Re: Hot spots?
Hi, I have had to deal with one hot spot. And what cleared it up without shaving the area is Listerine mouth wash (not the mint). I mixed with water at about 40/60 for the first day and then 50/50. i sprayed it on about 3 to 4 times a day. The weeping stopped the 2nd day. It healed fast and so far has not returned (I think it was from my dogs nylon collar he "was" wearing and it had gotten wet several times. Sheila At 11:43 PM 7/25/2003 -0400, Melissa Leaist wrote: 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 Sheila Avalos - TNG Bernese * Redding, California http://www.tngbernese.com * ICQ #255707 * Yahoo! IM tngbernese *snappy, funny, cute or clever quote goes here*
RE: Hot Spots -- Remedies from BMDCR Newsletter
Prevention by careful hygiene and grooming is the best advice, but if your dog is prone to hot spots, then keeping an eye out for the first sign of a lesion and then addressing it immediately is the next best advice. The following home remedies were published in BMDCR Newsletter (Mountain Dog Messenger). There was no author on the article, but Dottie Schultie is the editor. Here is a summary of those remedies. Basically, they are all trying to dry the wound so that healing can be stimulated. Some also provide antiseptic action. FOR SMALL LESIONS: try Gold Bond Medicated Powder several times a day. If the lesion is "weepy", clipping the coat may be required for treatments to be effective. FOR LARGER LESIONS: (1) Shave hair from the area and apply hydrogen peroxide (FIRST TIME ONLY), then apply sulfodene (twice daily until healed). (2) Brew regular Lipton tea bag in about 3 oz of water for about 10 minutes. Take the bag and when it is still warm, but not hot, apply the bag to the lesion for about 15 minutes. Repeat 4-5 times per day. The tannic acid in the tea provides the drying effect. (3) Wash the are with antiseptic soap and dry with a blow dryer (cool). Boil 12-16 oz of water and put in 4 tea bags and 4 aspirin. Let the tea bags steep in the water until it cools and then stir to make sure the aspirin is dissolved. Add an equal amount of rubbing alcohol (12 oz tea mixture: 12 oz alcohol). Apply to lesion with a cotton ball several times a day until healed. (5) Shake together cornstarch and boric acid (available off the shelf at the drug store) in a 1:1 mixture. Apply several times daily. (6) Farnum Laboratories (www.americanlivestock.com/product) has 2 products. The first is "Wonder Dust" (a wound powder for horses), a dressing powder and blood coagulant. Puff the powder on the lesion 2-3 times daily. The second product is Blue Lotion Wound Dressing and Antiseptic (used to treat sores on horses). This is effective on smaller lesions if caught early. Farms stores may also carry these. (7) Apply wet soaks with an astringent such as Domesboro solution (5% aluminum acetate) three to four times daily for 10 minutes each time. (8) Clip the area, clean with peroxide and then spray on Terr-Cortril or Gentocin spray (both topical antibiotic compounds available from Foster and Smith). Because lesions are irritating, the dog is likely re-injure them as a results of licking or scratching. One may consider giving the dog Benadryl every 6-8 hours. The dosage for an average size Berner is 50 mg. Or you can calculate your dog's own dosage by using 1 mg of diphenhydramine (Benadryl) per 1 KILOGRAM of body weight. If the wound does not heal in a couple of days, take your dog to the vet. Nancy Melone
Re: Hot Spots
All the old Digest remedies can be found on the www.berner.org site, just click on "Long on Health" then click on "Hot Spots" and you'll have more than you bargained for! Pat Long, a babysat Gabby, (& Luther) Berwyn PA _ The new MSN 8: advanced junk mail protection and 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail
Re: Hot Spots
Hi-- Can anyone recommend a good home remedy for hot spots. My boy has one about the size of a dime on his leg. I have clipped the fur but any antibiotic ointment placed topically I think he would lick off. Thanks-- Joan
