chewie! This lesion looks most consistent with a hot spot (moist dermatitis). Given the location, I would also be concerned that he created the lesion from trying to scratch his ears from an ear infection. If you have clippers on hand, you can clip the hair around the skin lesion and then clean it with an antiseptic soap, such as chlorhexidine or betadine. It is worth taking a trip to the vet to have his skin and ears evaluated. Until you can take Chewie to the vet, keep an e-collar on him to prevent further skin damage. I hope that all goes well!

It sounds like she has a hotspot which could be secondary to allergies and/or an infection. The best thing would be to have your vet take a look at it to determine the best way to treat. She may need an antibiotic, anti-histamine, and or a corticosteroid to treat and your vet can prescribe. If you can't take her to a vet than you could clean the area with an antiseptic wound cleaner but if she keeps scratching the area than it will not heal. Covering the area probably will not work but you could get an E-collar to prevent her from scratching.

This sounds like an area of moist exudative dermatitis, commonly known as a "hot spot." They frequently show up in front of the ear, just as you're describing. Unfortunately yes, these are painful, and they are very difficult if not impossible to treat at home. Chunk needs pain relief to help with the severe inflammation in this area, and also antibiotics to clear up the infection. If you're tight on money, I'd recommend checking out carecredit.com - they offer credit specifically for veterinary visits. I'd really urge you to get this treated sooner rather than later, as it's intensely uncomfortable, and there's really not anything you can do at home to treat it.

This presentation could be due to a localized spot of skin infection (likely to be caused by bacteria). This type of skin infection is commonly called hot spot. A check up, appropriate disinfection and antibiotics (oral, topical or in a shampoo formulation) are needed to solve the problem. Disinfection may be started at home with very diluted hibiscrub or betadine or salted water baths. Buster collar may be useful as well to avoid any licking/scratching. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

I would recommend putting an ecollar on Simba so he can't scratch this spot and taking him to the vet. This area may need to be shaved and scrubbed to say what is going on and he also most likely needs antibiotics. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Rosie! From the pictures it looks like Rosie may have a hot spot (superficial skin infection). Hot spots can start off small then spread quickly and become larger and painful. Goldens commonly get them from ear infections or from being wet from swimming. I recommend that you take her to the Vet today. The Vet will clip the fur away, clean the area and prescribe antibiotics, steroids, and likely something topical. They will check for an ear infection and prescribe ear wash and ear drops if needed. I hope this helps and I hope Rosie has a speedy recovery!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is likely a hotspot which is a very inflamed focal infection. Usually these occur secondary to allergies, among other possibilities. It is very important to treat these infections appropriately and the sooner they get treated the better for the patient. I recommend that you have Buster evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. They are likely going to prescribe anti-inflammatory medications and antibiotics. In the meantime, you can use an e-collar (which you may obtain from your local pet store), to avoid further self trauma by him scratching at it. Good luck and have a good night!