My 10 year old golden retriever recently incurred a bite wound on her cheek. Soon thereafter she became ill and was put on antiobiotics and recovered quickly (given the small size of the bite wound, my vet did not think that her illness was related to the bite wound--he did a blood test in an attempt to see what might be accounting for the illness and he didn't find anything). A few months later the wound reopened and around the same time, she licked a hot spot on her side. However, this hot spot had a draining track (which my vet said was unusual). These two wounds did not respond to antiobiotics. During this time, she became quite ill again--refusing to eat, running a fever, and generally apathetic. My doctor gave her a steroid shot and she improved. (and her wounds began to heal as well). She was better for approximately 10 days and then became ill again (refusing to eat, fever, apathy). She was given another shot of steroid and oral steroids. She is currently taking the course of oral steroids which are to be given to her every other day. I have recently noticed that on the days that she does not take the steroid, she refuses to eat, acts apathetic, etc. However, she is better on days that she does take the steroid. It was suggested that perhaps she has an internal staph infection that has not responded to antibiotics--I asked my vet about this and he thought it was highly unlikely given the 2nd antibiotic she was on. Her wounds have largely healed--however, she is still ill if not on steroids and my vet does not know what may be wrong with her--any ideas?

Optional Information:
Age: 10; Female; Breed: Golden retriever/chow chow mix

Already Tried:
2 types of antibiotics and steroids