OMG! YOUR POOR BOY! I agree that you should not be so hard on yourself, staph is something that lives naturally on the skin and in the dirt, etc...Usually does not cause any trouble unless it gets into an open area such as a cut etc...where it enters into the blood stream or the tissues under the skin. Normally even a cut won't develop infection because we wash our hands and put bandaids over the areas etc..protectin g it. Unfortunately with our dogs, and ALL THAT HAIR, it is hard to know if something is brewing under there until it is draining. I do a finger through the hair run everyday on their bodies to check them out, but thats only once a day and I have miised a hot spot before. Staph does spread very fast, can mimic what some call the "flesh eating disease" is the spot growing or still the same? Did she put him on any oral antibiotics as a precaution ? What kind of cream did she give you? I agree that backing him up in a corner will help you get the ointment on him easier than what you are doing now. My Kuv's are pretty good about standing although Aidan had to lay on the floor when he cut his paw and had stitches for me to clean and wrap the area once a day. He was not as easy as Beauty and we did have to lay over him the first few times, then her settled down I think after he realized we were trying to help. The area Judge has will be more painful as it is open to air and that causes more pain, in addition there are so many small nerve endings in the surface of the skin and right below that just add to it. I had a patient not to long ago who's whole leg had staph and every bit of skin was GONE, it was horribly painful and the dressing changes alone took a good hour. Is there a reason she did not want you covering the area? I realize thisis long and I had many questions. Feel free to email me personally, I have aloto f experience in this type of thing, although not with a dog, but human patients are not much different in the way it works.