Evaluation of a commercial staphylococcal bacterin for management of idiopathic recurrent superficial pyoderma in dogs

Twenty-one dogs with idiopathic superficial recurrent pyoderma were entered into a double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the efficacy of a commercial staphylococcal bacterin. The study spanned an 18-week period. All dogs were administered sodium oxacillin orally for the initial 6 weeks of the study. Dogs were given the bacterin or placebo SC, twice weekly at 3- or 4-day intervals, beginning at week 0 and continuing for 18 weeks. Dogs given antibiotics plus the bacterin (n = 13) had a significantly (P less than 0.05) better treatment response than those given antibiotic plus placebo.