The American Beagler Forum

What usually causes hot spots? I was told it was the feed so I switched from pride in the green bag to purina one. They went away but now I'm running them pretty hard and can't keep weight on them and noticed they have what looks like dandruff.

Got some fish oil pills and a couple bags of diamond naturals chicken and rice to try them on now.

Any opinions?

I personally feed Diamond Naturals Chicken and Rice and find no need to add a thing to their diet because all my hounds have thick shiny coats. Never really been a fan of Purina, ya may wanna supplement some Coconut oil for a couple weeks till their coats are slick and shiny again. Allergies (skin irritations) and insect bites are some causes of hot spots.

My experience with hotspots is the dog got them when getting too much high protein food in the summer months, when he was running less and burning fewer calories.

Lots of things cause hot spots. Feed, allergies, scratching, a moist environment (pee or from cleaning out kennels), etc...

The important thing in treating hot spots is NOT to put anything 'wet' on the spot if the spot is wet. You want the spot to dry up. NuStock is great, so is anything sulfur. You can make a sulfur paste (sulfur powder and baby oil) but make it thick so it sticks. Or, Sulfodene is great, but, not if the spot is moist. Wait til it dries up then use something wet like Sulfodene lotion/ointment.

We feed Diamond Chicken Naturals and Rice. No issues. Put pups on it to teeth and keep them on it. Our kennels are heat and air conditioned and sometimes the dogs' coats dry up (dandruff). All we do is add 1/2 tbsp veg oil or give them a little moisture and if it's the entire kennel, we just put a humidifier in to help add moisture to the air. We like the Diamond Naturals feed (but not the lamb or beef). It's made all the difference regardless of how much the dogs run.

Hope this helps.

Mike Franklin
OKIE DOG SUPPLY
www.OKIEDOGSUPPLY.com
918.633.3519