A hot spot is one of those skin problems where a dog can look completely fine in the morning and by evening there is a red, wet, painful and rapidly expanding patch hidden under the coat. Fortunately, our own dogs have not had hot spots very often. Faddy once started developing one under his throat. I clipped practically the entire underside of his neck, and because we caught it very early, it settled down quickly as well. That experience confirmed one of the most practical rules about hot spots for me: the earlier you notice and react, the easier the situation is to bring under control.<\/p>\r\n
A hot spot, also called acute moist dermatitis or pyotraumatic dermatitis, is not simply a \u201cred patch\u201d. The vicious circle usually begins with itching, pain or irritation: the dog licks, scratches or chews the area, damages the skin surface, and the moist inflamed area becomes a favourable environment for bacteria. A hot spot can be very painful and can progress extremely quickly. That is why it makes sense to do two things at once: get the acute lesion under control and ask what made the dog touch and irritate that area in the first place.<\/p>\r\n
A typical hot spot is a red, moist or oozing, often hairless and clearly painful area of skin. The coat may be stuck together by discharge, the lesion may smell, and the dog tries to lick, scratch or chew it. In a dog with a thick undercoat, a surprisingly large lesion can remain hidden under the fur before the owner notices it.<\/p>\r\n
Hot spots often occur on the head and cheek area, neck, limbs, hips or thighs, and around the tail. The location itself can offer a clue to the cause. For example, a hot spot on the cheek may be linked to an itchy or painful ear; around the tail and hindquarters it is worth thinking about fleas or anal sacs; and an area repeatedly licked over a joint may raise the question of pain there.<\/p>\r\n
Dr Judy Morgan sums it up well: the visible hot spot may not be where the problem began. The task is to look for what made the dog lick or scratch that area before the lesion appeared. Common triggers include fleas and flea allergy, environmental or food allergy, an insect bite, a wet undercoat, an ear infection, an anal-sac problem, another skin irritation or pain. Moisture adds another layer in long-haired dogs and dogs with a dense undercoat, especially after swimming.<\/p>\r\n
Behaviour can also start the cycle. Boredom, stress or separation anxiety may increase repetitive licking of one spot. With an older dog, it is also worth resisting the automatic assumption that sudden licking is simply a \u201cskin issue\u201d. If a dog persistently licks a hip, knee, paw or another specific area, pain deserves consideration too.<\/p>\r\n
Dr Peter Dobias takes the integrative view a step further and suggests looking at exercise load, equipment, the spine and muscle tension when skin problems repeatedly occur in a specific area. His hypothesis is that some recurring localised skin symptoms may be associated with nerve irritation or a biomechanical problem. This cannot be used to rule out allergy or as a proven diagnostic mechanism for hot spots, but it is a useful history question: was there a slip, new training, lots of ball chasing, swimming, pulling on the collar or another change in physical load before the problem appeared?<\/p>\r\n
If the hot spot is small and the dog allows you to touch the area, the first practical step is to remove the hair around the lesion so that you can also see healthy skin at its edges. This makes the area easier to clean, dry and monitor. If the dog is already in significant pain, however, they may not let you near it with clippers or scissors, and there is little point in forcing the issue. At a veterinary clinic, pain relief or sedation may be needed to clip the area and clean it thoroughly.<\/p>\r\n
Next, discharge and debris are gently removed and an appropriate topical antiseptic is used. The 2025 ISCAID guidelines for canine pyoderma recommend topical antimicrobial therapy as first-line treatment for superficial pyoderma, including hot spots. Examples include 2\u20134% chlorhexidine or another suitable topical antimicrobial product. This is an important nuance when antibiotics are discussed: a hot spot does not automatically mean an oral antibiotic. The need for systemic treatment depends on the depth and extent of the lesion, the dog\u2019s general condition and whether the infection is superficial or deeper.<\/p>\r\n
When using an antiseptic at home, I prefer the principle of \u201cthe right product, the right concentration, gentle cleaning\u201d rather than applying increasingly harsh substances to the wound. I would not put apple cider vinegar or tea tree oil on an open, raw and painful hot spot: both can sting or irritate damaged skin considerably.<\/p>\r\n
A practical tip: after clipping, you can document the edge of the lesion with a photo or place a ruler next to the skin. At the next cleaning you can then actually see whether the patch is shrinking or spreading. There is no need to draw on irritated skin with a marker.<\/p>\r\n
For a mild hot spot caught early, topical symptom support can be very useful, but the formulation matters just as much as the name of the ingredient. \u201cAntibacterial\u201d does not automatically mean that every kitchen-cupboard product with that property belongs on an open wound.<\/p>\r\n
Calendula is here both because integrative veterinarians use it and because of our own experience. It is used as a topical rinse or diluted preparation to soothe irritated skin. And I do have real-life experience with this one: calendula tincture has worked very well for hot spots on our dogs. That does not prove the same result will occur in every dog, but because of that experience calendula still has a permanent place in our home \u201cskin cabinet\u201d.<\/p>\r\n
Dr Judy Morgan recommends cooled green tea or a tea bag for hot spots; in the past we have discussed black tea in the same context. The idea is similar with both: tannins have an astringent effect and a cool compress may soothe the area. Afterwards, the skin should be gently dried rather than left under a wet compress for hours.<\/p>\r\n
Pure aloe vera gel may provide a cooling, soothing layer if the product is suitable for dogs and contains no alcohol, fragrance or other irritating additives. Because dogs tend to lick almost anything off their skin, it is worth reading the entire ingredient list rather than only the large \u201cALOE\u201d on the front.<\/p>\r\n
If you use a real aloe plant, apply only the clear gel from inside the leaf to the wound.<\/p>\r\n
My own experience with Oscar is that a thin layer of honey kept over the hot spot for about 12 hours noticeably reduced the redness. That was my real experience, but with what I know today I would add one important qualification: raw honey from the kitchen and medical-grade honey prepared for wound care are not the same product.<\/p>\r\n
There is veterinary evidence for topical honey in wound care, but the strongest framework is for standardised, sterilised medical-grade honey. The antimicrobial activity of Manuka honey is associated, among other things, with high osmolarity, low pH and methylglyoxal. Results from canine wound studies are not at the level of \u201choney heals everything\u201d, however: the effect depends on the type of wound, the product and the stage of healing.<\/p>\r\n
I still use raw honey on wounds, but when it is available it makes sense to prefer a medical-grade product intended for wound care. Whatever the product, apply honey in a thin layer rather than as a thick sticky cap that traps a warm, moist environment underneath. And remember that every individual is different: what works for one may not work for another.<\/p>\r\n
An antibiotic treats a bacterial infection when there is an indication for it. The more useful question is whether this particular hot spot needs a systemic antibiotic at all.<\/p>\r\n
For superficial pyoderma, newer treatment guidelines recommend prioritising topical antimicrobial treatment. This helps avoid unnecessary systemic antibiotic exposure and is consistent with antimicrobial stewardship. If the infection is deeper, extensive or recurrent, the dog is systemically unwell, or topical treatment is insufficient, a veterinarian may decide that a systemic antibiotic is appropriate.<\/p>\r\n
At the same time, I think it is important to start with another question: why did this hot spot develop? Treating the infection and looking for the underlying cause are not mutually exclusive.<\/p>\r\n
A hot spot can be very painful, and some deeper skin infections may initially look quite similar. I would have a low threshold for contacting a veterinarian if the lesion is spreading quickly, is extensive or very painful, produces a lot of discharge or a bad smell, shows signs of deeper infection, the dog is lethargic or feverish, the lesion is close to the eye or ear, or the dog will not allow the area to be touched at all. The same applies if there is no clear trend toward improvement with initial home care.<\/p>\r\n
The size of the wound should not by itself decide whether veterinary care is needed. A small but very painful or deep lesion may need more help than a larger superficial patch. The speed of spread, pain, depth, discharge and the dog\u2019s overall condition matter more.<\/p>\r\n
A one-off summer hot spot after swimming can be a fairly straightforward story. A recurring hot spot is already a question. Is flea control genuinely under control? Are the ears itchy? Does the dog have an environmental or food allergy? Does a dense coat stay damp after swimming? Is the dog licking the same area because of pain? Does the problem always appear in the same season or after the same activity?<\/p>\r\n
The integrative view adds overall skin resilience, nutrition, fatty acids and the gut\u2013skin axis. Omega-3 fatty acids can be a sensible part of supporting the skin and inflammatory processes, but \u201comega-3\u201d is not a single active ingredient: EPA and DHA content, product quality and dose matter. The same applies to probiotics. The microbiome is an interesting and important area of skin-health research, but a recurring hot spot is not in itself a diagnosis of \u201cleaky gut\u201d, and one random probiotic is not a universal solution.<\/p>\r\n
If you want to read more about supporting the skin, see FendaF\u2019s article Itchy skin: 10 natural remedies<\/a>. If you suspect food may play a role, the next logical read is Food allergy \u2013 what should you know?<\/a>. We also have a separate article on choosing omega-3: Omega-3 fatty acids and how they are used incorrectly<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n For a thick-coated dog that loves swimming, the simplest prevention can be very unexciting: rinse off dirt when needed, dry the undercoat thoroughly and check the skin regularly in summer. Pay particular attention to the armpits, neck, around the ears, thighs and under the tail. If the dog starts nibbling at one area more than usual, look under the coat now, not \u201ctomorrow\u201d. Hot spots love that tomorrow.<\/p>\r\n With recurring cases, it can help to keep a small pattern log: where the lesion appeared, what the dog ate and did in the preceding days, whether they swam, whether pollen levels were high, whether you found a flea or an ear was red, and whether there has been pain in the same area. Sometimes the cause emerges from that pattern much more clearly than from a single laboratory value.<\/p>\r\n With Faddy\u2019s hot spot under the throat, the most important thing was that I noticed it early and clipped the area properly straight away. It was not a beautiful haircut, but the skin got air and I could see exactly what was happening. The hot spot settled quickly.<\/p>\r\n With Oscar, I have a different memory: a thin layer of honey on a wound pad noticeably reduced the redness in about 12 hours. With what I know today, I would not conclude from that that \u201choney treats hot spots\u201d, and I certainly would not automatically keep a moist dressing on every lesion for 12 hours. Rather, it is a good example of how real experience can generate a research question. There is a genuine biological and medical basis for honey in wound care, but product quality, wound type and moisture control matter.<\/p>\r\n And calendula? That stays on our shelf of experience too. For our dogs it has been one of those simple remedies I have happily reached for in the early stage. Experience is not a clinical trial, but at FendaF it does not have to pretend to be one. The important thing is simply to say honestly which is which.<\/p>\r\n With a hot spot, it is most useful to think on two levels at once. The first is quick and practical: stop the licking and scratching, make the lesion visible, clean it with an appropriate product and watch whether the inflammation is settling. The second question follows immediately: why was the dog licking, scratching or chewing that spot in the first place?<\/p>\r\n Sometimes the answer is a wet undercoat or a single flea bite. Sometimes it is an allergy, a painful ear or the anal sacs. Sometimes it is worth looking at physical load, pain, stress and overall skin health as well. The hot spot itself is visible, but the cause may not be. And with recurring hot spots, that invisible part is often the most interesting.<\/p>\r\n Allikad:<\/p>\r\n A hot spot is one of those skin problems where a dog can look completely fine in the morning and by evening there is a red, wet, painful and rapidly expanding patch hidden under the coat. Fortunately, our own dogs have not had hot spots very often. Faddy once started developing one under his throat. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":188404,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[376,698],"tags":[713,714],"class_list":["post-188398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-meist-en","category-health","tag-aluskarvaga-koer","tag-hotspot"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":{"landsacpe":["https:\/\/fendaf.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Hot-spot-on-a-dog-what-to-do-and-how-to-treat-it.png",300,300,false],"list":["https:\/\/fendaf.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Hot-spot-on-a-dog-what-to-do-and-how-to-treat-it.png",300,300,false],"medium":["https:\/\/fendaf.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Hot-spot-on-a-dog-what-to-do-and-how-to-treat-it.png",300,300,false],"full":["https:\/\/fendaf.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Hot-spot-on-a-dog-what-to-do-and-how-to-treat-it.png",300,300,false]},"yoast_head":"\nHow can you reduce the risk of hot spots recurring?<\/h2>\r\n
Our experience: Faddu, Ossu and reacting quickly<\/h2>\r\n
In closing<\/h2>\r\n
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