‘Hot spots’, or acute moist dermatitis, frequently affect dogs and can drive the animal crazy.
These areas of itchy dermatitis (as seen in the photo) can be difficult to control. My dog Ollie, a Shetland collie, developed a number of them on his back and abdomen (like the lesions in the photo). One dog owner provided the following treatment advice:
- Trim the area around the hot spot.
- Clean the area and pat dry.
- Apply hydrocortisone spray or hydrocortisone cream (Not good for a licking dog).
- Prevent the dog from biting, licking or scratching the area by putting a plastic cone around its neck.
- When all else fails take the animal to the vet. (Expensive).
What hot spots look like.
Instead, I sprayed some wheatgrass extract lightly over Ollie's hot spots. A few minutes later, he was lying comfortably on his back, legs splayed, fast asleep.
There was no further scratching, and after a couple of days the “spots” had almost disappeared.