My poor Bucko! He is a black lab who weighs 80lbs. For the past two years he has been plagued with yeast infections in his ears and on his skin. Last year the vet prescribed anitbiotics, steroids, a special shampoo and a certain dog food. After a month it did the trick. A month later, back to the same old same old. I look at him now and almost want to cry. Ears smell like cheese whiz, skin is turning blace and crusty with loss of fur. It is even occuring around his eyes. There are red sore like areas that appear first and then the skin turns hard, crusty and black.
This weekend I purchased a quart of plain yogurt and Acidopholus capsules, large bottle of white vinegar and a large bottle of apple cider vinegar that I will use for bathing and spraying. I also bought some old fashioned ACV with the "mother" in it. I will use this to put in his food. Now for the big question. Diet? I have been using Dick Van Patten's potato and fish because it states on the bag, "non allergenic". I have been using that for two months now. He has gotten worse. I was using Eukanuba for adult dogs. These foods are not cheap! I have heard about this all meat diet. Im going to look into that.
I will post once per week and let you all know how it works. Man if this remedy can work on Bucko it can work on any dog. Oh yes, let me not forget, Im using a vaginal yeast infection cream in the ears. I just thought why not? Twice a day, will this hurt?
Thank you for all the posts on this site. Avery from Wilmington.
Replied By Vikki (Orlando Fl) on 07/08/2009
Avery, I have the exact same problem with my black female lab, its been an absolute nightmare fighting this yeast infection. She has had it for over a year now. I have been using the ACV, yogurt and Acidophulus tabs for about 2 months now, the terrible smell has gone but she is still itching and licking and the skin is still black and hairless, Im not sure how long to keep trying someone said 5 months?
Has it taken anyone else this long to recover with the above remediesReplied By Nias (Hoboken, Nj) on 09/19/2009
Natural remedies take longer to work because they are systemic not synthetic but the results are lasting. I have a pitbull lab mix who is a rescue. When I got her she had a lot of problems- yeast infections in her ears and all over her body. Her coat looked moth eaten and she smelled like Fritos. I immediately put her on a raw diet. I use a brand called Nature's variety and alternate between the chicken, lamb and venison patties. I also give her raw vegetables- greens mostly like parsley, kale, green squash, romaine lettuce... In addition to that, I give her probiotics and acidophilus (both in liquid form and also Kefir - yogurt drink with acidophilus) fish oil, vitamin c (ester c- much more gentle on the stomach), Aloe vera gel (aids in digestion and in absorbing supplements) and a supplement that is a mixture of flax, burdock and nettle. This has helped her enormously. She still has some problems with her ears and itchy feet around this time of year and I have found the vinegar solution really helps. I use white vinegar externally because it has a much lower sugar content. I make a spray that is about 45% white vinegar, 5 % alcohol, a few drops of clove oil (natural pain killer and antiseptic and the remaining 50 % filtered water. I have found this mixture to be very effective in killing the yeast and promoting healing. You may need to stick with this treatment for several days before you see improvement but if you do this and incorporate some or all of the above into your dogs diet, you will see a vast improvement in time. Just be patient and vigilant. You know your dog so you will begin to see in time what works best. Hope this helps.Replied By Lillia (Rescue, Ca) on 12/04/2009
Avery, you might want to change the van patten potato foods, I have a great prynesse, and he has has yeast for years, and he has alway eaten this food, which we has since stopped, we found that the potato was not good for himReplied By Jean (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) on 09/19/2010
Using Nias' remedies of 45% white vinegar, 5% alcohol and the clove oil (for pain) 50% filtered water has been a miracle cure for my 5 year old german shepard. In one day she showed improvement! I would love to take all the tubes of creams and bottles of antibiotics and ear rinses my vet has charged me for over the last 4 years add up the cost and donate it to this site.