How do I help older Bichon with hotspots/allergies?

You CAN NOT allow him to bite and scratch these sores. If he does, they will just continue to grow. I advise you to go to your vet. He will have this cream that you can only get from your vet. You apply it over the sores and rub it in. In a few days, your dogs hotspots wil be gone and he will be as good as new.

As for the allergies, they are proably just irritations. I would advise you to buy some food that specifically applies to what is happening to him.

D, Vets are expensive...it is not abuse to try to find a simple solution first without paying costly vet bills. And actually, current animal law therefore addresses the rights of the people who own animals, not the rights of the animals themselves. Just because you don't take your animal to the vet immediately is not cruelty or abuse. Cruelty is not even considering they have a problem and not caring if they get better or not. The people who ask questions here are not being abusive or cruel, they are showing CONCERN. They are obviously not abusing their animal. So please get off your soapbox and perhaps try to be helpful, k?

You can get hotspot relief shampoo and sprays. My dog gets them too and those help her out a lot. Get the hypoallergenic kinds.

To find out what he is allergic to the vet would need to do an allergy test. Do you see any fleas on him?

the only way to find out cat allergies is believe it or not you have to slap the little ba$tard around untill he starts talking so he can tell you whats wrong

You TAKE HIM TO THE VET! No home remedies please. It's unconscionable that he hasn't been taken there yet. Tell those morons that he is with that it is his RIGHT by LAW to receive proper medical care and to deny it is abuse. In the meantime you take him and at least get him some relief.

My vet gave me some Malaseb towelletes and resiCHLOR and resiCORT lotions. works great.

It could be fleas. . . contact dermatitis

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