Staph infections and licking

My Alaskan Malamute was boarded for two weeks for my wedding and honeymoon. We picked her up Saturday morning, on Saturday night, I noticed her licking a spot on her leg.

By Sunday morning, the spot on her leg was bald and beat red. I called on Sunday and made an appointment for Monday morning.

They have her on cephalexin for infection and Genesis topical spray. They also injected her with antibiotics. She was sedated when they shaved her legs and gave the shots, so when she got home, she was very groggy and sleepy.

Should I stop her from licking the area? The vet said her licking is okay, just not too much. But when is it too much? She licks the areas immediately after I spray them, so I try to hold her down as much as possible (but she weighs almost as much as I do!) Yesterday wasn't a problem because she was pretty much out of it, but I'm worried that it might get worse if she licks it.

The area looks pretty bad, but I'm not sure how severe the infection is from a medical point of view (I do have a picture). I know she's in pain (they gave her pain meds yesterday) and it probably is making her feel better to lick the area - and I'm not sure if the spray stings when it goes on or if it just feels cold.

We do have an elizabethan collar, but the thing is just too darn small. It's the biggest size that the pet store had and it does nothing but make her look pitiful (and she can still do everything she could without it on). We have had to tape cardboard around it so she couldn't get to the area (it was actually a pretty funny site to see, LOL).

So any expertise? Should I stop her from licking it or just let her go and do it?

Thank you :)

My Mom’s golden has a low grade allergy which sometimes causes really itchy exhima (sp?!) spots to appear on him, usually his feet. Two summers ago, we didn’t notice it so didn’t give him any of the anti-allergy stuff the vet provided, and the spot for very raw from him licking it so much. Once we noticed the spot and started the meds, the licking didn’t really stop. We called the vet to talk about it and it would appear that licking themselves can be habit forming, because, it helps relieve the itch/pain/stress and can become symptomatic of Obsessive Compulsive behaviour…

They suggested cheap tub socks and some tape (so long as the wound wasn’t open) to keep the dog from licking to prevent a behaviour from developing.

Genesis topical spray is usually used for allergic dermatitis . Does it appear to be helping or is the area just as red and irritated several hours later? You could try applying the contents of several capsules of Vitamin E thickly to the area and see if it helps. It should. If you decide to go back to the Genesis spray, you can always allow your dog to lick off the vitamin E and then you're back to where you started. You could also look into colloidal silver- it works well with other medications and for staph infections. Immucine and Super Silver Solutions are two brands safe for pets(there may be others ). 3 capsules three times a day for ten days. They also have it in spray form which might be something to look into for the raw irritated areas. Health food stores sell this.