07/05/2011: Dave from Rocky Mount, North Carolina: "I rescued a Westie who was going to be put down because of his "skin allergies. " I spent a year of allergy treatments, and plenty of money, and the only thing that made him well was antibiotics; so research and BAM! He has black elaphanty skin; its yeast! I've tried every shampoo; the Malaseb burt him up; so I read about Mane n Tail Medicated shampoo. You delete it in water so it last a long time. Also, I started him on nzymes.com ; He use to scratch all the time; he is doing much better and growing some hair back. The nzymes people have been very helpful; he gets a good holistic dog food; Holistic Select. E-mail me if you like; I have tried everything, and "Cooper" has turned out to be a wonderful dog! "

04/06/2011: 5 Pooches Home from Houston, Tx replies: "1. Please feed her good quality COCONUT OIL. It helps in all skin conditions. 4-5 tablespoon each day twice. Also feed her homemade food.

2. Start her on 3-4 cloves of GARLIC each day.

3. Get some NEEM OIL and apply on her mixed with some coconut oil. Apply everywhere on her skin.

4. Give her a bath ONLY with BABY SHAMPOO that is 100% soap free and hypoallergenic.

5. Lastly try giving her apple cider vinegar in water. 4 tablespoons atleast per day to start.

6. WASH all her fabrics - bed, pillow etc. Keep it clean.

Most imp. Feed her homemade food - ALL doggie issues can be resolved by doing this very imp. thing. Stop giving her meds as you are ruining her body and quality of life. Keep it all natural. Good luck!"

06/19/2011: Peter from Victoria, Bc replies: "Treat yeast infections topically with gentian violet and grapefruit seed extract. Put dog on a candida diet. Avoid all grains, nuts, sugars, fruit, and all vinegars except apple cider. Feed a raw diet or a grain-free kibble. Good luck."

11/13/2011: Christine from San Jose, Ca replies: "Please DO NOT give your dog 3-4 cloves of GARLIC to your dog. Garlic is toxic to dogs, and while it helps to ward off fleas, should be used in extreme moderation!! Also, dogs cannot process the cellulose in vegetables so you must grind or mince the tiny bit of garlic that you decide to give to your doggie."

10/16/2010: Bb from Atlanta, Ga Uas replies: "Most commercial pet foods contain nasty veggies like potato, corn, peas, beans. Plain JUNK! Do not feed anything that has sugar or that will turn to sugar, like grains, potatoes, carrots, etc. Organic coconut oil is antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal. It can be applied topically & ingested."

02/20/2011: Kp from Rochester, Mi replies: "The physician I work for uses cornstarch topically as a natural drying agent."

11/22/2009: Frank from Stamford, Ct replies: "Dear Janice,

Yes, an immediate suggestion - CHANGE THE FOOD! It seems very obvious that your dog is having an allergic reaction to the food he is eating. Do some research on this subject and choose a high end brand of food that is recommended for dogs with allergies. Once you have changed his food, add a small amount of apple cider vinegar and a fish oil omega 3 supplement and he will improve quickly."

09/24/2010: Frank from Hayden, Co replies: "STOP feeding dog food- they is grain in nearly every brand- dogs do not normally eat grain. They eat RAW meat, very little fruit and berries in the wild- Our processed dog foods are killing our dogs. Get some Pau D'Arco make sure it is really the heartwood and inner bark of a particular species of the tree, the Tabebuia avellanedae, (tah-bee-BOO-ee-uh ah-vel-LAN-ee-day) (that is most prized for cures). Make a tea with it (1# will make 6 gal tea);bathe the dog in it; apply throughout the day to wounds; add a little in drinking water. Feed Raw meat & bones(butchers/meat processors throw away tons, so it is free), yogurt/cheese/spoiled milk and Acidolpilus will get the correct balances back into their systems. Bathe often to get the skin cured- it will work. KEEP on the diet. No more grains, including Rice! "

10/26/2009: Kathleen from Leicester, Nc replies: "Helene, last spring one of our Chihuahua's eyes had gunk in it and tearing, I got on internet for recipe for eye wash and found and used this one since our dog is so little... put 1/4 teaspoon medicinal Boric Acid powder (from pharmacy-not sold over the counter here in NC) in two cups boiling water, let cool to warm temp. not too warm or too cold for it is going into the eye. Use about 1/4 or 1/2 cup of the mix in a cup or bowl. Dip in a cotton ball and run over eye to loosen and remove gunk. Throw away ball. Use another ball and run over closed eye, once gunk is cleaned off outside, continue tossing away used cotton ball and using new cotton ball to dip and dribble over eye so some of the mixture can get into eye. When done throw out the remainder you have left in the "dipping bowl". Do not contaminate by putting back in with the remainder of your original 2 cups. Warm another small portion 2 or 3 times a day for a couple of days. Eyes should clear. I only store the mixture for 1 day, then throw away. My bottle of "Boric Acid, Powdered, (local anti-infective)" that I kept from long ago for the recipe on label reads thus (for human eyes I assume): "Prepare solution of Boric Acid by boiling in water (1 teaspoonful in a pint of water). Allow to cool to a comfortable temperature before using as an eyewash. Store in a sterile container. Prepare sufficient amount for one day's use and discard unused portion." Again this is Boric Acid bought from the pharmacy section of a drug store, NOT what one can buy from a home store for roach killing."

08/29/2009: Gina from Iuka, Ms replies: "My yorkie had this problem. For yeast in the ears use monistat or generic yeast treatment for women. Just rub it in the ears for the seven days like it says on the tube or prefilled containers. After that to keep them clear mix half water and half white vinegar, drop in the ears and massage. Then let him shake it out. Hope this helps"

10/20/2010: Gaga from Charlotte Court House, Va replies: "Did monistat really help your dog?"

04/11/2011: Kj from Gilcrest, Co, Usa replies: "My 11 yo doxy Lucy has a serious yeast infection in her ears. We've gone the vet so many times, I've lost count. And, it was always the antibiotics and ear drops route. That only worsened it. Now, she has symptoms of Cushing's Disease. I'm sure it's been caused/aggravated by lots of steriodal ear drops and predisone tablets.

She did undergo a test to determine if it is Cushing's, but the test results were mixed. Probably because it's not Cushing's proper, just the overload of cortisone in her little body.

Lucy now is licking one of her paws, as it's got yeast in there, going up into her lower leg. We just started using a new shampoo - KetoChlor. Will check that out more. Also, the ear drops I'm using are Mal-A-Ket Plus. It's a non-steroidal liquid.

We did change her food to Royal Canin, duck and potato. Yeh, I wondered about the potato part. I don't think she likes it much.

I will definitely try the yogurt, acidophilus, ACV and coconut oil. Her ear canals are terribly raw, swollen and bloody inside, so I won't be putting anything acidic in them.

I'm very curious though about the Monistat. Did anyone who used it, use in raw, swollen and bloody ears? I don't want to make things worse than they already are!

And, someone mentioned Rescue Remedy. I have some - wonder how you used it.

Thank in advance -
KJ"

04/12/2011: Kay from Jacksonville, Fl/USA replies: "Hi KJ, My 80 lb Shepherd has had a yeast infection off and on since October, 2010. This was diagnosed doing a skin cytology test from the vets. I have treated her with chinese Herbs(from a Holistic vet) along with spraying her with ACV and Water, Oil of Oregano mixed with water. The Oregano clears up the fungus. Because her infection was mainly internal she would go into Seizure like symptoms, which amounted to shaking and running in circles. I discovered Rescue Remedy for animals in a health food store. It is in a small bottole used with a eye dropper. I use 4 drops and my dog immediately calmed down. Months later she was fine. However, now with summer she now has fleas, eventhough she was getting the ACV and water, apparently the fleas jump back on her when she is in the yard which I can't control. I did want to write to you about the RR as you had asked. It really is worth it. Its about $15. for a very small bottle at the health food store here. But it lasts a long time."

04/05/2009: Linda from York County, Maine replies: "Hi Clay, not sure if my yellow lab mix had the same prob as your shepherd does, but I put her on a grain free food close to six months ago and her skin has never been better. The improvement came by the time we were on our second bag of food. Prior to changing her food, she had allergy testing and tested positive for things you can hardly get away from...straw, dust mites, storage mites, mold....she's taken a lot of steroid pills during her 11 years and I was unaware of a grain free pet food until just before switching her. She's a different dog!! Her skin and ears are healthy....wish I had known sooner! She loves it dry in the a.m. and in the evening, I mix cooked chicken along with some chicken broth, or plain yogurt - or I toss in a raw egg & some shredded cheese. I buy Evo - a little expensive, but SO worth it."

05/05/2009: Susan from Hyde, Cheshire, England replies: "Hi

I have a 5 year old Jack Russell who has a bad skin problem. Around Christmas, we noticed scaly (sore) patches on his tummy area and legs and the vet treated him for eczema with a steroid injection and antibiotics. The problem cleared up in days, but weeks later it seemed to return as small sores on his back this time. He was given another steroid injection and more antibiotics, but once these were finished, the problem came back, only worse this time. He itches like mad, but sometimes goes into another room to do it, as we keep making him stop. We changed his food to one which has no wheat, corn or yeast in it -a salmon and a duck-based food. I don't know if this has done him any good though. For the past couple of weeks he has been having healthy yoghurt in the mornings, but now doesn't want it and just turns his nose up. Shall I persevere with this by mixing things into it? He has been on Acidophilus morning and night for two weeks and the past few days has been having Benadryl. The purple infection in his ears has practically vanished, and I did wipe his ears with Canestine. The problems with his skin now are mostly on his back, front legs and underneath his chin, down to his chest, where the hair has gone in large patches and is now bright pink. Sometimes there are no sores at all, but some mornings I come downstairs and he has scratched or bitten and has a couple of fresh ones! I hate to see this happening to him. I wipe the infected parts and sores with 1/2 white vinegar and 1/2 water and I think this is helping a bit.

The vet wants a minimum of [pounds sterling] 400 just for blood tests, but I really didn't want him to go through all that. Also, it will be a problem to afford it, to be honest. Should I just persevere for a while longer or is there more that I can do for him? Oh, at the weekend I bought some pine tar soap but have only used this once so far. I will bathe him with it again tonight or tomorrow, to see if there is any improvement."

09/29/2009: Amberjane from Chilliwack, Bc, Canada replies: "If your dog isn't going for the yogurt anymore, just use a syringe to feed to to him. I have some left over from medication from the vets from years ago, and it works just fine - I stir up the yogurt, suck it into the syringe and simply empty it into my dog's mouth."

[YEA]  10/24/2009: Kathleen from Leicester, Nc: "One of the vets. at our doctor's office gave me this recipe after asking if I would consider a holistic remedy for one of our dogs constant ear yeast problems. 16 oz. Rubbing Alcohol, 16 drops Gentian Violet,(health food store) 4 tablespoons Boric Acid powder(medicinal-pharmacy). Shake well each time used. I put some of the mixture in a dropper bottle and when needed warm up the mixture and put a good amount in each ear. Since Rubbing Alcohol stings "owies", if the ears are red and sore, I use the same recipe, but have substituted 16 oz. Witch Hazel for the Rubbing Alcohol (found this recipe on the internet somewhere) the rest the same of Gentian Violet and Boric Acid mixture, and then after ears not inflamed I go to the Rubbing Alcohol mixture every so often for ear maintenance. I cannot find Boric Acid powder in any of the USA drugstores. But you can get it in Canada from the pharmacist. I got a bottle of powder from Canada's IDA this summer. I think misuse of the Boric Acid that is used for roach poison has caused the medicinal Boric Acid to be yanked from over the counter sales in the USA. Growing up, Boric Acid was a staple in Mom's medicine cabinet for eye wash and a wash for scrapes and cuts, etc."

[YEA]  12/21/2009: Jordan from Sycamore, Illinois replies: "@Kathleen from Nc,

I have used the same solution to treat my dog's ears when she has yeast infections. I cannot tell everyone how well think worked for her. I was able to get the alcohol (1$) and Boric acid powder (6$) from a large and popular store's pharmacy (Walmart) and the Gentian Violet (3$) from another national chain pharmacy (Walgreen's). For under ten dollars I can make enough solution to clean her ears daily for months. I hope this helps someone."

[YEA]  04/16/2012: Barbara from Birmingham, Al: "A bath for your dog in Salt water helps. Yeast likes a damp environment. The Salt will dry the skin and kill the yeast. It will take the odor away. I buy just regular salt (I use the kind with iodide). I fill a tub with warm water, and pour a generous amount of salt in (maybe a cup). The water should taste very salty! I stir it around to disolve. Then put dog in and shampoo. Be sure to rinse with the salty water!! Do not rinse off the salty water. Or if you live near the ocean take your dog swimming there. I tried the white vinegar, my dog hated it and it did not work on my black lab, Mollie."