Sorry if this is long but I am at a loss. What could cause recurrent staph infections?

My 19 month old lab more than likely has both food allergies and seasonal allergies. Last year at 7 months he started with patchy hair loss on the top of his feet and eventually itching. Vet said not likely seasonal since it was his first "fall" and that more likely food related. Back and forth on food roller coaster. Finally ended up on grainfree in January and shortly thereafter itching resolved.

He was living itch free life till this fall when he started having patchy hair loss on the tops of his feet again. Itching soon followed. Little pustules breaking out on top of his head in November and then noted that typical red staph rash in groin. Vet treated with course of antibiotics 10days. Two weeks after he finished he had red rash again. Back on antibiotics. Now off for 2 weeks and the darn red rash is back in his groin. He is still having intense itching along flanks and chest several times throughout the day. Atarax twice a day has done nothing.

what in the heck? I am at a loss because it has frozen over here and his seasonal allergies should be gone and I thought I had the food allergy thing sorted out. Still on grainfree.

I don't know why but I was just wondering if something like intestinal parasites can cause repeated staph infections?

Time to see a specialist?

I have a friend who's dog was allergic to dust mites, she had an old twin bed for the dogs someone had given her, I told her that most of the weight of that bed was probably dust mites and to get rid of it.
Some dogs are sensitive to leaf mold, try some Arsenicum album 30C for the itch, you can get it at the health food store. It works really well for allergies, itching and even signs of food poisoning. It also could be the protien source, some can only tolerate certain protiens, like just fish, or just beef, etc. you may try to just try one protien source and grain free.

Best of luck!

my 2 cents, time to see a boarded dermatologist. Often allergies are a combination of environmental effects both inside and outside of the house, and soemtimes a food component as well. Keep a good history, and work with a Veterinary dermatologist to sort things out. It takes dilligence to stay on top of skin allergies, and often a month or more of antibiotics to get rid of a staph infection (and sometimes the staph is resistant to a particular antibiotic) I've had several allergic dogs, and it takes a lot of homework, and treatments, but it can be worth while (and a lot less itchy for the lab!)

barb

The best treatment I have found for "staphy" dogs is Malaseb shampoo. The prevention for staph is feeding probiotics.

Use the shampoo twice weekly at first, and then go to weekly as you get things under control. Other than that, I use a meat-heavy food and probiotics daily year 'round.

One of my girls had trouble with staph for a while, and her symptoms were worse in the fall. I believe that a long course of antibiotics used to treat a tick disease set her up for her problems. At the time I didn't know about using probiotics, and how important it is to replace good gut bacteria after treatment with antibiotics - which kills both bad and good bacteria in the body.

Every time you use antibiotics to get rid of the staph you are throwing the dog's natural flora out of balance, which is going to cause you more trouble down the road. Sometimes you have to use antibiotics, but I keep them as a very last resort, and I supplement with probiotics to reload the gut with good bacteria so that I'm not causing more problems than I'm solving.

I hope this helps. I was in your same spot at one time, and currently the most I have to do to treat my girl is give her the occasional Malaseb bath in the fall, when I notice that she's getting a little itchy and her coat starts to feel a bit waxy.

You've gotten a lot of good advice, particularly that it might be time to see a veterinary dermatologist. Also, often a staph pyoderma needs to be treated with an appropriate antibiotic for 4-6 weeks; with a shorter course it often isn't resolved. I would recommend a probiotic at the same time.

Thanks so much for the suggestions. I am copying them all down. I just spoke with my vet who will call to discuss in more detail tonight.
Question...she did not mention blood testing for food allergy but I KNOW I have heard of this. Is it effective?

Are allergy desensatization shots worthwhile? He certainly must have a seasonal component as he again lost hair on his feet this fall and it grew back.

I'd rather not have him on pred again or more antibiotics if not absoutely necessary. For right now I am elimating everything except his grainfree kibble.

any other suggestions/advise would be greatly appreciated.

Susan, where do you get your probiotics? What should I be looking for?

I've given several different types of probiotics. I often use FloraBears, which are an orange flavored children's probiotic that you should be able to find in the refrigerated section of your local health food or natural food store. These must be kept cold - I just hand them out as treats and the dogs love them.

I also have used Dogzymes, which is a combination probiotic/digestive enzyme powder than can be sprinkled on meals and doesn't need refrigeration. I also sometimes use BacPac Plus, another combo of probiotics and enzymes that is available at www.nzymes.com.

I feed Dogzymes or BacPac Plus daily with meals, and if any of my dogs are taking antibiotics they get a FloraBear about two hours after medicine is given, so that they can get some good flora back in their gut after the Doxy goes through.

i have a dog with environmental allergies but he also had a problem with yeast and staph. i also use the maleseb but it takes its toll on his coat so i use a creme rinse with it that helps. i also started the dogzymes probiotics from naturesfarmacy.com (double dose) along with their vitamins, an occasional maleseb bath and so far have been able to put off starting the allergy injections for several months. not sure if it will work forever, but i'm happy with the situation so far.