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Old January 30th, 2012, 01:21 PM
JimboJones1981 JimboJones1981 is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Michigan
Posts: 3
Austrailian Cattle Dog Staph infection and hair loss

Hello, I have an Austrailian Cattle Dog/Blue Heeler that is about 6 yrs old. He gets ear infections on a regular basis. We rescued him when he was 3, his leg was broken by a horse and the family at the time never had it fixed, so he had to have surgery to fix it. Other than that, he has been in pretty good health. About three months ago he had a small growth on his side above his shoulder area that was checked to be not cancerous and was removed. That went fine, hair came back. About the same time he started to scratch and gnaw at himself to the point of losing hair near his tail at his rump area. We went to the vet and was told it was allergies. We tried a different diet, multiple times, changed bedding, etc. that did not make a difference, then we noticed he had a bump between his legs near his groin that was red and like a pimple but the size of a dime. Took into the vet, determined to have a staph infection and ear infection in both ears. Given the usual steroid and antibiotic, drops for the ears. Ear infections were determined to be yeast infections. He's on the medicine for the staph now for 2 weeks and seems to be more lively, but has hair loss and bald spots now. He lost hair around his chest between his front legs, rear near rump. Coat feels different, like really dry. He's not scratching, it's like he's just shedding, but very extreme. He shakes and hair comes off. Also, he eats like he has never been fed before, wolfs it down. He licks the floors constantly, my wife vacuums daily, does not use any shake on floor deodorizer or anything, just vacuums. I am concerned that there may be more to this than appears. I know infections in pets can cause hairloss, but this seems extreme. I am looking for second opinions on this as he just doesn't seem himself and can't tell me what's wrong. I feel like I have tried everything the vet recommends and there doesn't seem to be any change. Is this something I need to be more patient with because staph takes a while to clear up? I know this post is long, but I wanted to give all the info I have, thanks for any help in advance.
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