Scooter is a Red and White Parti Colored American Cocker Spaniel who lives in Baltimore, Maryland. He loves to get his picture taken, so this site is devoted to showing off some of his best pictures while providing some tips on raising a Cocker Spaniel puppy of your own!

If you like the photos or the site, please email and let us know....

Pictures of Scooter's
Hot Spot

Click image to enlarge

Scooter's 'Hot Spot'

A few months ago we noticed a painful red sore on the side of Scooter's neck, underneath of his ear. It looked very painful and we didn't know what to do. At first, I applied Neosporin, an antibiotic over-the-counter cream. Unfortunately, it didn't get any better. After a few days of Neosporin application, I called the Vet and made a quick visit. The Veterinarian told us to apply an antibiotic/anti-inflammatory spray on his neck 4 times a day. After a week of doing this, the 'hot spot' finally had healed and a scab had formed.

What is a hotspot?

A hot spot is a local area of infection or inflammation on a dog's skin. There are many ways for this to occur. Accidental nicks with a grooming razor can become infected or a dog can scratch his neck too hard and dirt from a toenail can get under the skin causing an infection. Any break in the skin can lead to a hot spot.

Why do these skin irritations get out of control so fast?

A dog doesn't understand that scratching the wound only makes it worse. These skin irritations (hot spots) are extremely 'itchy' and it is common for a dog to lick and scratch until there is no hair left in the area. Constant scratching and licking can cause the infection to spread to adjacent areas of the skin.

What should you do if your dog's skin becomes red and irritated?

I learned the hard way! Call your Veterinarian ASAP. I have read a lot on the internet about applying over-the-counter hydrocortisones and over-the-counter antibiotics, but I think that the Vet's prescription spray works the best. I have noticed that the cremes cause the irritated area to collect a large amount of dirt and 'gunk'. The spray didn't do this so much and it was also easier to apply.

Updated 10/30/05

Unfortunately, this past weekend I nicked Scooter's neck with the grooming clippers and it became a hot spot! Our schedules didn't permit us to go to the vet to get the antibiotic spray that I recommend above. Here's how we got around the problem:

Clean the wound.

Twice a day we would soak a cotton ball with hydrogen peroxide and clean the wound. Scooter tends to get very dirty and it is important to not have any dirt around the area.

Over-the-counter sprays.

We orded a "Soothing Mist" spray from Drs. Foster and Smith as well as a 0.5% hydrocortisone spray. The soothing mist spray contains Chlorhexidine Diacetate, which has antibacterial properties. Of course this isn't as good as the veterinarian's prescribed antibiotic, but it is all we could get without a prescription. For $20 we had the sprays fed ex shipped overnight so Scooter could relax ASAP!!!! We would spray both sprays as needed at least 3 or 4 times a day on the hot spot.

Elizabethan Collar.

Scooter didn't bother his hotspot too much while we were spending time with him. However, when we would come home from work we would see that he had completely broken the skin by scratching. Because the hot spot is located on his neck, the E-collar works great b/c the hot spot is protected from the scratching of his back paws. You can go to any veterinarian's office and pick up an E-collar for about 15 dollars. At first, Scooter was very scared of this collar. When we would put it on him he would just sit still and shake. Tough love is the only way to get them to tolerate the collar! After about 30 minutes with the collar on, Scooter realized that the collar was not going to kill him. He eventually settled down and was able to fall asleep with the collar on. Use caution when allowing them to wear the collar around the house. It blocks most of their vision and they tend to bump into things! While this can be extremely amusing, it is also very dangerous. Use caution when using these collars!!!

After about 5-6 days of this treatment, the hot spot has healed.