"Hot Spots"?/Staph

reeves

reeves

New member
Greetings! I am new on here and am hoping that this community can help me in solving a problem that the vet(s) have not been successful in solving for the last 6 months.

I have two wonderful Newfie pups: Rufus & Riley (12months & 8 months). Ever since the spring thaw (we live in Michigan), Rufus has had red spots/inflammation that the vet diagnoses (time and again) as a staph infection. While it very well may be the case that it is a staph infection, the troubling thing to me is that we are somewhere around 5-6 months in on antibiotics and steroids with no significant change in the situation. These spots seem like they're going to go away now and then, but inevitably they flare right back up. At this time, the only "source" that either vet has suggested is just that these dogs are "prone" to hot spots. While I realize that's the case, I simply cannot afford a mortgage payment in vet bills every month over it, nor do I want my pup to continue to suffer!! We've tried shampoos, creams, wipes, sprays, fish oil, coconut oil... all on top of the meds and the poor guy is still having issues. His coat is lackluster, he's losing hair and I don't know what to do.


I am hoping that someone in this community might have some alternative ideas/suggestions or experience with this issue or a similar issue that might help us consider other possible triggers/reasons for this condition. Whether or not it's even remotely related, we did bring Riley home shortly before Rufus started having these problem. I certainly hope that's not the case, though! They do spend a lot of time chewing on one another... :-/
 
Leonard and his bud Snuffles

Leonard and his bud Snuffles

Active member
Been having a lot of red/scabs in Snuffles groin area. One time several years ago, the vet put scrapings under the microscope and said she saw fungal and bacterial. She said to try the OTC product Lotrimin. Fast forward to this summer, been all nasty under there again. Antibacterial stuff was not helping I bought Lotrimin dry powder spray. Things have been improving a bunch. I am trying a Walmart brand similar product at about half the cost but only labeled for Jock Itch but is 2% Miconazole nitrate like the other product. Seems to be working too. Both have talc to help dry the area too, and being a fine aerosol, it goes in under the hair line too.
 
Brandie&Maggie

Brandie&Maggie

New member
You may want to look into a dermatologist and/or ask your vet to do a skin scraping and a culture.

When my girl was having tons and tons of skin issues, food was the culprit. She also had severe hypothyroidism. Once we got that under control, everything improved.

The hair loss could be a symptom of both food problem and hypothyroid.

What are you feeding them?
 
reeves

reeves

New member
We have just started with using Gold Bond but if that doesn't seem to cut it we'll give Lotrimin a shot as well. We've been using Duoxo anti-microbial/anti-fungal wipes lately, but again they don't seem to be doing the trick, or at least they've not been a miracle cure.

We just went back to the vet and they are going to test for thyroid issues; I almost hope that is what it is so that we can start treating a problem rather than fighting the results of the problem. Both dogs are eating Diamond Naturals large breed puppy food. The only reason I didn't think 'food allergy' is that he ate it for 6 months prior to having these problems. I guess I'm not certain that negates the possibility, though.

What does everyone here prefer/use for food brands?
 
Angela

Angela

Super Moderator
Could they have fleas? Sometimes that causes hot spots, another is environmental allergies,
And I would think about feeding adult kibble instead of puppy.
 
reeves

reeves

New member
Angela,

We haven't seen any signs of fleas and we keep them up to date with flea/tick prevention, so I think we're clear on that point. We're just about to transition Rufus to adult formula, but I'm curious about the thought behind the suggestion. Do you think there's something in the puppy formula that isn't in the adult formula that could be a factor? Or were you just saying that b/c he's at about the age when we should be doing that?

Thanks for your input!
 
DAWNMERIE

DAWNMERIE

Active member
Let me just say skin issues just plain out SUCK. Very hard to figure out. I would suggest Dr. Dodd's saliva test if you suspect food allergies. Do you get any ear flare ups? We've done the allergy blood work which according to those results, Myra's allergic to pretty much everything including me, lol.
 
Brandie&Maggie

Brandie&Maggie

New member
As far as puppy food, it's not really recommended for large breed dogs usually because you want them to grow slowly.

Also, food sensitivities can develop over time. As an example, our previous dog (with all the skin problems) was fine for a year on the kibble we had her on. Then she got diarrhea. She would be fine on a food for 3-6 months, then would get sick. We did the Dr. Dodds saliva test and switched to a diet free of everything she reacted to. Voila - skin and ears cleared up as did her digestive problems.

If the thyroid test comes back clear, and you're sure there are no fleas/mites/whatever then diet is the next culprit to look at. You can start with a limited ingredient diet for several months and see how that works. But if you don't want to do the food roller-coaster, do the saliva test first. That will give you a much more clear picture of where to go.
 
reeves

reeves

New member
I totally agree, Dawnmarie - skin issues are awful. I will definitely have to give the saliva test a look, otherwise we'd be shooting in the dark for who knows how long!

With the puppy food geared towards large breeds I guess I made the assumption that it was geared for proper growth rates as well. Rufus has actually been stalled out at around the same size/weight for the last several months (100lbs). Almost since this whole ordeal began. I think he's maybe put on 5-7lbs. Riley is about to outpace him already (90lbs)! She's going to be a big girl, though. She's got a ridiculous amount of skin (and paws!) to grow into yet. I think we'll start moving them both to an adult formula here shortly.

Thanks again, everyone, for all of your input!
 
M

mrs big dogs

New member
Belle had the same thing going on for awhile and the vet called it staff infection and we treated with antibiotics, it always came back, I was feeding TOTW at the time and switched to Acana and all the issues went away, Belle was also getting UTI's too but they went away too
 
Jeannie

Jeannie

Super Moderator
A newf is a giant breed not a large breed.

As I stated before thyroid or your food. It can take awhile for a food allergy to show up. Years ago my Samantha developed an allergy to her food after she had eaten it about 2 years. Don't take anything for granted. IMO Diamond is not one of the better food out there.

As far as weight: A general rule is a puppy should weight 10 lbs for every month of age. So a 9 month old should weight 90 lbs while a 5 month old should weigh 50 lbs. They can very a bit but usually not much. My Adam was always about 5 lbs over this rule while Chase was 7 lbs under the rule. Still only you can know if your pet is too heavy. You should be able to feel the ribs without having to push hard.
 
Jager's Mom

Jager's Mom

New member
mrs big dogs said:
Belle had the same thing going on for awhile and the vet called it staff infection and we treated with antibiotics, it always came back, I was feeding TOTW at the time and switched to Acana and all the issues went away, Belle was also getting UTI's too but they went away too
Click to expand...
Which Acana food did you feed?
 
M

mcme

Member
As Leonard mentioned, have your vet check for yeast (fungus). We had a pup treated for staph that kept recurring. A different vet cultured and said it was yeast. It cleared with antifungal meds. The antibiotics were actually making it worse.
 
jane

jane

New member
My second newfoundland used to get staph a lot. Wish I knew back then what I know now about raw feeding and holistic treatments. There is an excellent page on Facebook...The Holistic Newfoundland Dog. You should join it. My boys staph never stayed away either after antibiotic treatment. Just kept coming back time and time again...
 
M

MLZ

New member
Did your Vet do a Skin Scraping to check for Mites? Our Newfie Boy Cash was diagnosed with Skin Mites when he was 11 Months Old. Cash's symtoms were some loss of hair on his chest and a small amount on his face around his mouth. Our Vet started treatments of Flea Dip, Antibiotics and a Topical Spray plus bathing with a Medicated Shampoo in between the Flea Treatments. Cash would clear up for awhile and then it would come come back. After repeating this treatment several times Our Vet Had us treat Cash daily with Ivermectin which we purchased at Tractor Supply. We started daily treatments of Ivermectin at a low dose and increased it gradually. We measured the Ivermectin with a syringe and put it in 100% Pure Pumpkin and added some honey to it because ivermectin is very bitter. WE also Added Nature's Farmacy Dogzymes Immuno Guard to the Pumpkin to build up Cash's Immune System. We continue to give Cash 2 Tablespoons of Pumpkin mixed with 2 1/2 Teaspoons of Immuno Guard.
It took over a Year to completely clear Cash's Skin Mites. It has been over 3 years since Cash had Skin Mites and he is completely clear.
 
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