Hot spots - causes?

[RedwingWinter]

My husky x is very prone to hotspots (acute moist dermatitis) and I've just noticed another. I only left him alone for half an hour but he has licked an area 3 inches square completely raw. He seems to get them more when the weather is damp and wet. I treat him for fleas (and have checked and can't see any signs of them). Does anyone know what the underlying cause is likely to be?

I realize this is a conversation I need to have with my vet, but would welcome ideas (or questions I should be asking her). Normally she gives antibiotics and something for the itching, plus of course he has to wear a cone. Part of his back was recently shaved because of the last hot spot, and this is immediately adjacent to it. Is it worth trying him on a different diet? We feed him orijen, but he does get dog biscuits from other people.

I know you really aren't supposed to shave a husky, but he has had to be shaved in various places over the last few months because of surgery and a couple of other hotspots, so you should see the state of him! It takes forever for the fur to grow back.

[MrsSpoonFromButtonMoon]

One of my dogs had a bit of trouble with hot spots, I switched her to a grain free BARF diet and she has been free of them ever since, might be worth c

[MrsSpoonFromButtonMoon]

considering.

[Lizcat]

Dogs who get repeated hotspots very often have allergies (atopy) at the base of this. These can be dietary or environmental, there are some excellent blood tests that can identify both dietary and environmental causes and whilst not cheap in the long run cost less than randomly trying to eliminate each individual cause for 12 weeks before performing a 'challenge' to see if this is the cause.