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Old July 6th, 2007, 07:05 PM
DobieCrazy DobieCrazy is offline
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Staph infection 5 month old dog - Answered by Dr. Lee

I have a male Doberman puppy who is 5.5 months old.
he was diagnosed with a Staph infection at 2.5 months that Cleared up with antibiotics and returned. It was mainly on his stomach and legs. They were tiny "pimple" like bumps with a yellow center. We treated again with antibiotics and it cleared up for about 2 months.
He is now 5.5 months old and has been diagnosed with another staph infection.
They now are much larger bumps (the size of a nickel) on his head, mouth,penis, legs,stomach....pretty much everywhere.
He even has some between his toes and in between his paw pads.
He was Also Diagnosed with having an ear infection at the same time.
We have taken a skin scraping and there were no Mites.

I am at a loss.
He is a young puppy and I am wondering what his outlook is as far as the Staph infections go.
are they due to an "immature" immune system (like our vet has told us) or something else.
I really don't want him to go through this every 2 months.

He is Currently on Antibiotic's (cephalaxin) and a fatty acid pill to help his Coat and skin.

Last edited by DobieCrazy; July 6th, 2007 at 07:07 PM.
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Old July 6th, 2007, 08:13 PM
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hazelrunpack hazelrunpack is offline
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We had a setter that used to get staph infections on his feet and belly from getting poked by the grass in the yard. He got it a few times in the first year, then evidently his immune system improved and he stopped getting infections. So there's hope yet! Winter will help if he seems to be picking it up from the grass--and with luck his immune system will be strong enough by spring that he won't have any more troubles.

What are you feeding him? A high-quality food may help strengthen his immune system. If you check out the food forums here you'll find some good alternatives.

And welcome to the board! If you have any pics of your pup we'd love to see them!
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Old July 6th, 2007, 08:30 PM
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Dr Lee Dr Lee is offline
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There are a variety of reasons for recurrent superficial pyoderma (the medical term for repeating skin infections). Sometimes I see many puppies that have recurrent skin infections that just go away when they get older. Other possibilites may be food allergies, environmental allergies, immune mediated, mites (one skin scrape makes it unlikely but not impossible), other parasites, etc...

How long of a course is he on for antibiotics? Sometimes a longer course of antibiotics is necessary. Some patient need 4-6 weeks of antibiotics or more. Is the skin 'totally normal' for several days before the medication has finished? If we are concerned that the skin infection is the same bacteria coming back again, a culture of the bacteria where it is grown and tested against several different antibiotics in order to find out sensitivity can help out.

To work up the other problems... a food trial might be the place to start since your vet has already skin scraped. Food trials can help evaluate for food allergies. If a pet is allergic to food, they are usually allergic to more than one protein in the food. Thus food based off of novel protein sources (protein the pet has never been exposed to) or better still (hydrolyzed protein which means the protein molecules have been reduced in size to avoid immune response) are needed. The protein complexes stay in the pet's system for 6-8 weeks. Therefore a minumum of 8 and usually of 12 weeks is needed on the food in order to assess response. It is important that during that time, nothing else if fed to the pet. Ask your vet as to which food they recommend if you are interested (there are both commercial and home cooked diets available).

The other problems are often best sorted out by a dermatologist. Ask your veterinarian for other tests that they can do. Blood testing, etc...

And fatty acids supplements are great! I recommend them for all mammals.

I hope this answers some of your questions....
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Old July 7th, 2007, 04:21 PM
DobieCrazy DobieCrazy is offline
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Currently he is taking 750mg 2 times a day for 3 weeks.

His last course was two weeks and his skin was cleared in 6 days.... we of course finished the Antibiotics and by the end his skin was completely back to normal.
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Old July 7th, 2007, 04:49 PM
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Sounds like it is a true recurrent pyoderma as opposed to a persistent pyoderma. That makes a tenacious bacterial infection less likely. So less need to focus on the antibiotic type or cultures and to look instead for underlying causality.

Again, time and allow the pet to get older or start on the aforementioned list of testing (food trial, blood tests, rescraping, dermatologist referral).

I hope that helps.
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  #6  
Old October 30th, 2007, 09:00 AM
dorie dorie is offline
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Thumbs up Staph infection

Hello,
I am so excited to tell everyone about how I cured my dog's staph infection! We first tried the vet's antibiotics, but the sores on her belly did not heal. Then we ordered an expensive spray over the internet which did not help either. Then my husband and I remembered that our son, Brent, had a bad yeast infection, thrush, in his mouth when he was a baby. Nothing helped so the doctor told us about tincture of violet and said that it was also use in the old days to cure sore throat and strep throat. Yes, it is from violet flowers. It is a purple color and it stains everything it comes into contact with. We new it would not hurt for Molly our dog to lick it since it went into the mouth of a baby. We put it directly on her sores when she was still had only two days of antibiotic to take and still had two open sores. We let it dry before letting her get on our rugs. It does not come off onto the rugs etc. after it dries. In just two days the sores closed up. It is now finally healed! I was so afraid we were going to watch our dog slowly die of staph. By the way the last dose of antibiotic dried up Molly's eyes so badly she could not open her eyes. We had to put on prescription eye drops to cure the side effects of the last antibiotic that did not cure the staph infection. You can get tincture of violet at a drug store if not try a health food or herbal store. I do not sell it. I know it's a pain to have a purple dog for a while, but well worth the instant cure. Their skin and hair will rejuvenate itself and not stay purple forever.

Last edited by dorie; October 30th, 2007 at 09:04 AM.
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  #7  
Old October 30th, 2007, 10:16 PM
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mummummum mummummum is offline
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I'm always interested in learning anything new ~ can you point me in the direction of the studies that led you to this belief?
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Old August 15th, 2011, 02:57 PM
suzygrownup suzygrownup is offline
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Don't know of any studies, but I was told years ago to use on my animals by a local farmer. I was afraid so I checked it out on internet and found it has been used for years for people as well as animals. It is an antiseptic as well as anti-fungal. After spending hundreds of dollars with my vet on ear infections in my dog, I tried the Blue Power treatment and it completely cured him. If you search it there are directions, but you have to do the full treatment. The name on the bottle is actually Gentian Violet and it WORKS! I get mine at Target from the pharmacist. The only negative thing is it does stain, so I use it outside and let it completely dry before letting my dog get on furniture. I have recommended it to many dog owners and have not found one person it did not work for. If you are worried your pet will lick at it, it was used in babies mouths in early 1800's to cure thrush. I would search it and read all the benefits, but even Mayo Clinic stands by it, search and see. I wish I would have known earlier and saved my pets suffering needlessly!
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Old October 13th, 2011, 12:27 PM
sophia03 sophia03 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DobieCrazy View Post
I have a male Doberman puppy who is 5.5 months old.
he was diagnosed with a Staph infection at 2.5 months that Cleared up with antibiotics and returned. It was mainly on his stomach and legs. They were tiny "pimple" like bumps with a yellow center. We treated again with antibiotics and it cleared up for about 2 months.
He is now 5.5 months old and has been diagnosed with another staph infection.
They now are much larger bumps (the size of a nickel) on his head, mouth,penis, legs,stomach....pretty much everywhere.
He even has some between his toes and in between his paw pads.
He was Also Diagnosed with having an ear infection at the same time.
We have taken a skin scraping and there were no Mites.

I am at a loss.
He is a young puppy and I am wondering what his outlook is as far as the Staph infections go.
are they due to an "immature" immune system (like our vet has told us) or something else.
I really don't want him to go through this every 2 months.

He is Currently on Antibiotic's (cephalaxin) and a fatty acid pill to help his Coat and skin.
y 8 year old female cocker also has suffered from staph infection over a number of years ,i have it now completely under control,I changed her diet to a grain free limited ingredients diet,bought at pet store,I washed her to to 3 days a week with betadine and aloe vera shampoo,any sores on her tummy I APPLIED A PRESCRIPTION CORTISONE CREAM .I also added fish oil to her diet.She had been on antibiotics continuously on and off ,as soon as i discontinued it would come back.I GOT STAPHAGE LYSATE FROM MY VET GIVING HER SHOTS AND STEPPING UP THE DOSE EACH TIME,IT CLEARED UP IMMEDIATELY. Hooray and has not come back,try these steps and I promise you it works.
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  #10  
Old January 5th, 2012, 07:46 AM
krisibailey krisibailey is offline
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My poor Brutus

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 reacurring 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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Old January 6th, 2012, 12:40 AM
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Were there any skin scrapings done to check for mites/staph/yeast etc?
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Old March 29th, 2012, 11:27 PM
Ms. Priss Ms. Priss is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by krisibailey View Post
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!
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!
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Old April 30th, 2012, 08:55 PM
como como is offline
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Question 5 month pit mix pup with skin issues

I have a 5 month old pit mix that survived parvo and is now ailing from a skin infection. We noticed redness and irritation under her front legs and on her chest a little while after her vet stay for parvo. I took her to the vet, they did a scrape of her skin and was told it was not mange but moreso stress related. Antibiotics were Rx and we were sent on our way with them helping minimally. Her skin seemed to have cleared up and then it would flare up again. Her scratching, licking, paw chewing, stinky and just all around blah-ness is starting to really concern me. She has been on antibiotics twice already and we were told to bathe her in a very expensive shampoo 2x weekly. She stinks like rotting fruit no matter what. After being gone for several hours the other night, we came home to let her out of her kennel to find she was covered in hives. We are now giving her Ivomec 1x daily in hopes that this is demodectic mange and the oral mite meds will help ease her suffering. I am at a loss and do not know what else to do. I just want my dog back. I will say this, we go for regular daily walks and when we are outside she is completely content and not at all bothered by her skin. Is there anyone out there that can help me help my dog?!?
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Old April 30th, 2012, 09:01 PM
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como, I've never seen a case of demodectic mange that resulted in hives. Hives are generally a sign of allergic reaction. What is she eating? Maybe she's intolerant to something in her food...
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Old May 1st, 2012, 03:32 PM
como como is offline
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hazelrunpack,
She is currently eating Taste of the Wild dog food. The only thing I can think of was that the hives were stress related, as we were away from home and she in her kennel for several hours. The hives have completely subsided...just waiting the 45 days she is to be on Ivomec to see if her condition improves. If not, I am going to try gentian violet, as mentioned in an earlier post regarding staph infections. Fingers crossed and praying she gets better!
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Old May 2nd, 2012, 08:38 AM
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Have you tried a veterinary dermatologist? This doesn't sound like staph to me. Until you find out what you're dealing with, it's going to be very hard to treat. If it's a yeast infection or something autoimmune related, you may make things worse by treating it as a staph infection...
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Old May 6th, 2012, 07:31 PM
como como is offline
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I do not know if there is a veterinarian dermatologist in my home town, and quite frankly I am not able to spend that kind of money. We have decided that if this Ivomec does not work that putting her down would be the best thing for her as she is suffering. Poor thing is scratching, licking and gnawing on herself almost constantly. I just do not know what else to do.
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Old May 6th, 2012, 10:39 PM
MaxaLisa MaxaLisa is offline
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Originally Posted by como View Post
I do not know if there is a veterinarian dermatologist in my home town, and quite frankly I am not able to spend that kind of money. We have decided that if this Ivomec does not work that putting her down would be the best thing for her as she is suffering. Poor thing is scratching, licking and gnawing on herself almost constantly. I just do not know what else to do.
This may have some ideas for you:
http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=78791

I find that one piece to the puzzle is almost always a food sensitivity.
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Old May 8th, 2012, 08:54 PM
como como is offline
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Maxalisa,
We have changed her food from a regular purina puppy chow to the Taste of the Wild puppy food, bison and venison. She has been on Ivomec for a little over a week now, and has to be for 45 days. We will see how things go. I am hoping and praying that things get better for her. She is miserable.
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Old June 16th, 2012, 12:50 AM
kacka kacka is offline
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Poor thing, i really hope you don't have to put her down:-(((((( so sad! Can you give her something so she wouldn't itch?? I used to give my dog benadryl but my vet told me it wasn't strong enough..I'm using Zyrtec right now, he is 135lb, he gets one a day...looks like it helps with the itching a bit.

If it's staph infection, steroid shot might help!!! It was only $18 at my vet so definitely affordable..you are just not sure how often you have to repeat them..maybe every few month, maybe less..
I've read somewhere TEA TREA OIL helps with staph and I have been putting it on my boys rashes...it dryes them out and they are healing..but they are also spreading a bit more now:-(((..last year around this time it got really bad as well...I don't want him on antiobiotic all the time, though...and it comes back after we stop them..he is not miserable so I'm trying to give him more probiotic and extra skin vitamins and fish oil, hoping it helps...I also feed raw diet and probiotic yogurt with it..he just turned 2 years old so I'm hoping his body might fight it off..

Look at the treats and make sure you don't give her anything with rise, corn, soy, wheat or chicken as these are the most common food allergens..


Please don't give up on your girl!!!
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Old June 16th, 2012, 09:55 AM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DobieCrazy View Post
I have a male Doberman puppy who is 5.5 months old.
he was diagnosed with a Staph infection at 2.5 months that Cleared up with antibiotics and returned. It was mainly on his stomach and legs. They were tiny "pimple" like bumps with a yellow center. We treated again with antibiotics and it cleared up for about 2 months.
He is now 5.5 months old and has been diagnosed with another staph infection.
They now are much larger bumps (the size of a nickel) on his head, mouth,penis, legs,stomach....pretty much everywhere.
He even has some between his toes and in between his paw pads.
He was Also Diagnosed with having an ear infection at the same time.
We have taken a skin scraping and there were no Mites.

I am at a loss.
He is a young puppy and I am wondering what his outlook is as far as the Staph infections go.
are they due to an "immature" immune system (like our vet has told us) or something else.
I really don't want him to go through this every 2 months.

He is Currently on Antibiotic's (cephalaxin) and a fatty acid pill to help his Coat and skin.
I would be sure to wash everything the dog laid on in hot wash and get rid of his stuffed toys . Do you wear rubber gloves when putting med on your puppy? You need to keep everything your use on dogs like towels in a trash bag and do not put it with the famliy laundry. you can get Staph infections from bedding etc.
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