Dog still has frequent hotspots after bath and diet change. Help!

HI, it is possible that Rem is allergic to something and these secondary bacterial infections are just a consequence. Have you tried an hypoallergenic diet for him ? You could do a trial with an hypoallergenic diet for 2 months and see of this makes any difference. You would need to be very strict with you, just feeding this diet only for the time being. Initially the change will be gradual by mixing the new food to his old diet. Another possibility is to have some blood test done to try to find out to which substances he is allergic to. Hope this helps !

Continued hotspots are generally a sign of an underlying allergy. This allergy could be related to flea bites, a food allergy or an environmental allergy. Hypothyroidism is uncommon in a young dog but is possible as well and will result in hotspots. Until you determine the underlying cause, it will be impossible to stop the hotspots. You can rule out flea allergy by using an oral flea preventative and such as Simparica or Nexgard. Food allergy is often rolled out with a prescription hydrolyzed diet. Environmental allergy can be tested with a blood sample or a response to therapy. Thyroid conditions are detected with a blood test. I recommend to call your veterinarian to discuss which option is the best one to start with. At home providing quality food and an omega-3 fatty acid supplement for pets can help maintain skin health which can provide some protection. Royal Canin and Nutro are both good diet. Keeping him dry and drying him off quickly when he gets wet can also help. Lastly, make sure to protect any hotspots from licking or scratching. He may need to wear an elizabethan collar. I hope this helps.

Hello. If his skin is damaged, then you want to use an antibacterial shampoo until the lesions heal. Anything with Benzoyl Peroxide or Chlorhexidine will work well. You will need to probably bathe him every few days, so alternate with a shampoo that has anti-itch properties such as Pramoxine or 1% hydrocortisone. The key to using any medicated shampoo is to make sure you leave the lather on for 10 minutes before rinsing. Finally, you should use a skin barrier preparation that contains ceramides. Allerderm Spot-on by Virbac & Dermoscent Essential 6 Spot-on are 2 highly rated products. Ueing these products along with diet & appropriate medications should make Mumble much more comfortable. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Without an accurate diagnosis it is impossible to guess the most appropriate management for any skin condition. I would recommend a sedated exam if he is uncomfortable being handled in order to confirm or rule out causes such as infection, allergy, mites etc as each would require different treatment. If you feel he is food sensitive then a hydrolysed diet such as royal canin hypoallergenic should be trialled for 8-12 weeks (no treats, snacks or flavoured tablets to be fed during this time). Depending on the diagnosis, fatty acid supplements, medicated shampoos, allergy medications and flea/mite prevention may also be required to ease the constant discomfort and irritation

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. From the pictures it appears that Dune may be dealing with a skin infection. If you are unable to get him in to be seen by the veterinarian, I would recommend the below products, which can all be found online quite easily. Do this for about 3-4 weeks and if there is no improvement, I would recommend having a veterinarian examine Dune so that the most appropriate treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. 1. Douxo PS Chlorhexidine Combination and bathe twice weekly until resolved 2. Malacetic conditioning spray and apply 2-3 times per day on the affected areas until resolved 3. Welactin omega 3 fish oil capsules for dogs 4. Essential 6 Spot On by Dermoscent

This could be a food allergy, but I think it’s more likely an environmental allergy or hypersensitivity (to fleas most likely). Especially if Raider was on the same food for several months with no problem. (If you just switched food, flavor, or treats within 3 weeks of this happening, I am more suspicious of food allergy.) Both of those foods are, as far as I can tell, reputable and of good quality. If you’d like to pursue the food option, choose a “novel protein” meaning, if his previous foods have been mostly chicken and beef, choose a fish, duck, or lamb recipe. If you haven’t already, get the fleas under control and obviously you know to see a vet if it’s not getting better. A medicated shampoo, short course of steroids, and antibiotics if needed might be possible treatments (though there are many others). Best of luck to you and Raider.

This is probably due to a severe allergy, although it could also be fleas or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat Rufus with a high quality flea treatment (e.g. advantage), then get him to the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try discovering the cause of the allergy. Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair the skin lesions (steroids and antibiotics). simultaneously you should start him on a prescription hypoallergenic diet for at least 2 months. Hopefully you will see some results after all this, if not you and your vet should consider putting him on a long term allergy treatment (Atopica or Apoquel).