Expert: Silva Mirovics - 1/1/2010

Question
I have a 2yr old female pitbull mix puppy she breaks out on her tummy when it gets hot or shes in long grass, but i started to notice about 2 weeks ago a bump on her rib cage it was small but its started to get bigger and she scratched it so now it has started to bleed a little its now the size of a nickel! and red and irritated ive been cleaning the area with water and a mild soap! please help!! addie and kira

Answer
Hi Addie
it sounds like your dog is getting what vets call "hot spots".  These often come up in warmer weather and/or when dogs have been running or rolling in grasses.
Hot spots can be difficult to treat.  Your best solution would be to purchase a good quality skin and coat supplement to add to your dog's daily diet.
Also - don't feed any more commercially prepared foods.  Either give her raw meats, fruits and vegetables, or lightly cook if you are not comfortable with raw.  Otherwise purchase an all natural ready made raw meal such as BARF - www.barfworld.com
Commercial foods are often the agravators of skin problems in dogs.
Add a Vit E oil capsule or Fish Oil capsule to her daily meals as well.  
And stop giving her chemical flea and worm treatments as these overload the liver and cause stress in the body which results in skin ailments.
There are so many natural flea and worm treatments these days.  You will also find that if you feed your dog a real natural diet they just don't seem to attract fleas or get worms like other dogs do.  Your girl will also smell much nicer once she is eating real food.
For natural worm and flea products go to:
www.greenpet.com.au
www.holisticanimalmedicines.com
www.naturalrearing.com

You can soothe her tummy with warm salted water and some Vit E oil or some Aloe Vera gel.  You may also want to look at some natural antiseptic cream from the above suppliers to help heal and repair. But do keep an eye on this sore and if it does not heal well soon then you really need to get her to a vet before it becomes terribly infected.

I hope this helps you and your girl.
With thanks,
Silva.
www.roxysworld.com.au