Sores around his neck?

Realised this morning that Jet has some sores, kind of like a rash around his neck. He's had the same collar for two years or so, but it really does look like that is the problem, although I don't see why this had arisen now.

I have removed the collar and applied some antiseptic cream for now. Any other ideas what this could be and anything I can do to speed up healing.

Have you checked his collar to see if there's anything stuck in it like burrs or nettles or anything like that? Something like that could have been rubbing him and caused the sores.

Had a GSP in last week who had a massive line all the way around his neck where he pulls on his lead and the collar digs in (he wears a greyhound collar which didn't help).

Hi LP what kind of sores are they, spots? What is the collar made of. Maybe in this hot weather the skin under the collar is getting very hot which is affecting the hair follicles and causing a kind of dermatitis.

Any sign of fleas, they tend to be more prevalent in the hot weather to (look for tiny dark specs of flea feces in the coat which dissolves on wet tissue to leave a dark brown stain)..

I agree, it's probably due to the exceptionally hot weather causing the dog to sweat, that sticks to the collar, bacteria sets in and causes the viscious circle! I'm washing mine atm every few days, but if yours is leather, then get out the saddle soap and give it a good clean, I'm sure it's the collar causing the problems, and good luck. Take it off in the house if you can, that'll help too.

My dogs only wear collars when out so the skin gets a chance to breathe. I stick the (nylon) collars in the washing machine every couple of weeks as well.

Dogs don't have sweat glands in the same places as us so it's unlikely to be sweat ~ but if your dog gets wet then it could well be the combination of collar & dampness & the hot weather that has caused the sores.

Like others, mine only wear collars for walks & they're removed as soon as we get home.

Could it fleas? They do tend to congregate under the collar. See if you can see any flea faeces in his fur.

Nothing to add except to point out that dogs don't sweat anywhere on their bodies except through the pads of their feet. Its why they are so prone to overheating. But the principle is the same, if the collar gets wet for whatever reason it would hold moisture and whatever muck was also in the water, on the collar, etc, close to the skin causing a dermatitis.

Well, you learn something new everyday on Dogsey!!! I always thought they sweat on their necks, because my dog with the bad skin problems, seems to go very claggy and oily in that area under his collar, and yet he only ever wears a collar to go out, and not a tight one at that, it's a half check collar! Thanks for putting me right, I do like to learn!

Thankyou for your replies. I have checked for fleas, but found nothing (we deflea regularly anyway) and also there seems to be nothing stuck in his collar.
I have come to the conclusion that it's because I leave it on while/after he swims, although it has never caused trouble before. I will be taking it off in future though.
The sores don't seem bad and seem to be looking better after leaving the collar off for a while. I may take your advice and only put his collar on when we're out from now on.