My dog won't stop itching and has hot spots. What's the best relief?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Male | neutered | 11 years and 7 months old | 47 lbs
My dog won’t stop itching. He has hot spots all over his belly, and is itching so much he’s panting. I’ve switched foods, and have Benadryl the last few nights. Nothing is working, not even oatmeal baths. He’s so pitiful, I just want to find him some relief.
2 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on August 14th, 2019
Poor Jackson. From your description, I would guess that Jackson likely has a superficial infection and needs antibiotics or antifungals to get the itching under control. He may also need steroids or an anti-inflammatory and/or anti-itch medication. You've tried the right home remedies, but since that's not cutting it, I would recommend a vet ASAP. They will sample the surface of his skin to see if there is bacteria or yeast there, and then treat the infection. It's also worthwhile to talk with the vet about the underlying cause of this itching. It could be allergies (but new allergies in a 11 year old would be odd) or an endocrine disorder disrupting the normal functioning of the skin, or other issues.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
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Published on July 22nd, 2018
While difficult to say for sure what is going on with Junior, it appears as though Junior may have a skin infection and may need an oral antibiotic. Dogs can be predisposed to skin infections if they are dealing with a chronic allergy. If you have not changed dog food, you can try and switch foods to see if this helps and do this for about 6 weeks. If there is no improvement, you can try a different food for the same duration. If the food does not help, this could then be a environmental allergy. I would recommend having a veterinarian take a look at Junior so that the most appropriate treatments can be recommended. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
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