Dog Hot Spots in Late Summer: What Causes Them and What Helps
Your dog is gnawing at something on their lower side...
You move the fur aside and there it is: an angry, red, wet patch of skin that you swear wasn't there yesterday... a hot spot.
Hot spots can develop surprisingly fast, and late summer can create the perfect conditions for them: heat, humidity, swimming, wet coats, seasonal allergens, fleas and plenty of opportunities for dogs to lick, scratch and chew irritated skin.
🔥 What Is a Hot Spot?
A hot spot, also called acute moist dermatitis or pyotraumatic dermatitis, is an area of inflamed skin often created and worsened by a dog's own licking, chewing or scratching.
Something starts the itch or irritation.
Your dog scratches or licks.
The skin becomes damaged.
The damaged area becomes increasingly inflamed and moist, which makes your dog want to lick and scratch even more.
And just like that, you have an itch → lick → damage → more itch cycle.
They can progress from a small irritated area to a much larger raw lesion surprisingly quickly.
☀️ Why Are Hot Spots So Common in Late Summer?
Hot spots can happen any time of year, but warm weather tends to trigger them more often.
Think about everything happening to your dog's skin in late summer:
- Heat and humidity
- Seasonal environmental allergens - especially those awful summer weeds
- Fleas and other biting insects
- Swimming and wet coats
- Thick coats that hold moisture against the skin
Dogs with allergies may already be itchier during certain times of the year. Add moisture, heat or an insect bite and one irritated area can quickly progress into a hot spot.
🛁 Can You Bathe a Dog With a Hot Spot?
Yes - but be gentle with the affected skin.
There is an important difference between scrubbing an open hot spot and gently cleaning the affected area.
Hot spots are moist, inflamed skin lesions that are often made worse by licking, chewing, and scratching. Keeping the area clean and stopping the cycle of self-trauma are important to helping the skin heal.
If your dog needs a bath, you can still bathe them. Use lukewarm water, be very gentle around the affected area, rinse thoroughly and don't scrub it.
Be especially careful to pat the area dry after the bath. Hot spots thrive in warm, moist conditions, and moisture can easily become trapped against the skin, particularly in dogs with long hair or dense double coats. If needed, carefully clip the fur back from the affected area to help it dry and allow air to reach the skin.
Watch the area closely and contact your veterinarian if it appears to be worsening or developing an infection.
Which 4-Legger Shampoo Would We Use?
It depends on what the skin looks like.
For red, itchy, irritated skin that is still intact: We'd reach for 4-Legger CALM Organic Dog Shampoo with Lavender, Calendula & St. John's Wort. CALM is our first choice when the goal is gentle cleansing and soothing support for already-irritated skin.
If your dog has an active raw hot spot but the rest of the dog needs a bath: We'd keep things as simple as possible with our Unscented Aloe Organic Dog Shampoo and avoid shampooing directly on the open lesion. If you’ve had a cut or scrape you know the sting that can come even from water touching the area, much less soap.
And what about the COOLING shampoo?
Our COOLING formula with tea tree, peppermint and eucalyptus is designed for itchy, red and problematic skin and can be a great option when the skin is intact.
But this is an important distinction:
“Cooling” does not mean “put this directly on an open hot spot.”
A cooling sensation is not the same thing as healing, and raw, damaged skin is not the place to experiment with products simply because they feel cool or tingly. But using it on the skin adjacent to the area where skin may be broken or raw, will feel a lot better by helping to cool the skin down.
🚫 What Doesn't Help?
When dog parents see angry, red, raw or broken skin, the instinct can be to throw everything at it.
More isn't necessarily better. In fact, it’s definitely not in the case of hot spots.
Avoid hot water, aggressive scrubbing, harsh cleansers, heavily fragranced products and repeatedly washing the area in an attempt to “sanitize” it.
We also wouldn't pile multiple essential oils, sprays, creams and home remedies onto an open hot spot without knowing what you're treating. Not piling on is a good habit in general, not just in the case of hot spots. After all, you want to be able to discern what is helping and what is not which is virtually impossible when using multiple products all at once.
The goal isn't to wage war on your dog's skin.
The goal is to stop the cycle of irritation and give the skin an opportunity to recover.
🔍 Why Did Your Dog Get a Hot Spot?
This may be the most important question of all.
A hot spot is often the result of something else.
Possible triggers include fleas or insect bites, environmental or food allergies, ear infections, anal gland irritation, skin infections, mats, trapped moisture and even pain that causes a dog to repeatedly lick one area.
If your dog keeps developing hot spots, treating each individual sore without looking for the underlying trigger means you're only addressing symptoms which is only half of the problem.
🐾 Could Pain Be Behind the Licking?
If your dog keeps licking or chewing the same area, it's easy to assume something on the skin is bothering them.
But sometimes, the problem may be underneath the skin which brings up the question of “what is it about licking that helps”?
Dogs may repeatedly lick an area because of pain or discomfort from a joint, muscle, injury or another underlying problem. Here’s your anatomy lesson. Pain and pressure are sensory perceptions that have overlapping neural pathways. When pain is present, applying pressure on the area (in this case licking), can override and temporarily dampen the perception of pain. It’s a way that a dog can self-soothe. But over time, that constant licking can damage otherwise normal skin and create the irritation that develops into a hot spot.
That's especially worth considering when a hot spot keeps appearing in the same place.
Instead of only asking, “What's irritating the skin?” also ask:
“Why is my dog so focused on this particular spot?”
If there's no obvious skin-related trigger — or the problem keeps returning in the same location — talk with your veterinarian about whether pain or another underlying issue could be driving the licking.
🚨 When a Hot Spot Needs the Veterinarian
Hot spots can progress quickly and can become infected.
Call your veterinarian if the area is rapidly getting larger, is extremely painful, swollen, hot, producing pus or other discharge, smells foul, or isn't beginning to improve.
And don't underestimate the importance of stopping the licking and chewing. Even the best skin care in the world can't accomplish much if your dog continues traumatizing the area every few minutes.
As much as they dislike them, you may need a donut around the neck to prevent your dog reaching the area in order to break the cycle.
💚 The Bottom Line
A hot spot doesn't appear for no reason.
Something made your dog start licking, chewing or scratching that area — and figuring out why is just as important as caring for the damaged skin.
Maybe it was a flea bite. Maybe your dog stayed wet after swimming. Maybe seasonal allergies made them itchy. Or maybe they're repeatedly licking one particular spot because a joint or something underneath the skin hurts.
Clean the skin. Keep it dry. Stop the licking and chewing. Get your veterinarian involved if it develops an infection.
If the hot spot keeps coming back, don't just keep treating the hot spot.
Figure out why it keeps occuring especially when it is chronic or significantly disruptive to a normal routine.
That's how you break the cycle.
