You will know that your dog’s skin has been inflamed when you see dog hot spots all over it. These appear as red moist patches that can either be concentrated on one portion alone or appear as scattered areas on the dog’s skin. In the medical field, the condition is more commonly known as moist dermatitis.

Because of the appearance of dog hot spots, it’s quite easy to note if your dog has this. You should first notice this when your dog starts to scratch with an unnatural frequency. When he begins to do this, you should inspect the area where the dog often scratches.

Once they do this, you should be warned and look at the area where your dog does the scratching. If you see the red spots you should tend to it immediately.

Soon as you find the dog hot spots, it would be best to have the area shaved off. You should do this especially if your dog has a heavy coat on them. This will be the best way for the hot spots to get treated because you will see how bad the current area is. This would also help you assess more or less how worse the hot spot has become. At least it would already prompt you to bring your dog over to some vet care.

Once the area has been shaved, the next thing you ought to do is to cleanse it. Just like with wounds, cleansing allows you to stop the growth of bacteria and preventing any further infections from happening. You should use a clean wash cloth, some lukewarm water, and a gentle cleanser to cleanse the dog hot spots. This can help prevent the itchy feeling that prompts your dog to keep on scratching.

Over time, you should consider applying compresses on the area until you bring the dog to the vet and be prescribed with topical medications among others. You can apply a cold compress on the area up to four times a day so that you dog would feel comfortable. You can also try putting on a tea bag compress to help dry out the wound and also provide an additional protection from bacterial growth.

Since dogs scratch and lick themselves as a response to what they feel, it would be best for them if you make them wear an Elizabethan collar in the meantime. This way they would not be able to infect the dog hot spots much further.

Always keep an eye on the dog hot spots especially if your pet has not been seen by a vet yet. If the areas still cease to heal for more than 2 days, you should already bring your dog to the vet immediately. They will be prescribed some antibiotics to stop the growth of bacteria as well as topical medications to soothe the dog hot spots

Jennifer is a pet health expert who specializes in canine skin allergies. Check out her Website for more information!

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