best dog food for dogs that get yeast infections

Yeast Infections in Dogs: What to Know

Yeast infections in dogs are common, especially in certain breeds or dogs with underlying conditions and compromised immune systems. While they can occur anywhere on the skin, they are often seen in your dogs ears. Early diagnosis and treatment are key to preventing serious complications. Heres what to know about yeast infections in dogs to keep your dog healthy.

What Causes a Yeast Infection in Dogs?

Yeast is a live, single-celled microorganism classified as a member of the fungus kingdom. Its normally found on every dogs skin, but in small amounts. A yeast infection occurs when a substantial amount of yeast excessively builds up in one area.

Yeast infections often occur if there is an underlying medical condition, such as food sensitivities, environmental factors, or parasites, such as fleas, which can cause allergies, as well as the dermatological condition seborrhea. Bacterial infections or underlying hormonal problems may also throw the skins defenses off-balance. In the case of yeast infections of the ear, the most common causes are water or debris trapped in the ear or food sensitivities. Yeast infections of the ear could also be caused by underlying mechanical issues such as damage to the eardrum, a polyp, or even a mass or tumor in the ear canal.

Are Some Breeds More Susceptible to Yeast Infections?

Certain dog breeds are thought to be genetically predisposed to developing yeast infections. These breeds include the West Highland White Terrier, Basset Hound, Cocker Spaniel, Silky Terrier, Australian Terrier, Maltese, Chihuahua, Poodle, Shetland Sheepdog, Lhasa Apso, and Dachshund.

Dogs with floppy ears who swim often, such as Golden Retrievers and Labrador Retrievers, are more likely to get yeast infections. Breeds such as Miniature Schnauzers, Bichon Frise, and Shih Tzu are also more susceptible to infections because the thick hair in their ear canals hampers the airflow necessary to keep ears dry.

Any dog with allergies is also more likely to develop yeast infections.

Types of Yeast Infections in Dogs and How to Recognize Them

Yeast Infections in Ears

The ear canal of a dog is L-shaped, dropping down and toward the head. This dark, warm, moist environment is the perfect setting for a yeast infection to thrive. The two types of yeast most often found in a dogs ears are Candida and Malassezia.

Yeast infections can occur in any part of the dogs ear. A dog with a yeast infection in their ear may exhibit these symptoms:

• Scratching and digging at the ear
• Rubbing the head on the floor, walls, or furniture
• Excessive shaking of the head
• Musty odor
• Brown, yellow, or bloody discharge
• Crusted skin or fur on the ear flap
• Swelling and redness
• Hair loss around the base of the ear

Early diagnosis and treatment of a yeast infection in the ears are critical before it spreads deeper. If a yeast infection spreads deeper into the ear, it can cause serious pain and complications, such as loss of hearing, vestibular imbalance, or neurological damage.

Yeast Infections on Paws

A dogs paws are susceptible to yeast infections because they encounter wet, dirty ground, which means moisture and dirt are likely to be trapped between the toes and pads. Contact with grass and weeds can also trigger allergies or result in cuts and scratches. Dogs are likely to lick their irritated paws, which doesnt help, instead adding even more moisture.

If your dog has a yeast infection on the paws, you may see the following symptoms:

Excessive licking and chewing of the feet

• Redness and irritated skin
• Brown discharge in nailbeds
• Pink salivary staining on the hair around the paws
• Hair loss

There could be many reasons a dog excessively licks their paws, including anxiety, boredom, injury, parasites, bacteria, or allergies, including food sensitivities. Early examination, diagnosis, and appropriate treatment by a veterinarian can relieve discomfort and prevent complications. This is made using a combination of their medical history and diagnostic swabs of the debris or accompanying cells.

Yeast Infections on Skin

Yeast dermatitis, a skin inflammation caused by yeast infections, can spread to any area of a dogs skin. But its most likely to occur at the site of a rash or wherever there are skin folds that can trap moisture. Wrinkly breeds, such as the Chinese Shar-Pei, are especially vulnerable.

Symptoms of yeast infections of the skin include:

• Intense itching
• Red, irritated, inflamed skin
• Greasy, crusty, or flaky patches
• Thickening (elephant-like) skin
• Darker skin color
• Hair loss
• Musty smell

Although a yeast infection of the skin may start in a very specific area, if left untreated, it can spread and affect the entire body, including the dogs face and mouth. Often, there may be a secondary bacterial infection accompanying the yeast infection.

How to Treat Yeast Infections in Dogs

Depending on how deep in the ear canal a yeast infection is, the treatment will vary. The veterinarian will prescribe a topical antifungal cream for an infection in the outer ear. An infection of the middle ear may require antifungal drops or oral medication. The vet is likely to recommend a thorough cleaning of the ear and possibly ongoing treatment with ear-drying solutions.

Yeast infections on the paws may require treatment with a disinfectant spray to kill germs, as well as daily application of a topical antifungal lotion or spray. It may also be necessary to use an Elizabethan collar to keep the dog from licking the paws so they can stay dry while they heal.

Skin infections may require topical and oral treatment. Cleansing shampoos may clean up the greasy skin. Your vet may recommend using a medicated, antifungal shampoo and leaving it on the dogs skin for about 10 minutes. Bathing may need to be repeated for up to 12 weeks. The veterinarian will also prescribe an antifungal medication, as well as an antibiotic, to treat any bacterial skin infection that may occur along with yeast dermatitis.

How to Prevent Yeast Infections in Dogs

The good news is that yeast infections in dogs are not contagious to other dogs or humans. The most important thing to remember to prevent yeast infections is to keep the area clean and dry.

Too much moisture is a common cause of ear infections, so thoroughly drying your dogs ears after swimming and bathing can prevent moisture build-up. If your dog has a skin rash, musty smell, or is scratching or licking excessively, taking them to the veterinarian can prevent an infection from spreading and becoming more serious.

The prognosis for yeast infections is good when you follow the treatments your veterinarian gives you. Its important to understand that unless an underlying problem such as allergies, hypothyroidism, or seborrhea is controlled, a yeast infection is likely to come back.

What to Feed a Dog With a Yeast Infection: Vet-Reviewed Guide

The information is current and up-to-date in accordance with the latest veterinarian research.

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If you have recently discovered that your dog has a yeast infection on their skin, between their toes, in their ears or all over, you want to work diligently to get them on the road to recovery. Yeast and bacterial infections of the skin are almost always secondary problems that have been allowed to take over due to a primary disease process or breed conformation. For example, a Shar-pei with deep set skin folds will be much more prone to yeast infections than a dog without skin folds, because yeasts thrive in warm, moist environments. Diseases that alter an animals skin defense such as Cushings disease, parasitic infestations and allergies, predispose an animal to yeast and bacterial skin infections.

In this article, were going to discuss some different ways you can enhance your dogs diet to improve the skins barrier to infection through diet and supplementation. Dogs with yeast infections will require veterinary assistance to diagnose the primary problem, treat the yeast infection and make a plan to prevent the infection from returning.

Ask Your Vet

Before trying to feed your dog something different to treat a yeast infection, make an appointment with your veterinarian. As a yeast infection is secondary to another problem, having your vet on board will help you, and especially help your dog.

Your dog could be getting a yeast infection for a variety of reasons, and they will require more than just over the counter or at-home treatments. It is imperative to get to the bottom of the problem so you can solve it once and for all.

While we mean to give you valuable information and suggestions, always clear any dietary changes and supplements with the medical professional who knows your dog best.

What to Feed a Dog with a Yeast Infection

If you have already spoken with your vet and youre looking for supplements that could help improve your dogs skin barrier and reduce the likelihood of a repeat infection, we have a few suggestions.

Prescription Dog Food

Yeast infections of the skin, feet or the ears are almost always secondary to an underlying problem. This primary problem is what has allowed a yeast infection to take hold and could be any number of things. One of the most common primary issues that predisposes a dog to a yeast infection are allergies, either to the environment or their food.

If your vet suspects a food allergy as the primary cause, they will likely advise that you buy a prescription dog food. They might want to try a specific brand or ingredient to see if it helps with the underlying allergy, and thus reduces the likelihood of the yeast infection recurring. Alternatively, they may recommend a hydrolyzed diet, where the proteins have been blitzed to such a small size that they essentially become invisible to your dogs immune system. Often, food trials can be taxing and long, but they are the best way of diagnosing a food allergy.

So, if you are trying your first prescription diet, remember that it wont work overnight, and that a food trial will take between 8-10 weeks to complete. Prescription diets can also be pricey, so be careful to follow your vets advice when picking the right one.

Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs)

There is a lot of research that has gone into finding supplements that help maintain the health of a dogs skin. This is particularly important when it comes to multi-modal management of dogs with allergic skin disease. Essential fatty acids are just that; essential nutrients that must be provided through an animals diet as they cannot be synthesized within the body.

Their function within the skin barrier is multi-fold, but in summary they help with the following:

• Improving the barrier function of the skin and thus reducing transepidermal water loss and microbe/allergen entry
• Modulating inflammatory pathways, reducing itching and thus reducing self-trauma to the skin layer.

Effective skin supplements are hugely useful in the management of allergic dogs, and should contain both omega-3 and omega-6. The sources of the EFAs used in veterinary supplements on the market varies greatly.

What else can I do to help my dogs skin?

1. Complete the course prescribed

Once your vet has diagnosed the primary problem and given you medication to use on your dogs skin, ensure you finish the course prescribed (be it an anti-fungal, ear drops, medicated shampoo etc) and ensure you visit your vet at the end of the course to ensure the infection has gone. Your vet will take a sample from the affected area of skin (usually with a cotton bud) and have a look under the microscope to ensure the infection has gone.

2. Prevent swimming

Dogs that love the water can be particularly prone to yeast infections in their ears, due to the constant warm and wet environment that is created. If you cant stop your dog from swimming, use an appropriate ear cleaner in both ears after the swimming event.

3. Ongoing management of your dogs condition

This depends on the primary diagnosis, but if your dog has been diagnosed with a systemic problem that has predisposed it to yeast infections, make sure you follow the advice of the vet and keep up with your dogs medications and check ups.

Keeping on top of parasite preventatives can reduce self-trauma, and therefore reduce the chance of another yeast infection.

Avoiding known allergens such as freshly cut grass or very dusty places can help to reduce your dogs itchiness, and therefore reduces self-trauma.

Regular cleaning of any skin folds and ears can help reduce the build up of yeasts, especially during the warmer months or after swimming.

What Causes Yeast Infections in Dogs?

There can be many different causes of a yeast infection in dogs, ranging from allergies, systemic disease processes, anatomy, conformation and parasitic infections.

In order to understand how to combat a yeast infection in your dog, it is important to know what the primary cause is first. For this, you will need to visit your vet to start investigations.

What Are the Signs of Yeast Infections in Dogs?

Usually, you will notice the signs of a yeast infection quite quickly, due to its classic, sweet and beer-like odor. Yeast infections are most common in a dogs ear canals, between its toes, or within skin folds.

Here are the usual signs of yeast infections in dogs, depending on the area infected:

Ears:

• Obsessively scratching ears
• Shaking head
• Classic odor
• Brown, yellow or bloody discharge from the ear
• Crusting on the inner part of the pinna (ear flap)
• Redness of ear canal

Paws:

• Obsessive licking and chewing feet
• Yellow saliva staining to hair around the paws
• Pinkness to the skin between the pads on the feet
• Brown discharge in nail beds

Skin (particularly skin folds):

• Intense itching
• Darker skin color
• Musty odor
• Flaky, greasy or crusty skin
• Red, irritated and inflamed skin

Which Dogs Are Most Susceptible to Yeast Infections?

Dogs with food and environmental allergies are highly susceptible to yeast infections, due to their poor skin barrier which allows allergens and pathogens in.

Certain breeds, such as British Bulldogs, Shar-Peis and French Bulldogs are prone to yeast infections of their skin folds, known as skin fold dermatitis. Breeds with long, droopy ears such as Cocker Spaniels and Labradors are more prone to yeasty ear infections.

How Are Yeast Infections Treated?

Treating a dog for a yeast infection will greatly depend on the signs that they are displaying. There are a wide variety of treatments for yeast infections, including topical antifungal creams, sprays, medicated shampoos, and wipes. If the infection requires continual topical management, your veterinarian might prescribe chlorhexidine or miconazole based shampoos.

If the yeast infection is proving very difficult to treat or is very widespread, your vet might prescribe antifungal medications by mouth. Ultimately, the goal is to relieve your pets discomfort and prevent yeast infections in the future. So, discovering the underlying reason why your dog is getting yeast infections is a good way to prevent them.

Is a Yeast Infection Life-Threatening?

A yeast infection on its own is not a fatal problem. However, if a yeast infection is left untreated for a long time, it can lead to complications. If a yeast infection spreads, it can cover the entire body and is very painful and uncomfortable. Because a yeast infection causes so much skin irritation, dogs commonly also develop a bacterial infection on top of the primary infection.

Is a Yeast Infection Contagious?

A yeast infection is not contagious. Therefore, if your dog develops a yeast infection, they did not get it from another dog or animal. Yeast infections occur due to a buildup of yeast on the skin that grows out of control.

How Can You Prevent Yeast Infections for Dogs?

The only way to prevent recurring yeast infections is to uncover the reason your dog is getting them in the first place.

Typically, there is a defined underlying reason for recurring yeast infections, such as allergies and other systemic conditions. Until the underlying problem is controlled, yeast infections will likely continue to be a problem for your dog.

It is important to work alongside your veterinarian at this time. You will likely have to go through a few tests and trials before uncovering the problem but a correct diagnosis can help to reduce or prevent the occurrence of future infections.

Conclusion

So now you know the basics of managing yeast infections, and hopefully feel more knowledgeable about the process of finding out what is causing them to occur and reoccur in your furry friend. Keep in mind, this article is not a substitute for professional guidance. Always ask your vet before making any changes to your dogs diet.

With any luck, you understand yeast infections in dogs just a little bit better, and hopefully, you can get your itchy pal on the path to better health.

Featured Image Credit: Kobkik, Shutterstock