Skin infections

Question
Hello and thank you for your willingness to help.  I have a problem with my dog.  He is a 2-year old Bichon.  Our family (including Kipper) has recently relocated to Ethiopia.  Shortly after coming, Kipper began licking his feet.  He has been licking his feet some for a while, but they have never been infected.  He never licked this much either.  Two of the feet have become infected.  I took him to a vet here.  The vet shaved the area, sprayed with a solution - I am not sure what, and gave him steroids and anitbiotics.  Kipper just finished his medicine, but was still chewing at his feet.  So, I kept applying the topical solution the vet gave me.  The solution is a yellow-watery liquid.  I put it on several times a day.  I have also been using a muzzle to help prevent the licking.  Today, the feet started bleeding when I applied the solution.  They looked better last night, but by tonight, they are bleeding and look bad again.  Any ideas what could be going on?  

Thanks again for your help.

Janice

Answer
Foot licking dogs are usually allergic dogs.  The allergies are there because of something the dog's feet are in contact with.  Often, along with the allergies come bacterial or fungal infections.  Sometimes the dog can have demodex mange in the feet as well.  So if the steroids did not help relieve the itching while the dog was on them, then I would ask the vet to scrape the inflammed areas on the feet and look for yeasts and mites.  If the staroids helped, then continue them at a dose that keeps the dog comfortable.