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Originally Posted by krisibailey
First I would like to say, I stumbled across this forum and signed up to it because it was the most informative one I have seen yet!
I have an English Mastiff that is a year and a half old. He gets recurring sores ALL over his belly and between his legs. The one vet said it is a staph infection and another vet (second opinion) said it is from his urine splashing up because he doesn't hike his leg to pee. Regardless, he gets antibiotics and it seems to go away, then a month or so later, comes back. In addition, he gets really itchy, his ears get yucky stuff in them and stink really bad (i use ear wash and clean them out with paper towels and q-tips) also he gets a greenish discharge from his genitals.
As I said, Brutus is 1 1/2 years old and has never had a totally SOLID stool either . I feed him IAMS proactive large breed.
I feel so bad for the poor guy! I love him to pieces, he's the BIGGEST baby!
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Our English Mastiff is now 7.5 years old. Before he was one, he was getting staph infections from rawhides or pigs ears so we stopped letting him have them. Since then, we have fed only premium, no-grain dog food and have given all of our dogs whole carrots as a chewing treat.
In the Spring of 2011, he started having problems with staph again down the inside of his legs, his lower tummy, all over his body and was terribly lethargic. His undercoat fell out and he was losing hair in giant black spots all over his back. We spent well over $1,000 in vet bills to test his thyroid, liver (ultrasound & biopsy), bloodwork for Cushings, etc. We did wind up putting him on Denosyl which is a liver supplement, he'll be on that for the rest of his life. I decided to change his food as a last-ditch effort. As I said, we had always used premium dog foods (Natural Balance; Blue Buffalo) but earlier that spring, we changed to Costco's Nature's Domain Salmon formula. For the first time in Al's life, he finally had a firm stool instead of the usual "soft serve" I've had the joy of cleaning up all of these years! But.... my hunch was right... I believe he developed an allergy to the salmon, which he has eaten most of his life. When we changed to Nature's Domain Turkey formula, his skin made a dramatic turnaround, his hair came back and he became my playful "big baby boy" again. He was sick enough that we didn't think he'd see Christmas.
He has gotten his staph back again these past few weeks so I think he may have an environmental allergy as well. We have been bathing him more often with Pyoben (you can buy it on ebay, it's a benzoyl peroxide shampoo) and I'm thinking of trying antihistamines & Omega 3s for a few weeks to see how he does. I still may change his food back to Natural Balance duck formula, but am fearful since he's only had firm stools with Nature's Domain. I have also read that Gentian Violet (from a natural food store or pharmacy) has a great drying effect on the staph sores but it dyes everything purple if it's wet, so make sure it's dry before letting the dog back into the house!
Oh, Al gets stinky, waxy ears also. Our vet recommended cleaning them with 1 part vinegar to 4 parts water (I use warm water and make the solution with a tablespoon (1:4), it's the perfect amount to clean both ears). I use a small paper towel to clean then dry afterwards. Our vet said their ears and skin exhibit allergy problems or sensitivities. Sometimes it exacerbates his itchiness so I have to hit him with a Benedryl but he's fine after his "nap."
I hope this may be helpful to you. Good luck Brutus, our thoughts are with you!