Why Does My Dog Itch and Smell?
Canine Candida - Yeast
Does your dog suffer from persistent skin infections and itching? Maybe even right after a bath he smells like a bag of moldy Fritos? Many dogs suffer from canine candida, an organism classified as both a yeast and a fungus. It is often misdiagnosed as allergies or rashes. It looks like inflammation and redness on the feet, face, underarm, underbelly, or sometimes all over the body. Yeast infections can also appear as recurring hot spots or infections of the ears, eyes, bladder, or urinary tract.
So how do you know if it is yeast?
Many veterinarians overlook the symptoms of a yeast infection vs a bacterial infection. Yeast has an odor. Many say their dog smells like Fritos in the beginning. The smell then turns more pungent and will not go away even with a bath. You may see scabs and scales on the skin. Often there are black spots on the belly and can be accompanied by pustules. The feet can be swollen, red and warm. There will be hair loss as well in areas of the body that are affected. They are not treated the same yet many are and result in reinfection every time. As with any diagnosis for your fur baby, you have to treat it with diet and supplements to prevent the reoccurring symptoms.
The cold, hard facts about diet and Candida.
Candid lives on sugars and carbohydrates, which are present in most commercial pet foods. Carbohydrates feed the yeast causing it to grow or “combust” especially in the warm weather. This will kill the beneficial bacteria in the stomach. Treating with antibiotics, will kill some of the candida, but also destroys the beneficial bacteria needed for proper digestion and body absorption. After the antibiotic treatment is complete, the overgrowth resumes, causing a cycle that is difficult to reverse.
Proper nutrition is most important in treating your pet. The first step is to eliminate carbohydrates and sugars from your animal’s diet. We recommend a raw diet, which is the purest form of nutrition for your dog. We also recommend another option: Grain free, potato free, canned and kibble foods. Quality is important and all grain free pet foods are not the same. You want a grain free, potato free, food that uses free range, quality meats. The same goes for all treats. We offer a consultation that can help you find the right food for your pet and help monitor the progress.
Proper nutrition is the first step. Step two involves destroying the candida organism. Your veterinarian can prescribe antibiotics and shampoo to treat the infection and help kill the yeast. The shampoo will dry the yeast but also dry the rest of the skin. We recommend that once the yeast is gone to stop using the shampoo prescribed. Over drying the skin causes itchy skin and makes is suspectable to bacterial infections. Step three is to add supplements to help kill the yeast and regrow the gut health of your pet. Adding coconut oil to your dog’s food helps kill yeast, as well as adds the important omegas to the skin. Unrefined coconut oil is the best due to its medicinal properties. Begin with a small amount and gradually increase to the proper dose: one teaspoon for every 15 pounds of body weight, capping the dose at 4 teaspoons for larger dogs. Too much coconut oil too quickly can cause greasy stools, or diarrhea. It is important to provide plenty of drinking water during this time to help flush out the toxins.
About two weeks into this treatment, it is important to start rebuilding the beneficial stomach bacteria. This is achieved by adding probiotics to their food. As with the coconut oil, start slowly and build up to the desired amount (as recommended by manufacturer). We always recommend Nature’s Farmacy, Probiotic Max. They use the purest ingredients and combine them to have proper absorption. Many, including what the vets recommend, are synthetic and do not absorb properly.
Is this working?
You bet it’s working! As the good flora in the digestive tracts corrects itself and the body rids itself of the toxins from the yeast and the antibiotics, symptoms will begin to subside. There may be some remaining itching and skin breakouts. You can treat individual areas with the prescribed shampoo to help. Reach out to us for more recommendations on shampoos, grooming and nutrition that will keep the yeast away. Remember it will take time to reset the flora in the gut and to kill off the yeast by not feeding it the carbs and sugars that it craves.
The holistic approach is working and your pet will be healthier for it!
Annette Clark
Certified Pet Nutritionist, Pet Allergy Specialist, Master Groomer
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