I have two goldens who have allergy issues. They have an allergy vet and get a daily oral serum to deal with allergies. One golden recently got a sudden case of hot spots and saw the vet. I’ve been washing him daily with a chlorhexidine shampoo, while awaiting the bacteria culture. It’s pretty much cleared up, and today the vet office called and got back with the results. They still recommended antibiotics because the infection can be deeper in the skin and it can become resistant without treatment. After speaking to the vet at our visit, he seems eager to prescribe antibiotics, even as a preventative in certain cases the dog is being groomed. Has anyone had instances where antibiotics were still prescribed while the symptoms were pretty much gone?
Over use of antibiotics is the root of the growing problem (and soon to be a crisis) of antibiotic resistance all around the world. Could you find a “natural” alternative such as a plant-based topical or even try homeopathy?
Vet’s Best makes a spray called
“HotSpots” which is pretty good.
I know I sound like a broken record on a lot of these types of posts,… but what are you feeding the dog?
It could be a reaction to the protein. If the mail source of protein is chicken, I would look for a food with the main source to be either pork, beef, bison, or white fish species. Avoid venison, salmon, and lamb.
If you are looking for a topical. I would look for a salve with calendula in it. My friend used to make this amazing salve with beeswax, calendula, and some additional oils. I used it for us and the dogs. Every boo boo, hot spot, skin irritation would heal quickly. We called it the witch’s salve.
We had them on Ultamino to rule out a chicken allergy (they both were also having anal gland issues, so wanted to see if this helped), then switched them to Wellness Core Ocean Wholesome Grains. The anal gland issues have improved (though not completely gone for one dog). It’s really difficult to find a good non-chicken feed, as we also have to be careful with the DCM issues.
The chlorhexidine shampoo works really well. And the vet got back to me today and said we can hold off on antibiotics since the hot spots are disappearing. So we will see how things go. I’ll look into a salve as you suggested.
