Beat Pet Yeast Infections: Raw Diet & Natural Remedies

My pug has suffered with skin problems for 9 years. He used to smell horrible a day after bathing. I went through years of medicinal shampoos, $200's in vet visits each month, steroid shots, antibiotics, hair falling out all over his body, scabs, scaley skin...all the things I read on your posts. And really bad ear infections. So bad that he couldn't even open his mouth at times. Then I read your site and started trying out different things and observing the effects. Instead of the $30 medicinal shampoo from the vet (which made his skin MUCH MUCH worse over time) I purchased a medicated shampoo at the pet store for $10 with coal tar, sulfur and triclosan. I gave him yogurt, white vinegar and acidopholus. Then I decided he must have a food allergy that is weakening his immune system and causing the yeast infections...so I switched his food yet again from a limited ingredient duck and potato dry food from the pet store. I tried the fish and potato, all the different limited imgredient varieties. He only got worse. Then I tried the prescription diet duck CANNED FOOD from the Veterinarian. Now, finally, he is so much better. The dry food has too too many additives. The canned food is simpler. I think he may have been allergic to the yogurt, so I eliminated that and added probiotics to his diet (with acidopholus) each day. For a time, I sprayed mild vinegar and water solution on him after his medicated baths. After 3 months his scabs were completely gone and his hair all grown back. It's been 4 to 6 months of treatments. I have discontinued the vinegar and the acidopholus. His coat is now gorgeous, and the awful smell is almost all gone. He still licks his feet, and has some painful sores on them. He still has mucous on his eyes in the morning and I am still working on curing his much improved, but still stubborn yeasty left ear. Most of his years of suffering are behind him now and it seems to all boil down to nasty food allergies compromising his immune system. I may go back to the probiotics again for a while to see if the ear infection and foot licking can go away completely. The prescription canned food is quite expensive, but the change in diet has cured his skin condition and I don't have to go the the vet constantly and pay huge bills for treatments that didn't help him at all--only made him feel worse. Puggy and I thank you for all the great info. It takes trial and error, but really pays off.

Yeast infection on dogs. Apply cold yogurt directly to the effected area.Try to keep the dog from licking untill the skin warms back up . Let the dog lick. It will relieve the itch plus digest the yogurt. Bath before to remove loose hair. This is a very messy process but is effective on the heat process which is the underlying cause (yeast loves heat). In between treatments sprits with cool plain water on hot spots. This is not a cure but a helpfull relief for the dog. Good luck and God bless.

My dog has had a yeast infection for 8 months, the yeast is mainly between her toes in her nail beds and on her back leg. she has been to the vet all this time and been on antibiotics for 6 weeks, also a anti fungus pill, we could not control the yeast problem, one day it looked fine the day it would flare up again. she has been bathed every second day since it started 8 months ago. We were at the stage where we were given up till I found this site. We tried the spray of apple cider vinger and water, but this made the dog cry and she shook every-time I walked passed her, her feet also seem to get worse with this. She has been on a salmon diet with no grain. she has yogurt mixed in with this twice a day also acidopholus tablets one twice a day with food, I have brought the probiotic yogurt that has no sugar added (as i have read this can feed the yeast) She has been on this diet for a week, no tablets from the vet, she has stopped itching and stopped licking, I am still bathing her every second day and the day she is not bathed I was her feet with cotton tips and cotton wool pads. The feet are still slightly swollen and at one stage we didn't think it would work as her feet were swelling up again. But she is getting there very slowly at least it is not getting worse another fews weeks I think before it has gone. the hardest thing is not treats no chews no biscuits no other meat expect the salmon

This stuff works my dog looked like a hairless cat until we started treatment 1cup water & 1cup apple cider vinegar bath twice a week and 2 tablespoon vinegar in a gallon of drinking water for drinking and raw meat hamburger, fish, chicken, shrimp and some cooked meat too.

he smelled so bad that went away after 2 baths. he had yeast in his ears so we dipped cotton balls in 1tbs water and 1tbs vinegar salouation and cleaned his ears squeez out most of the wetness when you do the ears dont let it drip into the ear with in a 2 week time his hair started growing back now he is fully recovered it took about 2 months for him to get back to his old self.

Thank you so much this saved me about $600.00 in vet bills

Sabrina was a happy, healthy 6 yr old Airedale until last October 2009. The trouble started after a haircut with a new razor and blade, which cut her hair very close and seemed to give her a razor burn. I have been shaving my dogs for over 30 years and this had never happened before. At first she got a redness on her sides. This then developed into a rash, then open sores. The scariest symptom of all was the elephant feeling of her skin. We took her to our reg Vet who immediately gave her Baytril. When that ran out and she was only worse he gave her more meds, prednisone, shots and an anti-fungal shampoo/rinse.

Everything made her worse. He finally did a culture and said she had a fungal infection. More meds. Nothing, getting worse everyday.

It was now Dec. We told him we wanted to try another Vet. Later we found out that her second culture came back as Staph. The new Vet gave her a new shampoo, Duoxo,more anti-biotics, including Cipro which terrified me. Her first culture came back as Ringworm, so she increased the meds a little. After two weeks when there was no improvement, she wanted to do a punch biopsy under sedation.

I refused. Airedales have a history of dying, under even light sleep. She got upset and said we would have to find another Vet if we wanted her to have this done under a local. She also said that the latest culture came back as Staph/E-coli. And to also do a Lymdip bath along with the Duoxo bath.

We told her we were taking Sabrina to a Derm Vet specialist. It is now Jan. The Derm Vet specialist did the biopsies under, surprise, a local, and put her on lighter Cipro dose until the results came back. Said to continue with the Duoxo and Lymdip baths. Said she will call us with lab results next week.

Gave us the impression she felt it may be skin cancer. At this point I am no longer willing to go along with this.
I have been Googling all day every day for a week and finally have come to the conclusion that Sabrina may have a systemic Yeast infection. She has all of the symptoms, leg stiffness, draining open sores everywhere and elephantitis skin, strong smell, general lethargy, plus runny eyes.

Sabrina has been on Wellness Lamb/Rice Super Mix for about 3 years. Gets 2 Nutro Lamb/Rice cookies once a day. She gets two meals of cooked lamb/brown rice and frozen mixed veggies (peas, lima beans, green beans, corn and carrots)along with broccoli, cauliflower and 2 t. of Missing Link each day.

During the day she gets treats of apples(no peeling) and raw baby carrots. She started getting Greek Yogurt with blueberries after dinner a few weeks ago.

Her water is bottled because we live in the country and have a well I do not trust. It kills me to think that I was giving her bad things that led up to this horrible Yeast infection. I know now that nearly all of these foods turned into sugar and overrode her defense system allowing this happen.

Starting yesterday, thanks to all of the sites like this one out there, her diet is changed. She is getting only her cooked lamb, then a few hours later broccoli, cauliflower and green beans.

Later 2 T. Greek Plain yogurt, which will all be repeated for six meals a day, until hopefully she improves. Tomorrow I will go look for the yeast free supplements for this new diet and the new meats to roast with the few allowed veggies.

I also was sickened to think that her heart worm tabs (they have yeast) and flea meds were also adding to the problem.
Yeast is everywhere and I am determined to get it out of her body.

Thank all of you for your stories and like it has been said here by others: DO NOT GIVE UP!
They have no voice and can't tell us why they hurt.
They only live to love us, how can we do any less for them?

If you are still giving your dog Atopica, you may want to reconsider as this is very hard on their system. I had my dog on it for about a year until my old vet from Chicago told me to take her off it right away. You should ask your vet what the side effects of this are.

Because of the advice on this site and a couple of others, I started giving my dog a half a cup of yogurt every day and switched back to her old dog food. Within a week her odor was gone and she stopped scratching. Thanks.

I have had my Westie (Zechariah) for 10 years now and he must of had this horrible yeast problem for a long time now. I stumbled upon this website, Thank God, and like so many others did trying the stupid vets and horrendous bills, but to no effect.

It is almost 3am and I have found a cure, FINALLY! After reading about three pages of pet problems with yeast I am totally convinced that the cure is the simple application of:

Apple cider vinegar mixed with water for topical treatment, Plain yogurt mixed with one capsule of probiotic twice a day, Holistic dog food with NO grains, 1 Tbls of white vinegar in his water daily.

Poor little Zechie has had cancer on his ear, ear infection, sores all over him from antibiotic treatments, horrible smell from the black elephant skin yeast infection on his groin area of which he now has, this summer he lost almost all of his fur on his underside/tummy area, has eye drainage, and pimples around his groin area. NO MORE! I am sick of the stupid vet doctors that LIE to me telling me he has allergies, LIKE ALL THE OTHERS HAVE SAID. This is a ridiculous nightmare these doctors! These stupid drugs are killing my baby. I can hear him now breathing while he is sleeping and he has phelm in his body from all of this trash inside of him.

Anyways, folks, wise-n-up and get rid of your vets! Go natural all the way, even for yourself. I have done many, many detox and colon cleanses and it works! Probiotics for your pets will work as well as they will work for you. The vet doc told me here in Lafayette, 'dogs are different than humans, he's just got allergies and probiotics won't help but you can buy them if you want'. What a bunch of ROT! Liars! They are all liars and greedy wanting money and harming you pets rather than helping them heal. I am so angry after spending all this time, effort, money, on what? Man, man. Vet doctors like human M.D.'s are ALL after that almighty dollar and greed. They could care less if you or your pet dies. It's ALL about $$$.

Thank you Earth Clinic and all who have bothered to help one another with this chronic sick societal problem - the dreded vet doctors and their drug potions that do more harm than heal. No more drugs, no more concoctions of this and that. It's natural all the way for not only myself, but my sweet best friend Zechie.

Love to you all for your help. Thank God I have found the answer for my pets. I have two Westies, and they are like kids to me for I have no children. Hope you don't think I'm crazy, ha ha, just fed up. I will post again with the amazing results in a few weeks you can be assured!

Myra in Lafayette, La.

Try switching to a different type of protein in your dog's diet. Venison is a protein that produces a lot of heat in an allergic dog according to Chinese medicine. Fish without potatoes or grains, organic buffalo or beef is typically best.

@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.

We have a 6 year old Aussie who has what appears to be a rampant ear infection and we were referred to this site in order to find a yeast infection cure. We feed him Blue Buffalo, and egg whites at breakfast and beef burger at dinner. We used to use a soy/beef mix and it seemed to get worse.

Currently the high protein diet and constant bathing has returned his coat however his ears, elbows and paws still have this black stuff all over, a waxy feeling.

We will start him on acidopholus and check back in a couple of weeks.

Scott

I'm going to try the acidophilus.I have a Cairn terrier who has Atopy (basically allergic to the world). We have finally controlled the allergies with Atopica but she also has a recurrent yeast infection and we have given her Nizoril orally to treat it successfully but it can be harmful when given with the Atopica. We have given them together but I have to monitor her urine to make sure there is no bleeding. I use Nizoril shampoo on her but not with a lot of success. I know how helpful Acidophilus is with humans so I'm willing to try it and maybe the vinegar to see if it will help clear up her skin.

Yeast Free Diet for Pets with Yeast Infections

I used to have recurrent yeast infections that were really painful and debilitating. They completely stopped about five years ago when I stopped eating all yeast including yogurt, and all fermented products. The same is true for pets. There is alot of yeast added to pet foods and a diet free of yeast will have the same amazing results for them as it did for me. Give it a try. You may have to make your own pet foods as most pet foods use yeast as a nutritional and flavor supplelment but it is worth it. Vet bills are costly and sparing your pets the pain of yeast infections are well worth it.

I just thought it might be important to know that dogs are actually Omnivorous. It is cats that are strictly carnivorous.

My Bassett (Molly) had a yeast infection in her ears. My vet who is loves animals told me to mix a 50/50 solution of hydrogen peroxide and white vinegar and clean Molly's ears with it. It did wonders. I have not tried it all over but I am rinsing her with white vinegar after bathing. I also mix the white vinegar in her shampoo when I bath her. I've just started the baths and yogurt. Will let you know my success.

Question about yeast infection

I have a 4 month old cocker spaniel mix (female) and she had smelly ears and was shaking her head and itching alot. I mixed equal parts of white vinegar to water and cleansed her ears. Okay so now the smell is gone. I had also noticed these black scaly patches on her ears and they seem to be eating away at the edge of her ears. Also the same black scaly patches has spread to the back of her head.

I have another dog that so far isn't having any of those problems so I wanted to find out if she can get the same problems the puppy has?

I need to find a way to treat the pup before it spreads everywhere. I can't afford to spend alot of money at the vet so if I can treat this naturally then that would better.

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.

My dog eats Innova also and he still has yeast infections. I'm starting to think this food is not that great because he poops way more now than when he ate just cooked ground turkey.

I am going to try to switch to raw food and add some kefir or yougurt to is as well as fresh veggies.
His symptoms are not that bad and include flat black spots on his belly that itch, itchy chest and eyes, the inside corners of his eyes are red.

He was on antibiotics twice already in his short life (9 months) and the infection comes back. The vets thought it was staph but I am convinced it's yeast.

Grocery store foods, especially lower end, will exacerbate yeast problems. they are far too high in grains/carbs. you want to choose dog foods that have meat in at least the top 2-3 ingredients. i have a 13 pound frenchie and she gets two tbps PLAIN lowfat yogurt on her food. ACV we are gradually mixing that in. we shampoo with the Miconazole Nitrate and Chlorhexidine Gluconate (antifungal shampoo) twice a week the first week, cutting back to once a week after that. dont want to dry out the skin any more than necessary, causes even more itching. google those ingredients and it will take you to the shampoo. adding fish oil capsules can really help, omega 3 & 6 fatty acids are very important. my best advice, go with a grain free food, or the least possible grains you can afford. ask at your local pet supply for options or again, try google. no more table scraps other than meat/veggies. no carbs/starch/sugar. that feeds the yeast. as for cleaning ears, id google antifungal ear dog. the same brand as the above shampoo makes an ear cleaner with the same name, works very well. do this every 3 days if you can. dont give up hope, it sometimes gets worse before it gets better. this can all take up to 30 days for you to notice changes. the body must detox.

I also have a doxie with the "black elephant skin" under her arms - she loves to burrow under blankets too which doesn't help esp when it's hot. I feed her Innova, and I don't want to put any more steroids in her so I've started with an organic, plain yogurt. She gets a table spoon two times a day, don't know if that's enough or not - but...she also gets steamed green beans and steamed carrots. No other treats (she actually likes a green bean as a treat)

I was wondering if anyone knows if it would be o.k. to give my dog (107 lbs) baking soda and vinegar like I take. I was thinking maybe that would help with her yeast problem.

Marcel, I was wondering why you were told to stay away from Chicken and Turkey? I have been feeding my dog with yeast mostly raw beef as her protein but last night gave her chicken and she had me awake all night with her biting and licking. I'm wondering if she is allergic to chicken?

Vickie, it sounds like we are in the same boat. My Lab/Newfoundland has a real yeast problem. I put her on raw food about six months ago and that has helped some and she absolutely LOVES it. I also finally found a vet (an old country guy) who looked at her and said she had a yeast problem. I wanted to kiss him because I have been to three different vets for a diagnosis and they refuse to say it's yeast. They just wanted to throw more drugs at her but said they really didn't know what she had. It's very costly and frustrating. I also put her on the enzymes and she did a little bit better but this new vet has her on a probiotic which has helped a little bit more. She does have a lot more energy. He says it will take time but that her gut is getting better (He does muscle testing). I also add some yogurt from time to time, but I think I will take Lauri's advice and add it every meal with some acidophilus. At least that's not going to hurt her. Maybe we can find something once and for all to help our pets. Let me know how it's going for you and I'll do the same. Thanks.

Laurie, thanks for the information. Did you use acidophilus from the health food store? Was it the refrigerated type? Thanks.

Laurie! Thank you so much for posting this. My Cocker Spaniel is getting yogurt and acidophilus today!

He has been scratching, chewing and licking himself raw for 7 years now. For the first year I spent thousands of dollars at the vet, all to no avail. They had him on antibiotics, steroids, prescription dog food, medicated shampo, etc... I got so discouraged when they told me that he was probably a puppy mill dog (bought him at PetLand) and it was probably neurological because they didn't know what else to do.

I recently started him on the enzymes program and it has helped somewhat. I tried bathing him in apple cider vinegar but dang, it brought back the horrific smell. I've read that his symptoms are indicative of leaky gut syndrome (or systemic yeast infection) and that ACV feeds the yeast! So I stopped that. I also read that steroids accerbate the problem as well. Ironically, that was the only thing that gave him relief, but they had to continually increase the dosage to the point that it was no longer a safe alternative. And to think I started this dog out all natural. Refused shots, wouldn't give him the flea protection stuff becuase I was afraid it would poison him. HA! Boy have we come a long way ... in the WRONG direction!

His coat looks great and his skin is trying to heal but he wont stop chewing and scratching. I had a cone around his head for a month and it just rubbed his neck raw and ulcerated the skin. So now I have a muzzle on him and he can still lick his paws.

I will add the yogurt/acidophilus and get on my face and pray it works. Thanks for sharing.

I have 3 shiba-inus. 2 of them are susceptible to yeast: spotted blackening skin, smell, oily fur, and itching! Cortisone was great for the moment, and the yeast raged afterwards. My female gets it the worst-particularly in the summer. I have seen PH mentioned only once-I believe it is behind everything! PH of the SKIN and PH of the internal body! Read information for neutralizing the diet for humans and you will get the idea.

PURE APPLE CIDER VINEGAR-not any brand but HEINZ (not their new product made from distilled white and flavored with cider), is what i am using for a variety of purposes. Distilled white vinegar used to made from corn. It restores the skin to a neutral PH where yeast can't grow. Not irritating. It does cause my dogs to lick it- which is not a bad thing because then they are taking the vinegar in and changing the body PH... slowly I know. For food, I use INNOVA brand exclusively- holistic, non-allegenic- NO CORN BRWERS YEAST CHICKEN etc. They get a portion of this, and meat/fish, and yogurt with the ACIDOLPH(SP?), and enzymes after the first month to support immune system. Another aspect, I DO NOT FEED THEM CHLORINATED WATER!!(Chlorine in the water kills our friendly bacteria too!. I fill bottles with well water from a friends, or distilled with the 'cell food' oxygen additive that we use,

Try not to feed the YEAST organism. Sugars in all forms! Do not put water in ears, I swab the ear i can reach with a cloth with the vinegar solution. I bathe once a week in the antifungal shampoo..

I think it is good to remember that any remedy used for a long time will loose its' effectiveness. Yeast won't 'go away' forever. So have a couple of menus and switch off once this is under 'control'. The dogs have to maintain a healthy digestive tract with 'nutrient rich' food... Even us people are having a hard time finding food with all the processsing it is subjected to.. We really need to feed ourselves and our pets- fresh and minimally cooked food. Human grade.

My dog's skin has been repeatedly pink with bacterial and yeast infections. Has seasonal allergies. Has some food allergies. I feed her Simple Solutions dry rice and venison with some canned EVO 95% venison. She is 8 years old, black lab, weighs 74lbs. I saw some comments from TED, Thailand. My treatments were 1 tbl [???!] baking soda. Also, gave a ketachlor bath same day. Took her off Simple Solutions and fed her tilapia and the water it was cooked in. And, her skin cleared to normal. Don't know which remedy cleared her. Gave her Simple Solutions again but forgot to check skin first in case skin pink from seasonal allergies. Skin got pink again. My questions: (1) how long is it safe to give baking soda in water and (2) if I start a homecooked food can it be without liver and how much do I feed a dog of 74 lbs. How do I keep homecooked food nutritional?