You mean the benedryl pills? That's worth a try, but I've been told it helps in only a small percentage of dogs.

I've heard of a hot spot sprays, but don't know the name and have never used it. I did a "hot spot spray" search on drsfosterandsmith.com and on amazon as well and quite a few popped up, one with hydrocortisone which might help. I've never needed or used such a product, but it might be worth trying.

Sorry your dear pup is suffering. Maybe other posters here can be more helpful.

PS why don't you post on the Pets Forum???

This post was edited by socks12345 on Fri, Aug 8, 14 at 21:27

My dog had one that he just wouldn't leave alone and I let go too long before we took him in. He is a sheltie so ended up chewing off all of his long hair around the area. He ended up on prednisone, an antibiotic, and clothing to cover the area (fortunately a t shirt covered it). Now we we see him working at an area, we start him on benadryl and cover to keep him to chewing on it. If you can't cover with clothing I guess a cone is the only option. Cones just make me sad, I think of the dog in Up.

My dod had seasonal allergies and developed hot spots on several occasions. One time the hot spot was so bad that she was on antibiotics for at least 6 weeks.. I also had to give her generic benadryl for that period of time too.
The vet had prescribed prednisone on one or 2 previous occasions but it did make my dog ravenously hungry/thirsty to the point were she would snatch food out of your hand or off the table which she would never do otherwise. And it did make her pee excessively.

I tried numerous kinds of anti itch/ hot spot sprays and ointments. None of them seemed to do much good. Cones did not work because my dog could either get them off or contort herself in such a way as to get around it.

The vet was not a big on giving the dog Benadryl but it worked well for her and I could not deal with the effects of prednisone so I gave it to her as needed.

My dog lived to be 16 years old and the only health issue she ever had was seasonal allergies that when not kept in line (with anti histamines) resulted in those hot spots. When she had that most serious hot spot, I happened to meet my brother's friend who was a vet and asked her about the hot spot and how long the dog had been on antibiotics and she told me that it was not unusual to take that long to clear the problem up.
Good luck getting it taken care of.

I can't help with the hot spots - my Airedale gets them now and then - but there are inflatable collars now rather than the cones, which seem to be much more comfortable for the dogs. Like a donut around their neck. I got one last time my dog had hot spots and it was so much better than the cone --no more getting caught on door frames.

benadryl causes sedation (however, sometimes, hyperactivity) is short acting compared to steroids. some great new cones available.

Here is a link that might be useful: cute dog cones

benadryl causes sedation (however, sometimes, hyperactivity) is short acting compared to steroids. some great new cones available.

{{!gwi}}

Here is a link that might be useful: cute dog cones

We keep a spray bottle of Genesis Spray (triamcinolone) at all times and do our best to catch any chewing or scratching early on. Our dog seems to have a seasonal allergy to grass (that's a best guess) so we do our best to keep him from lying in it and that helps also.

I can't find a link to the product other than sources that sell it, but there's good info here.

Here is a link that might be useful: Genesis spray

Tree Tea Oil......you can get it at a natural food store or pharmacy, maybe any drug store.

I googled around and found the Tree Tea Oil idea when I noticed our Golden's first one at age 6. Worked great. It dries it right up, I would put it on a few times a day at first. It did not seem to burn or bother him, and it is not appealing to lick. We had to say good-bye to him last November at 13.5+yo but he had a few more hot spots in his later years. High humidity or staying damp after too many times after swimming seemed to be when he would get them. He had a really thick (beautiful) coat.

If you try it, check the bottle opening. Some just pour out (you don't want this) but one main brand has a top that only lets out a drop or two so no chance of pouring out excessive amounts. It is only a few dollars. My bottle is Tea Tree Therapy brand. dark glass bottle, white label with grey/green print with a leaf. It is good for other uses as well but the dog had his own bottle.....

Thank you everyone!

I gave her benadryl last night and she slept through the night at least. I am going to try the other things you all have mentioned. The prednisone almost seems to cause more problems than it solves!

And I'm so happy there are alternatives to the dreaded cone!

Monitor that spot very closely. If it doesn't get better after medication take her to the vet and ask for a biopsy.

My dog had what I thought was a hot spot on her hip, took her in and the vet confirmed. A few weeks later it was bigger, took her back in and vet still said it was a hot spot. Took her in a third time (went from the size of a nickel to the size of a golf ball). It turned out to be a mast cell tumor. It was removed but we waited too long and had to put her down not long after.

Thanks for the heads up, magdalena!

I'm so sorry you had to put her down.

I read somewhere on the internets that Tucks medicated pads (for hemorrhoids!) helps. I picked some up for a song at Walgreens and they do help my dog's itchy spots. The key for us is to start using them as soon as the spot starts. The main ingredient is witch hazel.

It's been over 25 years since we had an Aussie with this awfulness , so this ointment has been around awhile. Probably better things available now, ( tea therapy sounds good!) but it worked great at the time. It feels oily, but never left a stain on anything.

I wondered why no one else mentioned sulfur.

My Dad used to rub flowers of sulfur (ie sulfur powder) directly on our dog's hot spots.

interesting, marti and eibren- the sulfodene sounds like it has sulfur in it. Thank you.

Looks like there are lots of things to try before the drastic (?) predisone shot--

Sorry I didn't see this sooner! Don't use anything oily or ointment like; here is what works: NeoPredef powder (have to get from vet)...contains tetracaine for immediate relief from the pain and severe itching, a bit of topical pred for anti-inflammatory, antibiotic...my vet calls it magic powder and it is. What you can do today which also works to dry it up fast: Desenex or Mycatin powdered athlete's foot spray...be sure to get the powder spray...shake well to be sure powder comes out with spray, part and comb the fur back to be sure you are covering all the icky or even red irritated skin. Some people follow up with a good dusting of Gold Bond Powder. My go to treatment is to cover the area well with NeoPredef then "set" the powder by spraying with the athlete's foot spray (which sprays on damp then dries to a powder..it kind of makes the NeoPredef stick to the area.) A nice comfortable e-collar is ComfyCone.