The odor of a yeast infection is not a normal doggy odor. Healthy dogs don't have a 'doggy odor.' So if your pup has stinky paws or musty-smelling ears, chances are she's dealing with a yeast overgrowth.
Another sign your dog is yeasty is scratching. Yeast overgrowth is tremendously itchy. If it's a problem with paws, they won't be able to leave them alone. The same goes for ears. A lot of butt scooting can also be a clue.
If your dog is spending a lot of time digging at themselves to relieve intense itching, take heed. Whether it's a bacterial or yeast infection, they need help to solve the problem.
Step #1 in Clearing a Yeast Infection: Address the Diet
If a pet is dealing with yeast overgrowth, there are a couple of things to do.
Number one, you must address his diet. It's rare that a dog has yeast in just one spot – one ear, for example. If that's the case with your pet, you can probably get by just treating that ear for yeast and keeping your fingers crossed his immune system responds to re-balance his natural flora.
But if your dog, like the majority, has yeast in more than one spot, for example on all four paws or both ears, or especially if his entire body is yeasty, you have no choice but to look at what he's eating.
Diet is the foundation of health. The way you nourish your dog is either going to help his immune system manage yeast, or it's going to feed a potential or existing yeast overgrowth situation.
We encourage an 'anti-yeast diet.' The beauty of an anti-yeast diet is it is also an anti-inflammatory and species-appropriate diet.
Yeast needs sugar as a source of energy. Carbohydrates break down into sugar. Both MDs and veterinarians advise patients with yeast to get the sugars out of their diets.
Dietary sugar isn't just the white kind added to many pet treats and some pet foods. There are 'secret,' hidden forms of sugar that can also feed yeast overgrowth, for instance, honey. Although honey can be beneficial for pets in some cases, it does provide a food source for yeast. So if your dog is yeasty, you'll need to carefully read his pet food and treat labels and avoid any product containing honey, high fructose corn syrup, and even white potatoes and sweet potatoes.
We recommend going entirely sugar-free. Feed low-glycemic veggies. Eliminate potatoes, corn, wheat, rice – all the carbohydrates need to go away in a sugar-free diet. This is a really an important step. I wish I could tell you yeast is easy to treat and avoid without addressing diet, but it isn't. Pets needs to eat a diet that helps keep his normal flora levels healthy and balanced.
Recommended Foods:
The second thing is adding some natural anti-fungal foods to a pet’s diet, like a small amount of garlic or oregano & tablespoon of apple cider vinegar with the mother in it. These foods are both anti-fungal and anti-yeast and can be beneficial in helping reduce the yeast level in your dog's body. Fermented foods are excellent at eliminating yeast and growing a healthy balance. B.A.N. carries fermented fish stock & Kefir, but other options are plain yogurt, sugar free pickled beets, sauerkraut, Kumbacha, & dilly beans.
It’s important to remember that this is a process of getting unsick can take up to 3 months to a year to rid the body of a yeast overgrowth. We recommend a pet parent mark an X on the calendar for starting a new regimen and counting forward to 3 months and marking that spot with an X also so that they don’t get frustrated in the journey.
There are several supplements now on the market, carried at B.A.N. that help speed up this process: Glacier Peaks Gold, probiotics, colloidal silver, Apple Cider Vinegar with the “mother”, and feeding raw green tripe.
Step #2
Disinfecting the surface area infected with yeast frequently using an OTC solution or
Tea tree oil, white vinegar mixed with peroxide & water
Step #3
Helping with the itch
Lotramin based anti-fungal help tons, just be sure to wipe off dead debris daily so as not to exacerbate the problem, witch hazel wipes and Tucks medicated pads can all help take the itch out temporarily while the body is getting rid of a yeast overgrowth.
Reminder: Do NOT use an oatmeal based shampoo or conditioner as yeast loves the sugars on oatmeal, rather choose teatree or citrus or plain shampoo.
