Puppies Everywhere -- Oh Dear!!! The last One

[redtailgal]

There are several things you can do but my favorite quick trick for making a dog leave something alone is:

vaseline rubbed on the spot with a little cayenne or lemon juice sprinkled over the top or even a small dab of vicks vapor rub mixed into the vaseline.

As for the healing, just keep it clean and lubricated. Vaseline or oil (olive oil works good and is more readily absorbed by the skin than veggie oil) will help soften that skin, lessening the itch and giving it a quicker heal.

In the future, you can take oranges, cut them into quarters and place them in your crockpot on low for overnight. The juice and oil will simmer out. Strain this juice and oil thru a cheesecloth (squeeze it to get it all) leaving you with a strong and sticky juice. Dilute this 1 part orange "stuff" and 1 part water for a flea spray (be generous on the feet, gentials and "armpits" and around the ears). You can spray this on all the bedding as well. It's safe to use on newborn puppies, too (I used it on my Dobermans when I was raising them) Also mix it full strength with whatever shampoo you may use.....1 part shampoo and 1 part orange "stuff". You can also rub a little of the orange "stuff" full strength directly on the hot spot. It will aid in disinfecting, and will moisturize the area a little, as well as prevent any more fleas from chewing on that area.

Dont forget to remove her collar and clean it. Fleas will often lay eggs in the collars. I drop a nylon collar in boiling water for about 5 minutes and then let it cool. A leather collar gets thoroughly coated in python dust, beaten clean, then oiled with a good leather oil.

Plastic swimming pools make wonderful whelping boxes! That's what I used, lol. As for heating the box, yeah, technically the box should stay around 85 degrees for the first few days. I never worried with it (although my dobes were born and raised inside). If the mother is accustomed to being outside, she will know what to do. Provide her with plenty of clean straw or hay (keep it clean!) and you will be amazed at how quickly those babies learn to tunnel into it. Their mother will teach them by covering them. So long as they are not in a draft, they should be fine. If you get worried, take a blanket and/or a tarp and make a "cave" style cover over the top of the whelping box.

 

[ragdollcatlady]

I use the traditional ADVANTAGE (name brand only) product for flea control. It has worked for years and I only need to use it occasionally now. It has had really good results and the studies were some of the safest with regards to ingestion (even in infant animals). I think they found reproductive problems and stuff at 400 times the likely, accidental, oral ingestion amount. I have queenslands that are very sensitive to chemicals and I have to be careful, even with Advantage, so I am very unhappy that most places around here are changing to the "new and improved" product with more chemicals.......but I digress....

For the hot spot, if pups aren't really in that area yet ( I think you mentioned her rump), I would use a little nu stock. It takes the redness and itch out like magic, in just an hour or 2. It is a miracle worker for my hot spot susceptible, old, chow mix. Once I put that on, he stops biting and the itch seems relieved almost right away. The redness disappears fast.

Congrats on your pups! Barrels of energy are just around the corner!

 

[babsbag]

In the future, you can take oranges, cut them into quarters and place them in your crockpot on low for overnight. The juice and oil will simmer out. Strain this juice and oil thru a cheesecloth (squeeze it to get it all) leaving you with a strong and sticky juice. Dilute this 1 part orange "stuff" and 1 part water for a flea spray (be generous on the feet, gentials and "armpits" and around the ears). You can spray this on all the bedding as well. It's safe to use on newborn puppies, too (I used it on my Dobermans when I was raising them) Also mix it full strength with whatever shampoo you may use.....1 part shampoo and 1 part orange "stuff". You can also rub a little of the orange "stuff" full strength directly on the hot spot. It will aid in disinfecting, and will moisturize the area a little, as well as prevent any more fleas from chewing on that area.

I will have to try this, the older I get the more I hate using chemicals on my animals. The spray sounds like something I can mist on the pups right now and not really get them wet like a bath would. It is just too cold for that.

Has anyone used vetericyn on hotspots? (I have some in the cupboard). I looked at her this morning and it is starting to look a like it might be getting infected. I guess now that she can reach that spot, something she couldn't do when pregnant, she is giving it a pretty good chewing.

Not sure what nu stock is, I will have to look that one up.

 

[pridegoethb4thefall]

Vetericyn is nothing more than water with bleach. I looked up the chemical makeup of it... its basically bleach. A caustic, unstable chemical. Its (vetericyn) also getting flak from the FDA for its claims and labeling. Doesn't even really promote healing- the chemicals help kill bacteria etc (again, bleach will do that...), and anything that is not actually infected will naturally, eventually heal its self with time.

If you are going away from chemicals, be sure to read labels and consider homeopathic remedies. Maybe your dog needs a dish collar to keep her from chewing?

A lot of hot spots are actually infected with bacteria or fungus- only a vet can prescribe the 'good' (effective) antibiotics for those. At least, that was my experience when my dog had a few hot spots that didn't respond to anything I bought OTC.

 

[Pearce Pastures]

Vetericyn is nothing more than water with bleach. I looked up the chemical makeup of it... its basically bleach. A caustic, unstable chemical. Its (vetericyn) also getting flak from the FDA for its claims and labeling. Doesn't even really promote healing- the chemicals help kill bacteria etc (again, bleach will do that...), and anything that is not actually infected will naturally, eventually heal its self with time.

If you are going away from chemicals, be sure to read labels and consider homeopathic remedies. Maybe your dog needs a dish collar to keep her from chewing?

A lot of hot spots are actually infected with bacteria or fungus- only a vet can prescribe the 'good' (effective) antibiotics for those. At least, that was my experience when my dog had a few hot spots that didn't respond to anything I bought OTC.

Really? I was just looking at that stuff because someone recommended it for eye infections now that it is SO hard to find terramycin.

 

[bonbean01]

I had this problem with a dog years back...I put neosporin on it, then fashioned an old cotton shirt for her that would allow the area to "breathe" but she couldn't get to it so easily. Once they leave it alone, if there is no infection...heals pretty quickly...in 2 days for my girl.

Good luck!

 

[Grazer]

I'm so sorry to hear your female got a Hot Spot Babsbag.
I know how bad it can get within just hours...You see with Hot Spots the most important thing you can do is to get the dog to stop chewing on it, so the healing process can begin.
We would use an Elizabethan collar for our dog when she got Hot Spots, but I don't know how practical that would be for a female with pups.
Still you might want to give it a thought.

It seems your female is allergic to flea bites, hence her reaction. So as long as you keep her flea free, she should be ok.
The only flea treatment (and we have tried several) that ended up working for us was the Comfortis, a chewable tablet.
Sadly according to their webpage "The safe use of Comfortis in breeding, pregnant, or lactating cats and dogs has not been evaluated"
I have heard of saturating pups and the nursing mom with Dawn dish soap to kill all the fleas, but I personally have no experience with that.

To treat a Hot Spot effectively, you might want to shave off that area. It is easier to keep it dry that way.
We would clean the Hot Spot of our dog with hydrogen peroxide and then we would put a heavily diluted Tea Tree Oil on it, the one made specifically for dogs.
You have to be very careful with Tea Tree oil, because the pure Tea Tree Oil is in fact toxic for dogs (cats too btw).
And with the pups around, you might consider using something else.

A nice home made remedy to stop the Hot Spot itch are Black tea bags.
I got this advice from our breeder: Dab on some Black Tea (not herbal tea). Soak a tea bag in hot water. Cool and apply the bag directly to the sore for five minutes three or four times a day.
It dries out the Hot Spot and therefor helps with the healing process.

Another solution could be the SOA + Itch Be Gone Soap Bacterial and fungal killer. http://americasacres.com/Product.aspx/33/SOA + ITCH Be Gone™ Bar Soap
According to some people I talked, it seems to be very affective in stopping the itchiness of a Hot Spot and promoting healing.
Or you can use the Nu Stock, like Ragdollcatlady suggested. It has very good reviews.


The reason why I have a problem with how most vet's treat Hot Spots is because they so quickly prescribe antibiotics and cortisone (a form of steroid) shots and/or ointments.
It seems very effective, but more often than not, when a Hot Spot is treated that way, it comes back within just several months.
Plus a cortisone can have serious side effects.
So I personally would avoid such treatment, unless the Hot Spots are infected.
You could always consult a holistic vet, if there is one in your area. They are more expensive, but in the long run better for a dog.

 

[bonbean01]

Didn't know tea bags could help...that would be something good to try.

And forgot she is nursing pups...a makeshift shirt would not work at all.

 

[babsbag]

Thanks for all the ideas and the information on Verterciyn. That stuff is expensive for being bleach and water. I stay away from wormers, antibiotics, and most traditional meds until I know I have a problem I can't deal with another way. I will use them. but only when the life of the animal will be threatened if I don't. Thankfully my goats live on a dry lot and worms aren't much of an issue. I hate poisoning the animal to treat the problem. It just makes no sense to me. I am not anti western medicine, I just like to use it sparingly.

The cone collar won't work either because she has to lick her babies and she goes through gates to do her guad job, which she does with even more exuberance now that she has pups.

I think I will shave it (she will love me ) and then do the tea bags and look for Nu Stock. Poor girl, as if puppies aren't work enough for her. I hate to see her looking miserable.

 

[Grazer]

Yes poor momma...nursing puppies and now dealing with a hot spot.
I remember how painful our female's Hot Spot was. She too got it after a flea bite.
The weather got cold here, so I figured I won't treat them for fleas in the winter months. Big mistake (even though this worked for us in the past).
Unfortunately after a visit to the vet's office our female got fleas, very soon our dog and cat got fleas from her too (who btw didn't had a reaction to it).
That night our dog caused herself some truly awful wounds.
Regular flea treatments didn't help until we got comfortis.
She too had a Hot Spot right above her tail.

At Petco they have an alternative to the traditional cone collar: http://www.petco.com/product/100555/ProCollar-Premium-Inflatable-Protective-Collar.aspx
The idea behind it is that it doesn't interfere with dog's vision and a dog wearing it can eat, drink and sleep easier when compared to a regular cone collar.
We tried it, but it didn't work for our dog. She could still get to her hot spot and a hot spot can't heal unless the dog stops licking/chewing on it.
So we returned it. Petco has a good returning policy, so you could try it if you want. It would be awesome if it could work for your poor dog who also has to be able to take care of her babies.
Good luck and let us know what ended up working for you once the Hot Spot is completely cleared up