My Bullie has/had both. SFA is hair loss and skin pigmentation in the same location on the side of each flank. One side can be more than the other but it will present kind of in an even pattern. Last year my girl eventually had it ride up over the top of her hips sort of like a saddle. Hives are all over, raised lumps under the skin w/o hair loss. On the belly the lumps will be raised, red and look kind of like large human measles. SFA is not itchy, hives and staph is.
I have been giving melatonin for SFA and have been having good results. The hives however, she had to have a steroid shot and I've started making homemade food and giving anti-histamines.

Good luck

P.S. In my signature pic you can see the SFA on her right flank. It's much better now that I've been giving her the melatonin

Not the greatest pics - from when Twister broke out in hives from eating strawberry yogurt the night before....

Benadryl helped, but of course I panic and took him to the vet for a steriod shot, which worked much quicker

I will have Jen email you some pics :O)

[IMG][/IMG]

With hives you will see numerous bumps, or raised spots, and not necessarily any loss of hair and not necessarily any redness to the spots (assuming they just arose today). With staph infection, you can see raised or frequently red spots, usually accompanied with hair loss...and the bumps will not necessarily have a 'head' like a typical pimple. And with hot spots, the spots are usually larger than a pimple, sometimes they have a head, but the most distinguishing feature of hot spots is that they are "wet" or sticky...and inevitably there will be hair loss until spots are scabbed/healed. HTH

Vivi has what I thought were hives all over her body from an allergic reaction to a shampoo I used 2 weeks ago.  Could this be a staph infection?  Some look pimplelike??

Jen, Howie, Doc & Vivian
http://www.bluelinebulldogs.com

as in over night.

[IMG][/IMG]

staph can appear as pimple are pink/red dry falky places with hair loss.

[IMG][/IMG]