Hi, I'm Dr. Fiona Caldwell and I'm a veterinarian at Idaho Veterinarian Hospital. I'm at home today answering questions from Pets Best Facebook page.
The first question comes from Riley the Labrador. "What do you recommend for a dog with hot spots?" Hot spots are areas of dermatitis or infected skin that are usually self-inflicted. They can be related to underlying allergies, so first and foremost you're going to want to see your veterinarian in case your dog needs to be put on antibiotics or other medications.
In the future, what you can do to prevent the hot spots would be try to find out what's triggering them, if it's underlying allergies to food or the environment. Sometimes boredom can play a part, too, so dogs that are crated or confined for a while can be affected. You can try special shampoos. Antihistamines are sometimes helpful. Probably starting with your veterinarian is going to be the best choice for you.
The next one comes from Jennifer. "I have to give my dog two shots a day and she fights so hard. I've tried everything I can think of and nothing seems to work." This is a tough one. Dogs that are diabetic or need allergy shots will sometimes be required to get injections.
The best thing you can probably do is to try and distract them so make it a two-person job. Have somebody feed the dog treats or praise them or pet them while you're doing the shots behind. Distraction is probably going to be your best option. Also, reward the dog. They know what's coming, so if they know that there's going to be a treat afterwards, it may make it a little bit better.
Dogs that receive insulin are usually given shots that have really small needles so pain is pretty negligible. I wonder if your dog may be picking up on your stress from administering the injections as well. If you could try to make it a more relaxed environment and sort of a less stressful time for the pet, they might do a little better.
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