Swimming/drying off/hot spots

[Isabella]

For those of you that take your dogs swimming - do you towel dry them afterwards or let them air dry? Rex had some bad hot spots a while ago that the vet thought was from swimming & humid temperatures. Now I am paranoid when he gets wet & I try so hard to towel dry him but he gets pretty annoyed after a while so I don't do that good of a job.

From what I've been reading hot spots seem pretty common. Is this a recurring problem? If he's had them once should i expect them to return??

I'm REALLY hoping it was a one time thing. He had to be shaved & take antibiotics for 3 weeks & it was driving him CRAZY! Not to mention the licking!! Not by him but by my other dog, which slowed down recovery time.

[GSDBESTK9]

I have never dried my dogs after swimming and have never had a problem with hot spots.

[LaRen616]

Originally Posted by GSDBESTK9

I have never dried my dogs after swimming and have never had a problem with hot spots.

Me too.

[Rerun]

Ditto. Mine just air dry and no problems. But it's worth a shot to try it out (drying) and see if it helps.

My one childhood GSD that that had hotspot problems for 8 yrs never had a hotspot again when I changed him to a better quality food when I was a teenager and learned about better food. At the time, he went from whatever my parents were buying on sale at walmart to eating Nutro Natural Choice, which, at the time, was the big deal food before Orijen and all that came about. Just something to think about.

[Isabella]

Originally Posted by Rerun

Ditto. Mine just air dry and no problems. But it's worth a shot to try it out (drying) and see if it helps.

My one childhood GSD that that had hotspot problems for 8 yrs never had a hotspot again when I changed him to a better quality food when I was a teenager and learned about better food. At the time, he went from whatever my parents were buying on sale at walmart to eating Nutro Natural Choice, which, at the time, was the big deal food before Orijen and all that came about. Just something to think about.

He's eating taste of the wild & raw every now and then so it's not the food.
At first I thought it might be some type of allergy. If he does get them again I'll just have to keep him out of the water & see if they return. That would be a shame because he absolutely loves the water!!

[onyx'girl]

Depends on the coat, IMO. My long coated dog will take 5 hours to dry off, the short stock coats dry within an hour.
My border/golden mix use to get hot spots every August until I put her on raw diet at 12 yrs old.

I started supplementing with oils at that time too, so it could have been the combination of both.

The diluted listerine-gold bond treatment cleared them up faster than what the vet gave me.

[doggiedad]

my last dog had problems with hot spots. he swam
a lot. i never towel dried him. the dog i have now swims occassionally.
i never towel dry him. my current dog doesn't have problems
with heat spots.

[Freestep]

Originally Posted by Isabella

For those of you that take your dogs swimming - do you towel dry them afterwards or let them air dry? Rex had some bad hot spots a while ago that the vet thought was from swimming & humid temperatures. Now I am paranoid when he gets wet & I try so hard to towel dry him but he gets pretty annoyed after a while so I don't do that good of a job.

Hot spots can be caused or exacerbated by dampness. If your dog has a tendency toward hot spots, and his coat doesn't dry quickly and thoroughly, the moisture creates a nice breeding ground for bacteria and fungus. I have seen Newfoundlands, who have a heavy coat, lots of skin folds, and are ALWAYS wet, get hot spots on their necks from this moisture.

I wouldn't be afraid to let your dog go swimming, but dry your dog as thoroughly as you can, or invest in a force dryer like a Metro to get the moisture out completely.

[Isabella]

Originally Posted by Freestep

I wouldn't be afraid to let your dog go swimming, but dry your dog as thoroughly as you can, or invest in a force dryer like a Metro to get the moisture out completely.

That's a great idea, I would love one of those but I have no electricity at the cottage.
I guess I'll keep trying to towel dry. It's frustrating but funny at the same time. It's not that he doesn't like it, he thinks it's a game & attacks me & the towel. Any of your dogs do this??

[Wolfiesmom]

Where does he swim? Could it be something in the water that is causing the hot spots, like bacteria? Wolfie swims in the ocean, but I always hose him off when we gt home. Then he air dries. He doesnt have any hot spots.