Dog Hot Spots

Perhaps your dog, or a dog you know, is plagued by what is commonly called "hot spots." There's a really long scientific name for it, but if you need that information, ask your vet.

Generally, a hot spot is a patch on the dog's body that the dog keeps licking and/or biting. It may be due to nerves or allergies. In people terms, you may have heard "quit picking at it!" Except dogs don't stop. The hot spot can actually grow and spread if left unattended. It also can become infected and require an antibiotic.

Other dogs are very aware of a dog with a wound. They sniff it, sometimes reacting negatively to it. Other dogs may lick the wound, in its own effort to promote healing.

Removing the dog from the stressful situation, if possible, is one way to reduce them. However, it may just become a habit for a dog to chew at its hot spot. There are effective sprays that reduce the itching and swelling, usually with the result the dog will leave it alone and the wound will heal.

This had me thinking about the wounds that people receive. The wounds I am thinking of are the ones we do not see in each other. Some tragedy that we've experienced or other circumstance that has caused serious impact can leave us permanently wounded. These experiences are profound and no matter what, we can not escape that this "thing" happened to us. They become our hot spots.

Yet we can't tell people we've just met that we carry around this serious "woundedness." Yet, it's so much a part of who we are. What is one to do with all the pain, even if it happened years in the past or even in childhood?

There are many angles with this. If it's something that a person has dealt with, the best they can, and are in a healthy frame of mind, then why not disclose it, in a proper circumstance? This is tricky, of course. It's not the sort of thing one leads with, of course!

It seems that one of two things will happen as we get to know others better. If we tell the person of this circumstance, some people may visibly be shaken, feel uncomfortable, and even back away, speechless. In other words, it doesn't go so well. It's happened to me. While some of the people who react like this may eventually be friendly, usually it is the sort of person who avoids dealing with anything too difficult. While I understand this, these are not generally people I spend much time with socially.

The other option is that once the vulnerable spot is bared, a person will react with compassion. They may even share their own situation that was painful. These people can experience a little bit of their own healing by hearing of our pain. And, if you're very fortunate, that person may become a dear friend.

It's made me think of how do I react to others who show me where it hurts? How willing am I to share my own pain? Am I willing to go one step further, to explain that, if I look hard enough, and trust fully, even the pain can be redeemed.