dog question

[momenteller]

Hey all you knowledgeable dog owners,

My 7 year old chocolate lab has a patch of skin on the top of his back, near his tail, that he won't stop licking. Its maybe about the size of a quarter. The skin there isn't hard, I can't see any puncture wounds or ticks, and it doesn't appear inflamed or red. But he has licked it repeatedly over the past week so that spot is bald and the fur around there is sticky.

Any ideas on what this could be?

 

[3CsMommy]

My dog had a hot spot there for quite a while when I was young. It's a pretty common location for them, though it could be something else too. A basic article about hot spot/pyoderma here: http://www.canismajor.com/dog/hotspots.html

Is he on decent food? Any signs of allergies to things (ear infections, sneezies, excessive licking/biting other parts)? Any new additions to the house or changes in environment like new carpet, a different laundry detergent, fumigation for bugs, etc.?

A bath with a mild dog shampoo w/ tea tree oil is probably where I'd start to make sure there isn't something in his fur or on his skin irritating him. If you can't find that, try the oatmeal stuff from Arm & Hammer. Then, I'd get in touch with a vet for an exam and possibly a skin scraping to see if there's a microscopic reason for it.

 

[staceylwolf]

It's a hot spot. Get some hydrocortisone spray to put on it. I get my spray from my vet but they also sell stuff at pet stores. If you call your vet and tell them your dog has a hot spot and you need some spray they might just sell it to you without him being see, as long as he's been seen in the last year.

 

[momenteller]

thanks so much for the responses...

he has had problems with allergies in the past, yes, and is prone to ear infections. he's been on Iams Large Breed since he was a pup. any recommendations for other food?

i'm going to give him a bath this afternoon, already have the shampoo w/tea tree, and go buy some hydrocortisone spray for after that.

thanks again to both of you for your help!

 

[jmdebb]

The first thing that came to my mind before reading the responses was a hot spot. But I would suggest going to vet to find out for sure.

 

[3CsMommy]

Like JMDeb said, the vet needs to be called to figure out *what* is causing the hot spot. Baths and cortisone can help relieve the itch, but until the vet figures out what caused the bacterial bloom, they're going to keep coming back, just like a bacterial infection (strep throat for example) in humans.

Iambs isn't the worst food out there, but they source their ingredients from wherever they can get them (think China and their fertilizer contamination), which can make the formula inconsistent. It can be tricky to figure out what a dog is reacting to in its food (and I'd suspect a food sensitivity given your guy's history), but I like Nature's Variety brand foods, Prairie and Instinct. Instinct is grain free, which is probably where I'd start. It's common for dogs to have problems with the corn filler used in many foods, which those brands don't use, but some dogs also react badly to chicken or beef. Luckily, several companies now use white fish, salmon, vension and other dog-safe meats. It's just a matter of trial and error to see what your dog will do best on.

Since many "large breed" foods have added glucosamine and chondroitin, if you're concerned about his joints, you can add tablets of it right to whatever food you switch him to, to keep the supplements in his diet at all times.

 

[eroomlorac]

Are you sure he is flea free? Many dogs have flea allergies and chew, scratch bald spots where they get bit by fleas. I use Frontline Plus on my dogs during flea season otherwise my Border Collie gets a dermatitis from flea bites.

 

[chinchillalover0927]

its most likely hot spots or he could just be starting to get either 2 of the mange.. my mother is a vet tech..but id say its most likely a hot spot. we have had both happen to our boxers one was mange but was treated quickly so it didnt get out of hand. they stay inside and dont go alot of places so we never figured out how he got it