Question by CrisaRei: My dog has a staph infection that just won’t go away!?
I have been to three different vets and they all conclude it is staph. One did a skin scrape, the other checked visually, and the other skin scraped and gave her an injection to prevent fungus. One gave her antihistamines, antibiotics, and a shampoo (this was most effective). After her supply ran out, the bumps still were not gone (there were there less, but not completely gone) so we started again, and it seems worse now.

I adopted her from another family, and she showed no symptoms. She was six months old at the time, and a month after I adopted her she started showing signs. I switched her dog food from Purina to Iams to Blue Buffalo Chicken and Rice. I’m thinking about switching her back to her original dog food to see if she is allergic to dog food, after that I plan on switching her to a lamb diet without corn, beef, pork, or chicken – things most dogs are allergic to.

However, I do not think it is a food allergy since her only symptoms are scratching, pustules around her neck and back, and watery eyes. She has no diarrhea, has one bowel movement a day, urinates normally, and is still her normal self.

I think it is a contact allergy and now I take her outside using a leash to control where she goes. I noticed that her staph got slightly better since she doesn’t go into the bushes anymore.

I plan on using a hypoallergenic detergent as well since I believe that month after i adopted her not only did I change her dog food but I changed the laundry detergent I use.

I have no more ideas on how to deal with this. The vets aren’t really listening and think that this is just common. The second vet said she was allergic to gnat bites and told me to put children’s bug off on her, and I did, but it did not help.

It is cold now – there are no bugs, and her staph is still here.

The vet visits have cost me over $ 500 and I’m so stressed out. I contact the previous owners, they have yet to get in touch with me.

She is also almost a year old – ten months now. A year in December. She is a Miniature Pinscher and she is not spayed. I do not want to get her spayed until her infection is completely gone.

I have visited numerous canine pyoderma sites to try and figure it out, and I think I know so much about staph I can probably diagnose another dog (just kidding). But I have read countless numbers of sites…

Does anyone have any other suggestions on what I can do to determine what she is allergic to?

again, her symptoms are:
itching
watery eyes
pustules
loss of fur around pustules
licking of the pustuled area

other than that, she is perfectly normal.

I pointed the watery eyes out to my vet and she said it was normal in her breed, but I don’t think so…
she is currently on antibiotics, medicated shampoo, and antihistamines for the itching.
No, I have not done bloodwork. I may try that actually. I am allergic to dust mites as well so I have dust mite covers on my bed and we do frequently vacuum and I dust a lot, I don’t use my air purifier anymore, but I could do that as well.

I will wait for some more possibilities because I am open to various ideas. But thank you for that information.

Best answer:

Answer by plotch
The most important thing is to not let her scratch….or lick… at all. That is how the staph stays bad and gets spread. Cleaning her with a good anti-bacterial soap would be good. If possible, get her on an anti-biotic as soon as possible, and try an anti-itch cream.

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Question by Not what you want to hear: My dog is having issues with one of her ears. It doesn’t appear to be mites or a yeast infection. Any ideas?
One of my dog’s ears has redness, slight discharge, and a bunch of dry and flaky skin on the inside (there’s no overwhelming smell; just an unpleasant dog ear smell). She was scratching it a lot earlier in the day, so I helped alleviate the itchiness by peeling off the dead skin. She stopped scratching it luckily, but there’s still redness and a bit of discharge. I’ve looked up symptoms of ear mites, yeast infections, and allergies and it doesn’t appear to be any of those… She eats Blue Buffalo food and has no other dry patches of skin besides in her one ear, so I don’t think it’s allergies; there’s no evidence of blood so that rules out mites. Will it be okay in a couple days if I just use a dog ear-cleaning solution? Thanks for any help!

Best answer:

Answer by cfelonius
Yeah, I was going to say it sounds a lot like a fungal (sometimes the fungus is a yeast) or even a bacterial infection to me, but I’m not a vet. Try the ear cleaning for a couple days and if it doesn’t get better, take your dog to the vet. She might need a medicated ointment or solution for her ears.

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Question by Metallic_Rainbow: Dog may have ear infection? Or Allergy from Hartz’s flea collar?
His left ear is really swelled up. There’s some sandy looking yellow wax littering his sensitive skin, inside the ear? And it’s just really painful to look at, though he doesn’t seem to be in any pain.

It showed up after we put in the Hartz flea collar. When we saw his ear, we immediately took off the collar (allergy?), and gave him a flea and tick bath instead. I know we should take him to the vet, but my mother’s work schedule clashes with the veterinarians opening and closing time.

Is the infection(if it is one) that serious, or what? And if so, how do we (my sisters and I) get him to the vet?

Best answer:

Answer by miaugh
The only way to really know if it’s infected or not is to get him to a vet. That it has significant swelling is a problem anyway, even if it isn’t infected. It could be an allergic reaction.

The vet will take a swab of the material in his ear & examine it. It’s always a good idea to stay away from Hartz products though- or any OTC products for fleas, deworming, etc. A lot of them are not safe.

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Question by prof.VonPotato: Mom’s dog has yeast infection and needs home remedies?
My moms dog has recurring yeast infections in his ears. She wants to know if their is anything she can try out since vet bills and the meds she has been giving him are a bit expensive, we want to know our alternatives. Her dogs ears stand straight, and he IS prone to allergy infections. I was thinking that the benadryll he take for his summer allergies would be god for him to take to help his ear. (If you know anything about dogs youll know why i am saying this). Also, how do i advise her NOT to use vagisil or monostate as an alternative. Certainly you cant use these right? Its not the same bacteria. Any one ever use the half vinegar/half water solution and have it work? He recently had a food allergy that we are still in his 3 month period of toxins leaving out his body, and hair is growing back, and he is gaining weight again. I believe his infections will stop once he has gotten all the food he had an allergy to is out of his system. As i said just giving mom some advice dont be rude to me for asking. -thanks-
TEP is for ear mites, and she doesnt have the ability to oder products off the internet. hint the home remedies thing.
not sure what he was eating, but now he is eating alpo and it has helped his hair and body get back to its natural state and plus some.
He has been getting meds from the vet, but shes tired of how expensive it is. Hoping its from his diet, it should be out of his system soon. But as if now he needs something because he seems to be itching a bit again.
I need reasons why (when i tell her) to not use monostat. She seems to think its the same ingredients on the bottle of ear oitment he has been receiving from the vet

Best answer:

Answer by ir.mamurluk
try some TEP

it is cheap and lasts ages

http://bichonhotel.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=6

_____________________edit
their might be mites causing the yeast

Try olive oil then, if their are mite s they olive oil will drown them

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Question by Andie: Anyone have a dog that has had a staph infection?
About a month ago I noticed a flaky spot on my puppy’s abdomen and some red spots in his ears. I took him in to the vet and he was diagnosed with a skin staph infection and given a week of antibiotics. Two weeks later the spots came back and there were more. I took him back to the vet and he was prescribed 2 weeks of antibiotics and a weekly benzoyl peroxide bath.

I read that these infections can be caused by scratching due to allergies or fleas. My dog dogs not have fleas, and he does not seem to be physically able to scratch where the sores are. He is on a grain free diet and does not seem to scratch a lot in general.

Does anyone have any first hand experience with this type of infection in their dogs? Any tips for preventing future problems? Anything that worked for you?

I will obviously follow the vets instruction, and will continue with follow ups.

Best answer:

Answer by bouteloua_gracilis
Staph infections can also be caused by environmental allergies like allergies involving grass and dander. If your dog is scratching the are because he’s itching then this is a secondary infection. Another issue is a hormonal inbalance like hypothyroidism can cause secondary Staph infection too. Sometimes these need to be treated for long periods of time. Occasionally the area may need to be cultured or biopsied to find the root of the problem. Continue working with your vet on this issue.

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