Sores on Betty's Neck

[penguinspam]

When we first got Betty, she had a scab on her neck that was in a clump of fur, my husband thought he accidently brushed it out one night because the next morning there was an oozy red sore there. We put peroxide and antiseptic cream on it, it turned into a hard black crusty scab, which fell off after a few days leaving pink skin that is dry and healthy looking, just bald. Now my husband has discovered another spot, above the first one on her neck, this was red and oozy so we've done the peroxide and antiseptic cream again. She goes to the vet on Thursday so I will get it checked out then, but has anyone seen this before? Are these hotspots? She can't lick them and I haven't really seen her scratching her neck so not sure what's happening with our poor girl

ETA: She doesn't mind the sores being touched when we are cleaning/applying cream.

 

[Petra]

It does sound/look like hot spots... it's pretty common Always good to have a vet check it out though. If you don't already you could try to add coconut oil and/or greek yogurt to her food, sometimes it helps 2 tablespoons of each/day, but start off with less so she can get used to it.

Hope her vet visit goes well <3

 

[penguinspam]

It does sound/look like hot spots... it's pretty common Always good to have a vet check it out though. If you don't already you could try to add coconut oil and/or greek yogurt to her food, sometimes it helps 2 tablespoons of each/day, but start off with less so she can get used to it.

Hope her vet visit goes well <3

Thanks Petra! She's getting her second round of shots so will ask the vet to have a look at the sores. She gets coconut oil once in awhile, will try to start adding it to her food regularly.

 

[2BullyMama]

yep --- hot spot. Just shave the area... keep it clean and dry. These are usually due to a weaken immune system which most times is a result of allergies

 

[Petra]

Thanks Petra! She's getting her second round of shots so will ask the vet to have a look at the sores. She gets coconut oil once in awhile, will try to start adding it to her food regularly.

It takes a while for the coconut oil to have effect so if she's not reacting badly to it I'd suggest you try to give it daily. My bulldogs also get hot spots sometimes, it seems to be weather related for my boy, if it's very moist and warm he'll get in on his neck and once it developed into dermatitis so it's good that you treat it

It can be food related also... I'm not familiar with foods in the UK, I'm sure someone else will come along that knows

 

[penguinspam]

It takes a while for the coconut oil to have effect so if she's not reacting badly to it I'd suggest you try to give it daily. My bulldogs also get hot spots sometimes, it seems to be weather related for my boy, if it's very moist and warm he'll get in on his neck and once it developed into dermatitis so it's good that you treat it

It can be food related also... I'm not familiar with foods in the UK, I'm sure someone else will come along that knows

Her previous owner did tell us that she was on a really cheap dog food (owner was having financial difficulties), we do have her on a brand in the UK that is supposed to be a good quality dog food, Wainwright's Lamb and Rice, our vet was happy with the choice. I think I read on here that it can take up to a month to see benefits from a food change? We've had her 3 weeks as of today so not sure if we need to wait it out a bit more before changing up her food.

 

[Petra]

Her previous owner did tell us that she was on a really cheap dog food (owner was having financial difficulties), we do have her on a brand in the UK that is supposed to be a good quality dog food, Wainwright's Lamb and Rice, our vet was happy with the choice. I think I read on here that it can take up to a month to see benefits from a food change? We've had her 3 weeks as of today so not sure if we need to wait it out a bit more before changing up her food.

Oh yes, definitely! It does take a while for the body to recover and build up a good immune system so she can very well be rid of the hot spots very soon

 

[penguinspam]

Also wondering if they can get hotspots from being too dirty? We take Betty on walks twice a day and which includes trip to a muddy dog park. We wipe her paws down when she gets home, but the mister gave her a bath today and the water was really dirty(it's been about 2 weeks since her last bath), should we be bathing her more often? I don't want to dry out her skin with too many baths, we do use oatmeal shampoo and rub her with coconut oil after she dries.

 

[Petra]

Also wondering if they can get hotspots from being too dirty? We take Betty on walks twice a day and which includes trip to a muddy dog park. We wipe her paws down when she gets home, but the mister gave her a bath today and the water was really dirty(it's been about 2 weeks since her last bath), should we be bathing her more often? I don't want to dry out her skin with too many baths, we do use oatmeal shampoo and rub her with coconut oil after she dries.

I don't think so... I would rather think that to much baths would make it worse... but I really don't know. I bath mine very rarely, especially Boeboe and Bennie, I'd say they get baths between 2-4 times a year only. I do wipe them down with a damp cloth almost daily though. You have a good thing going on there with the oatmeal and coconut oil

 

[2BullyMama]

Her previous owner did tell us that she was on a really cheap dog food (owner was having financial difficulties), we do have her on a brand in the UK that is supposed to be a good quality dog food, Wainwright's Lamb and Rice, our vet was happy with the choice. I think I read on here that it can take up to a month to see benefits from a food change? We've had her 3 weeks as of today so not sure if we need to wait it out a bit more before changing up her food.

Wainwright's is good, but maybe look into their grain free line if you are going to change. hot spots really never heard of them being caused by dirt, but might be possible.

 

[penguinspam]

Wainwright's is good, but maybe look into their grain free line if you are going to change. hot spots really never heard of them being caused by dirt, but might be possible.

I didn't even realise they did a grainfree version, I think we might give that a go and see if it helps!

I've found another weird patch on her Right above her tail, this is different than the hotspots, the skin is like scaly with a cluster of little bumps, very bizarre looking. Her fur lays right over it above her tail so you can't see it or notice it unless you push her fur in the opposite direction, just noticed my fingers caught on something rough when scratching her above her tail. So lots of things for the vet to look at on Thursday

 

[2BullyMama]

I didn't even realise they did a grainfree version, I think we might give that a go and see if it helps!

I've found another weird patch on her Right above her tail, this is different than the hotspots, the skin is like scaly with a cluster of little bumps, very bizarre looking. Her fur lays right over it above her tail so you can't see it or notice it unless you push her fur in the opposite direction, just noticed my fingers caught on something rough when scratching her above her tail. So lots of things for the vet to look at on Thursday

Could be staph infection..... How old is she?

 

[penguinspam]

Could be staph infection..... How old is she?

She's almost 4. I can't get a picture of the spot as she won't sit still for me, but the closest thing I've found on the internet is this patch on the Boston Terrier Hair loss and crusty dry skin? What is it? | Boogie's blog Which turned out to be a staph infection caused by allergies. Will definitely be asking the vet about it tomorrow as it sounds like she'll need antibiotics. Poor girl

 

[2BullyMama]

She's almost 4. I can't get a picture of the spot as she won't sit still for me, but the closest thing I've found on the internet is this patch on the Boston Terrier Hair loss and crusty dry skin? What is it? | Boogie's blog Which turned out to be a staph infection caused by allergies. Will definitely be asking the vet about it tomorrow as it sounds like she'll need antibiotics. Poor girl

Yes, sometimes the hotspot and staph infection will hit at the same time, but they are both the result of weaken immune/allergies --- good luck at the vet today and keep us posted.

 

[penguinspam]

Yes, sometimes the hotspot and staph infection will hit at the same time, but they are both the result of weaken immune/allergies --- good luck at the vet today and keep us posted.

Saw the vet today and he basically agreed that it looks like staph. He think the patch above her tail has been there awhile as the skin has thickened there. She has a course of antibiotics and antibiotic gel. I am going to be adding coconut oil and plain yogurt to her food and once the sores heal start rubbing her down more regularly with coconut oil. Hopefully the antibiotics do the trick otherwise we'll need to go back for a skin scraping.