Our 11 year old (mixed breed...possibly lab)dog has been dealing with a sore on her back left paw for several months. I ended up taking her into the vet at the end of May and she was diagnosed as a "hot spot"/lick granuloma. Which is basically an area they continue to chew at due to itching, boredom or obsessive compulsive tendencies!

So she was on a strong antibiotic for 1 month due to the sore having staph and then had an oral steroid. Pretty much after the oral steroid ended she started chewing again. Took her back into the vet and got a shot steroid which was to last about 1 month. Well it's been about a month and noticed she started chewing again. It had healed so nicely!

I sprayed with a bitter spray (that doesn't burn) and wrapped it and sprayed the bandage. I can't do the collar b/c she can't go threw the doggy door and it freaks her out.

I am just beyond frustrated! Otherwise besides this issue, she is a healthy dog.

Any ideas or has anyone dealt with this?

ETA...Laser treatment was out due to the size.

[This message has been edited by BCSMom (edited 7/9/2011 10:30p).]

Peroxide. My black lab had that on his tail and I just swabbed a little peroxide on it and it went away. You would be surprised at all the stuff you can use peroxide on. Look it up on the internet.

I have been researching natural remedies and some of the things I have found:

witch hazel
tea tree oil
Gold Bond Medicated Powder

I also found a spray "Vetericyn Canine Hot Spot Spray" that is supposed to kill all sorts of bacteria, staph, fungus. Haven't purchased it yet.

Vet recommended that she possibly needs to be treated for the OCD! We have had her since she was 2 months old...she is 11 now. We have never experienced this problem. She has a companion dog, who she could care less about. And she is not a chew toy type of dog. I think I am going to go to Sam's and get the elephant ears.

So I am worried about a secondary infection resulting in another vet visit. If she does need OCD meds...I know that meds for dogs can be filled at people pharmacies and there are some on the $4 prescription plan at Walmart. Not sure if the vet would be open to letting us do that?

Dog has gotten those in the past. What we have found that works is make sure the area us clean, use peroxide to clean it, and put the cone of shame on them. Anytime you see them licking it or it appears they have been licking it recently put it on. This keeps them from bothering it and let's it dry out so it can heal.

Good luck.

Should say...

Our dog. Stupid phone.

There is a hot spot ointment I used in the past when I found peroxide wasn't working. I believe they sell it a tractor supply along with an anti chew/ lick spray to keep them from irritating the area. If you can't find it at tractor supply try Jeffers Pet Supply on line. I use it often and the prices are great.

We have found that Sulfodene works well on hot spots and other issues.

From my understanding when one of my dogs had the licking sore problem is the act of licking is comforting, satisfying creating the compulsion that results in the sore spot, which becomes the physical difficulty.

I made the spot distasteful for 6 weeks. By that time it was very well healed and enough time had passed for him to mentally and emotionally move on.

The bitter orange or apple sprays were worthless. Tea tree oil is a good anti fungal, bacterial, viral AND tastes bad. I would doctor the wound, wrap with old clean cotton socks, then "vet wrap" (which is also the stretchy, breathable athletic tape), then put some unpleasant essential oils on the bandage. Do consider dogs and cats have extremely heightened senses of smell - so even though it is on the leg or paw they are annoyed or discomforted if the smell is generally strong. It only takes a tiny bit on the bandage to make it taste bad, rather than overwhelming the animal all the time.

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Tea tree oil is a good anti fungal, bacterial, viral AND tastes bad. I would doctor the wound, wrap with old clean cotton socks, then "vet wrap" (which is also the stretchy, breathable athletic tape), then put some unpleasant essential oils on the bandage.

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I would never use tea tree oil, or any essential oil on cats or small to meduim sized dogs. It's toxic and the smaller the dog, the less oil it takes to poison them.

To the OP: follow the advice of your vet. If you can't put an Elizabethan collar on the dog, as you mentioned he can't get through the doggie door with it, then the anti-anxiety meds might be the best bet until the spot is completely healed.

I am confused...if it's poisonous to animals why do they make shampoo with the tea tree oil?

I have a lab that has the same problem. It's worse in the summer. My vet recommended giving him children's benedryl.. This seems to help. I also bought some medicated spray for his skin from petsmart as well as some chew bones. With The combo of all of these things, we have managed to avoid having to take him to the vet this summer.

A cheap at home remedy for hot spots is to clip the area affected (although if you don't have clippers at home it's not that cheap :-) - please try to avoid razorburn, as this will only encourage licking. If the area is just reddened, but no bleeding/oozing, etc. indicating a secondary bacterial infection, you can soak a cotton ball in Listerine, or some kind of astringent like Seabreeze, swab the area, and put Neosporin topical ointment on it. Granted this will likely only work well for small areas, otherwise that's a lot of Neosporin :-)

Also E-collars are useful if you have an obsessive licker, and sometimes there isn't much you can do. Secondary bacterial infections are also itchy, and can further the desire to lick. If it's a large area, or is oozing, bleeding, etc. then it would probably be best to take your pet in to see the vet.

Tea tree oil is toxic to cats, and is likely to be toxic to small dogs. It is a weight-based thing, I believe on ASPCA's Poison Control it takes as little as 1/2 tsp per pound to be lethal. So my suggestion is, just don't use it. Hot sauce can sometimes deter more determined lickers...although some (like mine!) will just eat right through it. However, do NOT put hot sauce on the open hot spot - Ouch!

You can also use soothing shampoos like oatmeal or creme rinses to try to calm inflamed skin. Best to use shampoos made for animals, human shampoos tend to dry animal skin out if used frequently. Benadryl (dipenhydramine) is also another option (1mg per pound).

You have two issues...healing the spot plus keeping the dog away from it so it can heal. Our dog is allergic to flea bites, causing it to nibble on the area right above it's tail. We give him a benedryl pill for the allergy, then bought one of the cone collars from Petsmart, and we put olive oil on the spot and keep the collar on for a day or two. Olive oil has some healing properties plus it's edible. The cone, embarrassed as our dog gets, lets the spot heal. Not sure about a paw though, seems like a dog could still get to that even with the cone on. Anyway, ask about the allergy thing and use the olive oil. Our dog is 15 pounds and takes an adult dose bebedryl per the vet's recommendations and with no side effects.

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I am confused...if it's poisonous to animals why do they make shampoo with the tea tree oil?

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It's poisonous for them to ingest. The amount of oil that is actually in a commercial shampoo is negligible compared to using the actual oil on a specific location, as you would if you were to dab the oil itself onto a sore or onto the bandage covering a sore. Our vet doesn't recommend even using the tea tree oil shampoos unless you have a medium to large sized dog. Even the sites that sell tea tree oil will tell you not to use it on small dogs and don't use it at all on cats.

Thanks for all the wonderful ideas and suggestions!

We started benedryl and am using the gold bond medicated powder...(fingers crossed) no chewing so far.

Got lots of funny rawhides and chewys to keep her busy!

Going to get an elizabethan collar's from my brother.

Few other things I am researching, but will definitely forgo tea tree oil.

Thanks again!

cone of shame!

I have a similar issue with my dog. She rubs her back (near her tail) raw by scratching underneath the bed rails and recliner. She'll do it for an hour if no one is around to tell her to stop. Earlier this summer she had a big scab and was bald in that area.

My doctor diagnosed allergies and put her on prednisone to stop the itching and Hydroxyzine for allergies. It's worked great.

I would use antibiotic cream and a muzzle til it is healed. You have to keep her from licking it in order for it to heal.

Hey, I totally get how frustrating this must be for you and your pup. My dog had a similar issue with a hot spot, and it was a constant battle to keep him from chewing at it.

One thing that really helped was using ClearFur Skin Cream. It's got natural ingredients and is super soothing, which can help break that cycle of itching and chewing. You can find it on Amazon or at www.clearfur.co.

Besides that, maybe try some extra mental stimulation or interactive toys to keep her distracted from the paw. Sometimes, keeping their mind busy can help reduce the obsessive chewing.

Hope this helps and that your girl finds some relief soon!

MiMi said:

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theresa-bucco said:

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Hope this helps and that your girl finds some relief soon!

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You bumped a 13-year-old discussion. The dog in the OP was 11 yrs at the time. I'm sure she has found relief since she's most likely dead.

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I thought this topic was about grilling hot dogs.