Skin sores in summer?

N

Newfie in Oz

New member
I have a question, my girl gets these sores on her lower back every year around the beginning of summer (now). They start off as little mats of hair, and when you find one and pull apart the mat there's a sore underneath that weeps milky colored pus. I usually can't feel them underneath her fur until they're a little larger and they seem to appear quite suddenly (I brush them both every second day and I usually don't notice them until they're a bit larger). The big problem is that she usually finds them first and then proceeds to tear all the hair in that area out until it becomes a bloody, pusy wound of considerable size.

I always clip the hair off the area, wash it, and treat it with neocort-topical cream used to treat bacterial infections. Ultimately I end up taking her to the Vet, he tells me she's got a bacterial infection again, prescribes anti-biotics and more neocort cream and away we go. This usually happens about three times a summer.

So, my question is, do these sores/bacterial infections sound familiar to any of you, and if so, does anyone have any advice on either, how to treat them better or, perhaps the name of any of the medicines they've had success with? The problem is that as long as the weathers hot, even the anti-biotics he prescribes never seem to work that well.

I feel awful for her, and treating them seems to be painful, I just can't help thinking that she thinks I'm hurting her on purpose... :(
 
F

FuzzyDustBunnies

New member
Unfortunately, I'm familiar with skin problems. There are lots of things you can do...each dog is different in what they do well with.

My Owen has had skin problems since he was around 6 months old. Typically from spring through early fall is when they erupt. Last fall they were HORRIBLE. He was on meds for 8 weeks trying to make it all go away. I thought he'd be bald before we put a stop to it.

What has worked for us is using Micro-Tek shampoo and spray made by Eqyss. I also switched his food over to a grain free, and I also feed raw one meal a day. This summer I cut his underside fur short, along with his chest and bib area since his fur is so thick in these areas...and those were where the problems usually started. This year he's been on meds twice I believe, and I caught it right off the bat, so it didn't have a chance for it to become horrible.

Another thing I've noticed is after Owen has a bath or he's gotten really wet, he needs to be thoroughly dried with a dryer. If he has ANY dampness along his skin, that can get things going.

I'm sure many others will chime in with what works for them. Good luck finding what works! It can be frustrating...but perseverance pays off! We're still not all the way there, but I'm getting closer!!!
 
Jeannie

Jeannie

Super Moderator
Anytime a dog has mat the air cannot get to the skin so the skin cannot breathe or dry. First off you need to comb your newf to remove all mats. MOst hotspots are started by thick coats next to the skin. NOtice I said COMB. A brush will go over top the thick coat next to the skin. A Mars Coat King will help get out he undercoat also.
 
2ndchance

2ndchance

New member
I have to ask, do they appear to spread to other areas of the rump? sometimes does it seem like there is a line of little lumps?
 
N

Newfie in Oz

New member
Thanks for the replies all...

2nd, no, they appear at random places, and all at once. I took her to the vet yesterday, as within the span of about 24 hours she got about 6 of them, each which grew in a matter of a few hours to raw, weeping sores about 4-5 inches in diameter! They shaved the effected areas more then I already had, and gave me some anti-biotics. This is the worst she's ever had it and she's been in a lot of pain in the last few days as a result. I feel terrible as I'm always the one washing them, disinfecting them, etc, and therefore the one who's constantly hurting her, she even avoided me when I came home today instead of mauling me as she usually does. I don't think she realizes that I'm doing it to help her, which upsets me greatly. The good news is that they appear to be working and the sores are beginning to dry out.
 
Nasus

Nasus

New member
As you're going into summer could these be bites from insects? U got some strange creatures down-under.
 
pjcarbone

pjcarbone

Inactive Member
Micro Tek shampoo is wonderful. I reccommended it to a friend who has a great dane with horrible skin problem and it really helped. They also have a spray for itchy spots.
 
KatieB

KatieB

New member
our boy had hotspots for the first time ever and he itched until a large sore appeared. He wouldn't leave it alone even with the cream and antibiotics our vet gave us. So we had to put an e-collar on him (well he was so terrified of the collar and would stand frozen in teh room hoping if he didn't move it would go away...well duh it's attached to your neck it's not going away. So he was so terrified of that that I couldn't bear to leave the e-collar on. It was suggested by some friends on a holistic berner site that we put gold bond medicated powder (make sure it's powder not cream) and after a day of this it had dried up, started to heal and he was no longer itching. So you might try that also in addition to suggestions from others on here. Good luck.
 
sarnewfie

sarnewfie

New member
i find that improper grooming, though people think they are brushing properly, is the culprit of a lot of sores, by buying yourself a high velocity dryer, even blowing them off dry, will get a lot of the dead undercoat much better than ANY brush out there.
the Coat king is a good investment to help you along, the undercoat just sits againsthe skin and skin needs air, otherwise you will get bacteria and sores if you dont properly maintain them.
As far as Nzymes?
yes i am using them now, for tasha!
as long as tasha gets them i give them to the whole crew, i got the granules.
was doing the drops but it is a pain to remember, and a pain to continually count drops for them to put in their food! LOL
 
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