Hi all, Not surprisingly after spending her day damp while getting treated for heat stroke last week, our Jude has the very earliest stages of a hot spot forming on her left hip. We've not experienced one with her, but we hear from the breeder she lived with for the first year and a half that she does have a proneness for them. So far it's smaller than a dime, not too terribly oozy and it doesn't seem to be bothering. I'm hoping to help avoid a big nasty mess. Sounds like a silly thing to worry about after having been so ill last week, but I'd really like to avoid having her go through the discomfort and irritation of a nasty hot spot if I can this week.
Any tips for me folks? So far I've just been keeping an eye on it and trying to keep loose fur and dandruff off as well as cleaning it a couple times a with hydrogen peroxide (the kind you get pre-dilluted for wound care) to try to avoid infection and perhaps help dry it up. We have quite a few remedies at our disposal at home that we could use if they sounded like they may be of benefit (tea tree oil, witch hazel, aloe). We're off to a Berner Fun Day tomorrow. The Ontario (Canada) group has one every year apparently and the breeder we found our Jude at suggested it to us as a great place to meet other Berners and their families. We're still newbies to the breed so it sounds like fun to me! I'm sure we'll all have fun. Take care, Melissa
