Staph Infection :(

No, neither Hans nor I have a staph infection. Much worse, actually...Cody does. He's always had somewhat sensitive skin and tends to itch easily. Hans and I have an armory of anti-itch products which typically seem to do the trick. A couple of months ago, though, he started scratching...and kept scratching...and kept scratching. We pulled out everything we could think of, and we even tried a few new things, but nothing worked. That's when I noticed the bumps.

I noticed a few reddish bumps (pustules really) and, of course, everything horrible popped into my mind. I was actually just really worried that it was an allergy. Can you imagine Cody being allergic to grass? However, I did a bit of research and found that it wasn't uncommon for dogs to develop what is commonly referred to as summer eczema. You know, heat and humidity get caught in the folds of a dogs skin and irritate it causing itching and bumps and what not. This made perfect sense to me because he'd had similar symptoms this past winter when I took him swimming and he hadn't had a good opportunity to dry off completely. How did I solve that? I shaved him. Well, I just shaved the problem areas (naughty bits and chest). These areas are the same that are being affected now, so I figured that must be the solution. So, I shaved Cody again.

I shaved him (he looks great) but the irritation was much worse than I realized. He'd actually caused himself to bleed in some areas (light enough for the hair to cover, but never a good sign). He was red all over, and his skin was peeling in multiple location. I figured, even if I had eliminated the main cause, I should go to the vet and get some serious meds to help with the itch. The vet took one look at it and uttered, "It's a staph infection."

Anyway, to make a long story end (I can't make it short anymore) he's now had shot of cortisone and he's on antibiotics for the next 10 days. Actually, that's probably a good thing, but I accidentally nicked him with the razor in one spot and it's a little infected. So, hopefully this helps my sweet boy. I know he's scratching a lot less now!