staph or food allergy? - Page 1

 I have a friend who sent me these pictures and is freaking out because of the vet's advise and recommendations. This vet has had her in a panic for a year or more telling her something is defective with the dog and she needs to be on antibiotics for her life. The dog has had a rash like this on and off and the vet gives shots for staph infection. The friend thinks this is serious because of what the vet has said.

Sorry all, but I think she needs comments from others besides me.

I would most definately go to another vet.

On and off?   Is that a rash or blisters? 

 This looks like pyoderma, most often caused by staph bacteria. The dog may need some antibiotics, but more than that, someone should be looking at why the infection continues to reoccur. How old is the dog? What type of surfaces is it on most of the time when lying down? Is the dog wet a lot? If this has been going on for a year, something is being missed. Since it is so localized, I doubt it is a systemic problem. Normally, both human and canine skin has both good and bad bacteria. When the pH of the skin, for example, is compromised, it can lead to the "bad" bacteria getting the upper hand. How often is the dog bathed and in what?  What the dog eats can also influence skin pH. There are a lot of questions that should be asked and going to a second vet who specializes in dermatology might be a good idea.

The inflamed skin needs to be sampled by scraping, and cultured, and also examined under the microscope.  GSDs don't normally expose this directly to the flooring or ground, so my best guess is a fungus type infection due to damp condition and the skin area stays damp because the dog lays on its side a ot and sleeps that way with rear legs overlaying each other.  Could also be inhalation allergy based (unlikely) or autoimmune (which is often accompanied by chewing of the footpads and scratching of the ears and coat).

 the dog is around 2 years old. Her surfaces are carpet, tile and crate (plastic bottom). The dog is not wet alot. The dog is bathed ,I think once every month  which IMO is too much. I don't know in what but I will ask. I have seen pictures in the past and they were less localized but looked similar but more widespread..

 and the dog eats R.C. GSD24.

I have to go run some errands and will check back in a few hours.

Ouch, whatever it is looks painfull. I have had dogs with airborn allergies get red but not concentrated in one spot like that. Baden had staph pyoderma and it looked nothing like that. He lost small spots of hair on his legs and face, after being medicated via antibiotics he came up with a yeast, this turned his skin black and it crusted off like really bad dandruff. Patches on his face look bald especially around the eyes and muzzle where his wiskers grow.

What are the symptoms of this dog? Itchy, weepy sores, crusty, tender? Ask Louise P. I sent her pics of Baden and she new right off what our problem was.

I would say that it is Staph. This can be reflected differently on different dogs. For an adult GSD (~75#), I would give 1000 mg (a lttle higher than the typical dise) Cephalexin orally twice daily for 2-4 weeks.

Unfortunately, Staph is extremely common in the GSD. I can see small lesions inside the thighs of your friend's GSD. The lesions appear concentrated/localized along the belly fold the (linea alba) because this area has less exposure to the air (and may remain damp after licking). This dampness affects the pH of the skin and creates an ideal environment for the incubation, replication, and proliferation of Staph.

Because the appearance of the lesions is pathognemonic for Staph (IMO), I would go the antibiotic route before doing any scraping/culturing.

Check out these links. Have your friend show them to your vet. One article suggests controlling recurrent Staph once it has "cleared"  by giving it to the dog for 2 consecutive days (say every Saturday and Sunday) for the rest of its life.

http://books.google.com/books?id=OxQU_cLEGd8C&pg=PA138&lpg=PA138&dq=immunoregulin+canine+dosages&source=web&ots=btIDe01NLW&sig=FOuqAgi1e_u7El2zdQQJ5Yuutr8#PPA138,M1

http://www.vetlatranquera.com.ar/pages/wild/small_animal_75.htm

http://www.vetamerica.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=5050

http://www.delmont.com/product.htm

I picked up a Staph infection on my hands ~30 years ago after changing the bandages on the hands of an AKC handler friend who had gotten the infection from her friends. Let me tell you that Staph is very uncomfortable. It hurts and itches at the same time.

One of my dogs occasionaly gets a Staph infection that looks similar to that. The vet always puts him on Cephalexin for 31 days and that clears it up. I have found that if he gets wet and stays wet (swimming or being hosed down in the summer and put in his crate wet) that it flares up. My vet recommended that every time he gets wets to dry him well then put an athletes foot powder on the area that is usually effected. The powder has a mild antibacterial that seems to keep the infection away and it drys the skin. He hasn't had any flare ups in probably a year. Try to avoid powders with menthol. If the dog has sensitive skin it can irratate it. I hope this helps. Good Luck!!!

Kristen

 I just heard back from my friend regarding the bathing. She bathes her every two months with Lambert Kay Fresh-n-Clean Original Scented shampoo. She says she could switch to the medicated version. She also mentioned that she talked to the vet yesterday and the vet said she should have outgrown this by now. She also did have the skin scraping done when she was younger and the rash first started. She also had a series of staph vaccines.

What do you all think about the bathing? could that be the cause of a PH imbalance causing the staph to grow?