Staph :(
October 27, 2009 at 12:00 am 29 comments
Boogie in Elysian Park. DISCLAIMER: this is a very old photo. Boogie no longer wears one of these prong collars. I am now training him 100% with positive reinforcement. No physical punishments.
Home from the vet.
Dr. R. took some skin and hair samples but we won’t have definite results for at least another 10 days. However, he doesn’t think it’s mites or ringworm. It is most likely a secondary Staph Infection caused by allergies. Based on his knowledge of Boogie’s symptoms and how Boogie responded to various meds, he believes the allergies to be related to the environment or the season rather than to food. He prescribed oral antibiotics (Cephalexin) for at least 2 weeks.
According to this long list of Dog Allergies , Staph falls under the “Bacteria Allergy” category:
A dog’s skin normally harbors Staph (Staphylococcus) bacteria. If the skin is normal and the dog’s immune system is normal, Staph causes no problems. Your dog is more likely to develop a bacteria allergy if it is in other ways unhealthy, or if it has other allergies.
Signs of a bacteria dog allergy include hair loss that is often round and 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter, red blotches on the skin, and possibly the development of pus pockets filled with fluid.
Common veterinarian practice is to do a blood test, prescribe the Antibiotic Cephalexin and the immune stimulant shots of ImmunoRegulin.Corticosteroid Cream, or a Steroid Drug, or a NSAID. Veterinarians will also instruct you to give your dog baths with a Medicated Shampoo.
The lesions will usually clear with Antibiotics but return as soon as the antibiotics are discontinued. With continued use of antibiotics, dogs become resistant to the antibiotics, and the Staph-allergic dog has recurrent infections.
Sounds kinda depressing. Poor little Boogie Monster.
Here is another webpage I googled about Staph dermatitis in dogs: http://www.sniksnak.com/doghealth/staph.html
If you have any experience with this, please share!
*UPDATE: Boogie’s skin is looking MUCH better! After 3 weeks of antibiotics, his hair hasn’t grown back yet, but Dr. R said that this would take some time. Boogie has to continue taking Cephalexin for another 3 weeks.
Entry filed under: Skin issues, Vet visit. Tags: .
1.
Teneille | March 4, 2010 at 6:18 pm
I’m so glad I found your blog, it was recommended by a friend.
I also have a Boston (Tycho has 2 blue eyes ), he’s 4 now.
He has had severe skin allergies ever since we moved to Vancouver Island, BC. The vet has told me it’s very common for our area.
Unfortunately he has been on antihistamines & allergy steroids for a few years now.
Whenever I try to reduce the amount he flares up right away. We also have him on a skin support food that seems to help a bit.
Tycho doesn’t get red blotches just black elephant skin, mainly his armpit regions & elbows.
Does your Boston have gas issues? Tycho rarely stops farting
I shall keep exploring your blog, Thx
2.
lili | March 4, 2010 at 7:29 pm
He Teneille,
)
Thanks for visting and commenting. I have never seen a BT with two blue eyes! (Please share a photo!
Poor Tycho… If it is common for your area there might be something in the environment that is causing this? I know Boogie loves rolling around in the grass and he gets a bad inflamed rash on his belly from this…
I don’t know any bostons that don’t have gas issues
But I notice that Boogie’s gas smells differently depending on what I am feeding him. The Honest Kitchen = less stink; kibble = super stinky. Meaty treats = intensely stinky!
Probiotic supplements or plain yogurt helps!
Lili
3.
Teneille | March 6, 2010 at 8:23 pm
Hi Lili,
Thanks for the info, I’ve attached a link to a photo of Tycho
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_51l4JcwKrKQ/S5K5OmKPj_I/AAAAAAAACIg/5Nxp2IjfZO0/n876040257_1978.jpg
I’m going to try to get my hands on The Honest Kitchen, it’s hard to find in Canada.
4.
Jeff s. | June 30, 2010 at 4:20 pm
Hi, I have a black toy poodle that had a small spot the size of a nickel. It grew 3x larger in 4 days, It was flat, grey and scaly. I took him to the vet and he said it was ring worm. He gave me anti fungal pills and shampoo for $91.00. With the treatment the spot went away but now he has red sores that have alot of green crust. I think its from bites or maybe some kind of skin allergy. Any one else have this problem?
5.
Jeff s. | July 1, 2010 at 9:20 pm
Hey hows Boogie doing? I took my toy poodle to the vet and sure enough it was staph. He was cool enough to call in antibiotics to my local meijer where they were free. I also got the smampoo and spray. Thanks alot for your info, good luck and take care.
6.
lili | July 2, 2010 at 7:29 pm
Hi Jeff
Glad you found out what it was! Boogie is doing OK. He just finished a HUGE course of antibiotics for his skin… poor little fella’. We go through this every summer.
7.
Melissa | August 29, 2011 at 3:57 am
When your Boston had the dry patches on its back, did it also happen to have ‘pimple’s” on its stomach/inside legs too?
8.
lili | August 29, 2011 at 3:59 am
He had pimple-looking things on his body but they were all over… not specifically inside his legs or on his stomach. They would dry up and become crusty.
9.
lili | August 29, 2011 at 9:14 pm
Melissa – I just got home from the vet. Boogie has staph again
and yes, there are pimples on his stomach.
10.
Corinne | October 19, 2011 at 6:00 pm
I am so glad I found this blog. I have a BT named Lily. We’ve had a few health issues for the past couple months. She started getting those crusts like Boogie’s. They did skin tests at one said it was just a fungus and gave us a shampoo. She was also having allergic reactions to a food so we stopped the shampoo after 3 weeks, trying to figure out what was the allergy causer. Then the other day I noticed the spots are back and everywhere! They don’t seem to bother her too much. I think I am going to make another vet appointment and suggest Staph Infection. I was wondering how Boogie is doing now? What is the long term prognosis for him?
11.
lili | October 19, 2011 at 10:58 pm
Hi Corrine
The Staph seems to be a recurring problem for Boogie and we don’t know why. This happens mostly in summer and for the rest of the year he is OK and I suspect it is something in the air or in the grass… I haven’t had Boogie allergy-tested so I don’t know for sure. I would definitely talk to your vet about staph… The antibiotics do work.
12.
Krista | February 25, 2012 at 6:40 am
My dogs has the same symptoms. The vet said a bacterial infection. I have found that a final rinse with apple cider vinegar after shampooing works wonders. I also spray some on her spots in between shampoos
13.
Bonnie Mateo | May 8, 2012 at 9:36 pm
AND FOR HOW LONG WOULD I HAVE TO DO THIS? THE REST OF HIS LIFE OR FOR A SHOT TIME? rinse him with apple cider vinegar
14.
jasea | May 12, 2012 at 3:28 am
The photo if your dogs back showing the bare spots look just like my dogs back! I have a “pound puppy rescue” rat – terrier whippet mix that is about 11 years old. For the last 3 years she has been dealing with this nasty-dry-crusty-stinky-itchy skin! Three vets later and they have tried everything from meds, to steroids to expensive shampoos and it still comes back. The last vet said that they can give her steroid shots when it flares up to releave her itching, but the effects (of the steroids) will eventually cause liver damage. The vet did not recommend doing any food allergy testing since it can be quite extensive and expensive and still may not help! So frustrating!
15.
Kate | July 12, 2012 at 4:57 pm
I’m so glad I found this, my Boston-Mix “Chopper” is having the same problem. I feel terrible for him, and I’m so glad to not fear that it’s Mange.
16.
Jessica Davis-Stein | August 12, 2012 at 12:46 am
My dog Pete has the same thing. It’s a seasonal allergy (rag and pig weed, certain grasses etc, I had him tested) with a secondary staph infection. It’s heat related, always summer, some years worse than others. For the past few years it’s been dormant but this year is the worst ever. Bedadryl helps a little. I’ve just started Quercetin, we’ll see. I’ve been trying hydrogen peroxide, which doesn’t work. I’ll try apple cider vinegar now and if he doesn’t get better I’ll go to antibiotics. Baths help, once a week at least. He’s on fish oil all year round and raw food. I thought I had beaten it until this year. What a bummer! He gets bumps all over and then the crusty patches, mostly on his stomach and underarms.
Pete’s a mix, Boston/Cocker and Archie (no allergies thank goodness) is a Boston, neither farts much, they get only raw food, when I tried Honest Kitchen they really let loose!
17.
Darlene | September 8, 2012 at 4:51 am
My bullmastiff/rottie mix has seen 4 different vets, had skin biopsies, bloodwork everything. She is 9 years old and for the past 3 years she’s had patches on her back and stomach of dry flaky skin so bad if I pet her and pull the fur ever so lightly it just comes out in clumps…. One vet had her on cepelexen for 6 months, another vet thyroid medicine for 6 months, another vet said she was zinc defiant so she took 4 zinc pills daily for a year, and the last vet has had her on medicated shampoo… I can’t seem to find a answer for this. She eats a very well balanced diet, but I just can’t seem to get a grip on the hair lose. I’d be interested how many people have had good luck with apple cider vinegar baths? I may try it. Thank you all for this blog.
18.
lili | September 10, 2012 at 4:57 pm
So sorry that you are going through this. I have started seeing a different vet to get a second opinion (unfortunately this vet is way more expensive than our regular vet). Have you considered taking her to a skin specialist?
19.
Kristi | September 16, 2012 at 9:40 pm
Our 2 year old BT has always had isolated scaly patches like Boogie’s. Our regular vet had her on an anti-parasite med for one month and a steroid cream for the patches. That cleared it up until the meds ran out then it came back. Another round of anti-parasite this time coupled with antibiotics. She had an allergic reaction to the antibiotics so we discontinued and kept on with anti-parasite. Same results as before only this time she came home from a week at “Grandma’s” with multiple scaly spots mostly in her groin area and a few pus bumps (which cleared in a day, spots look worse). Sounds like allergy with staph as someone mentioned. I’ll be interested to see what your new vet says! I hate the idea of constantly medicating her
20.
Marie Johnson | September 22, 2012 at 7:37 pm
I think it is funny, that I’ve owned dogs for almost 50 years and never experienced this staph, yet this year almost every dog owner I know (including me!) has reported this same issue. Sure wish I knew what the ROOT CAUSE of this is because it doesn’t seem to permanently disappear!
21.
lili | September 22, 2012 at 11:26 pm
Is Staph a new trend, then? :/
22.
Ramona LovesDogs | November 3, 2012 at 3:34 am
I have the same problem my dog has the same spots started out on his chest and worked his way down to his belly and then up his sides and ended on the back in a short time i went to my regular vet and he said is allergies and gave me some spray it didn’t help it got just worse then i went back and he said fungus so he gave me another spray didn’t help either so i went to another vet to get a second opinion after i told him what the other vet said he suggested a biopsie wich we did and went through one month antibiotics the spots gotten a lil better and the biopsie stated it was a staph /bacterial infection , as soon as we stoped the antibiotics the spots came back so i went back to the vet who did the biopsie and he gave us steroids for 4 weeks my dog was suffering with the steroids he peed a lot and drunk up like 4 gallon of water a day , a few days ago he was done with the steroid treatment and all spots were gone and just yesterday i noticed they are coming back he have some small spots on his back and sides so i called the vet and told him he said he want to put him on steroids again for 4 weeks and he told me that as soon as the spots are gone before the steroids run out to give him another call because he will give me another medication he also told me to put him on a lamb rice diet just in case and give him a bath like once a week with medicated shampoo that is itch relieving i did all that but nothing really seem to help and i havent put him on the second round of steroids yet , i don’t want him to suffer again and give him a break for a few days , maybe i will try that vinegar rinse too if anybody has some positive results with that ? other than that this is the first time my dog has something like that and i am really frustrated with all that medication he has to take and every 2 hours let him outside so he can relieve him self even at night we been trough hell the last 5 weeks and it seems like there is no end in sight and nobody knows where it comes from , by the way my dog is a bloodhound labrador mix and he is 3 years old , if anybody know any other solution for this problem please let me know i would really apreciate it .
23.
Beth | November 23, 2012 at 8:48 pm
Our Min Pin has staph too. He’s on abx right now. We are going to try the apple cider vinegarbto see if that helps. I too am wondering if this condition is becoming an epidemic?
24.
Aemi | November 26, 2012 at 1:24 am
Reading all of this, I too am wondering if the Staph thing/this skin issue is some sort of epidemic! My totally healthy and active 9 year old weiner mix who has never really had any serious health problems just started suffering from this skin issue a few weeks ago.
It is so weird! Please keep sharing what you all have been using…I am going to try a few things I have seen so far and will report back on anything that works.
25.
mike | December 10, 2012 at 9:15 pm
I have a yr old blue pittbull an i have the same problems with him,dry itchy scaley skin an bumps an he is starting to lose his hair in spots….i’m gonna try the apple cider rinse..the vet told me it was allergies or some sort she put him on cortizone pills an antibiotics an they went away but came back after meds were finished..this sucks
26.
Aemi | December 12, 2012 at 5:16 am
Sorry to hear your bully is going through the same thing!
We went to the vet and they put him on steroids and antibiotics which he is currently in the middle of. My husband and I saw in improvement right away with his chewing and licking. And after about a week now, it seems to be clearing up, but he still has a bit of it and scabs. Will keep you posted…
27.
sonja | December 23, 2012 at 2:46 pm
I have a cocker spaniel that has had this 3 times now and this time is worse than all the others. The vet did a scraping and said it was a staph infection probably secondary to an allergy.She has those crusty patches all over her. If i touch any of them she scratches and it seem to help with the scaling and healing if i scrub that nasty stuff off her skin when i bathe her but then it leaves a bald patch but it does help. I use a chlorahexidine shampoo on her.She is on cipro twice a day for a month but it doesn’t seem to be helping her. . I home cook for her and use U stew in her food as the supplement hoping this would be better. Not sure what else to do. Maybe i’ll try the vinegar rinse as well.
28.
Regina | March 17, 2013 at 5:49 pm
Just last summer my Lab/Boxer developed a horrible hot spot on his neck. Vet gave him anitbiotics, steroid and anti fungal medicine. It cleared up, but when the meds stopped, he developed a few small, crusty, dry patches. One patched developed into a cyst. I treated the cyst with epsom salt compresses. It drained and dried out, but left a crusty, patchy bump. I find it interesting that my dog was fine for 4 years and then I got him a rabies shot (free one that was giving by an animal association) and all of sudden he has skin problems. I also remember the disclaimer, that the animal association was not responsible for adverse reactions.
29.
Lori | May 16, 2013 at 1:33 pm
I have a BT named Hudson and we are currently going through this. The vet said it was an inhaled allergy much like we have hay fever. I have changed his food. There was no difference made in the bumps. He gets small bumps with fluid and flaky patches where he looses hair. We are starting the medicated shampoo and odorless fish oil with an occasional benadryl. He’s not itching too bad though.
Also I find if I bathe him or simply rinse him off after being outside for a long period of time helps too. I didn’t want to put him back on the antibiotic and steroids. It just ruins their little immune system among other things. So we are trying a different approach… kind of trial and error. This only happens during spring and summer. This blog has been a big help in what to do.