Many dogs suffer from skin problems. These can originate from a multitude of of causes, with the most common being skin allergies, which in themselves have a variety of origins.
But a fairly common skin problem in dogs that is not so widely known is the skin problem caused by a bacterial or fungal skin infection, the most common type of which is a yeast infection.
A yeast infection is of the fungal type. It is basically a naturally occurring organism that is always present on the skin, but has gotten out of control. Yeast lives on normal skin, as well as in the ears and in the anal glands. But it’s when the yeast starts to multiply that problems develop.
The first signs of a yeast infection will probably be a rash on your dog’s skin. The underlying cause for the proliferation of the yeast organism may well be an allergic reaction. But once the yeast starts to “overgrow”, it will cause health problems for your dog regardless of whether the allergen is still present or not.
Another common cause of a yeast infection is an immune system problem – an underactive immune system, or immune deficiency. Boosting the immune system can prevent yeast infections in dogs from developing.
So it’s useful to know what the underlying causes of the yeast infection are so that those causes can be treated as well. If they’re not, even after you’ve treated the yeast infection and got it under control, the infection can recur because the cause has not also been treated.
There are a number of dog breeds that are particularly susceptible to yeast infections (although any breed can, of course, suffer from this condition). These susceptible breeds are the Basset Hound, Cocker Spaniel, Chihuahua, Poodle, Silky Terrier, Australian Terrier, Dachshund, Maltese, Lhasa Apso, Shetland Sheepdog, German Shepherd, and the West Highland White Terrier.
Once your dog has a yeast infection affecting his/her skin, it’s very important to keep the oil secretions on the skin to a minimum, since the sebaceous oil produced by the skin will actually “feed” the yeast infection.
Sometimes a yeast infection in your dog will manifest as a localized rash affecting only a small part of the body, while other times the infection can affect the entire body, in which event, the infection may be accompanied by an unpleasant smell.
If the whole body is affected, then frequent bathing is recommended (twice per week, and leaving the shampoo on the dog for 15 minutes before rinsing), while for smaller areas you may be able to treat only the small area. One way of doing this is by dabbing diluted vinegar (half vinegar and half water) on the rash on a daily basis.
There are specific anti-fungal shampoos that your vet may recommend, that contain various chemicals, including some brands of human dandruff shampoo.
But you should also treat the problem from the inside out. Your vet may prescribe a drug treatment, usually Ketoconazole, which can have some nasty side effects. But there are some very effective natural remedies for dog skin conditions that can work just as well as the drugs, but without the undesirable side effects.
Click on the links following for more information on some products that may help:
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12 thoughts on “Yeast Infection and Skin Problems”
julie stephens
Hi Bridgette,
I really like this blog idea, you do a great job,and I have learnt a lot from your imformation.I feed both my dogs all natural raw food ,I throw in a bit of nutural dy food but not much,if I use canned food , they both get diaherra,at the moment my female shepherd has got a yeast infection in one ear,plus 2 different types of bacteria,in the ear as well,the vet had to put her under to do all these tests in her ear, they have given me some drops to put in her ear twice a day,but this is almost impossible, I just have to think about putting it in her ear and shes gone, she would rather sleep out in the rain, than let me put this in her ear,the vets tell me they can operate on her ear to fix the problem, but will cost me a fortune,have you got any advice on how to get these drops in her ear,or if there is an alternative , I am worried about her, vets tell me its caused through moisture in the ear,which is possible as she puts her whole head in a bucket of water when she drinks, just loves playing in water regardless of weather, anyway I have got off the track a bit, I love this blogg idea,good luck with it.
Brigitte Smith
Hi Julie,
Thanks for your feedback. I really appreciate it.
Ear infections can be a real problem with some dogs. I’m not sure why submerging her head would cause a yeast infection in your dog’s ear, but that’s probably because I’m not vet, so have no understanding of these things.
We had a beautiful cocker spaniel who had recurrent ear infections her whole life. They were caused by an allergy to meat products, and exacerbated by submerging her head (she used to love jumping into the family swimming pool and going for a swim with us, and we always had to keep her out, so her ears wouldn’t become reinfected). So certainly water does exacerbate ear infections.
You should persevere with the drops your vet has given you.
But what you might want to consider is detoxing your dog’s system with the toxin remover I mentioned. If allergies are involved in this yeast infection, or if the yeast infection is caused by a suppressed immune system due to toxins from drugs and chemicals she’s had in the past, the toxin remover may help.
Please note as always that I’m not a vet and I have no veterinary training whatsoever. Any suggestions I make are based solely on my own very limited experience as a dog owner like yourself.
Regards,
Brigitte
Meredith a. Kilwine
Love the new format, and thank you so much for this wonderful website. Great information.
Brigitte Smith
Thanks, Meredith!
Anne Schutte
Where can we find safe dog toys that do not contain items manufactured in China? I’m concerned that I may be giving them toys containing toxic paint/chemicals/pesticides to play with. I have found a couple of brands that are made in the USA but there aren’t many choices in the stores and one of the rubber toys I purchased last year(made in China) leached the bright orange coloring all over my dog! This is a worry.
julie stephens
Thanks for the advice Brigitte,I will try some of the Toxin remover and see what happens, I am at the stage where I will try anything, I am tearing my hair out trying to get these drops in Mollys ear she just hates it, sometimes I can get them in her ear when she is asleep, but even then its hit or miss, its getting to the stage where she doesnt seem to trust me anymore,which is all rather sad, so hope this Toxin remover works. I will let you know what happens.
Not sure that your questions has anything to do with yeast infections in dogs! but I’ve located a couple of dog toys that are made in the US –
Planet Dog Flyer – blue/orange – $ 12.99
This super soaring disc flies a far distance but is so soft and easy to catch. Choose from 2 colors each with a minty scent!
and
Red Rover 3 Knot Rope Tug – various colors and sizes
These rope tugs are strong, safe, and help clean teeth and gums. Made with durable tennis balls and high density all natural cotton rope with a flossy web to help reduce plaque.
Hope your dog likes them!
Regards,
Brigitte
Lisa
I have a Golden Retriever and we started out being on Prednisone and Cephelexin to help with him stroke. The stroke affected his one eye and one side of his mouth ( a little droopy). two weeks later we took him in with bloating and circular spots all over his stomach. The vet diagnosed spider bites. He gave us Cephexarin shampoo. His spots turned black and now his skin is turning black. They took him off of the prednisone and Cephalexin and did blood tests and skin biopsies. The results were 1st atophy and 2nd bacterial folliculitis with dermititis ring worm. He had been fine up to his small stroke. Also his liver counts were high probably cause of the prednisone he was one. They have him on prednisolone now and shampooing 3 x a week with the above shampoo. (Not sure of the correct spelling right now). Any way my question do you think his darkening skin is from yeast because he was on the cephalexin for a while? And what will help his black skin?
bonnie
I have a wire fox terrier with severe skin problems. I have tried medication from the VEt– Atopica and it has worsened. I changed her food to Deer & Sweet Potato holistic food & it has cut down on her itching and bitting- but still looks bad. Just ordered a yeast kit from Nzymes.com and really hope it works. Have any of you tried this? Or a paste to rub on them made up of baking soda, water or listerine?
Debby
Please check out the Solid Gold web site. It may have something on there to help.
BETH
My toy poodle started with a rash on stomach and then started with a cough. He was put on three rounds of antibiotics and was dying from the yeast infection in his lungs. I took him off the antibiotics and gave him1/2 tsp of collidal silver 3 x a day for 10 days , he improved greatly. It kills yeast . I ordered zymox ear drops for yeast from amazon , cleared up the ear in 7 days . Intacalzone from vet is given orally for fungis and he did that and all cleared up. I took him off all grains and carbs. Meat and veg only mixed with chicken broth for flavor, that helped alot .Order Ox-E drops and give 2 drops a day for yeast control . Very hard to cure so I did it all , it can still come back . Also give 1/2 cap of acidophilus daily in food.
Good article. Do you know whether Betadyne (surgical scrub) works to kill yeast infections. It seems to work well for almost everything else and it keeps the dogs wonderfully clean. Good luck with your site.
A yeast infection is of the fungal type. It is basically a naturally occurring organism that is always present on the skin, but has gotten out of control. Yeast lives on normal skin, as well as in the ears and in the anal glands. But it’s when the yeast starts to multiply that problems develop.
Hi Bridgette,
I really like this blog idea, you do a great job,and I have learnt a lot from your imformation.I feed both my dogs all natural raw food ,I throw in a bit of nutural dy food but not much,if I use canned food , they both get diaherra,at the moment my female shepherd has got a yeast infection in one ear,plus 2 different types of bacteria,in the ear as well,the vet had to put her under to do all these tests in her ear, they have given me some drops to put in her ear twice a day,but this is almost impossible, I just have to think about putting it in her ear and shes gone, she would rather sleep out in the rain, than let me put this in her ear,the vets tell me they can operate on her ear to fix the problem, but will cost me a fortune,have you got any advice on how to get these drops in her ear,or if there is an alternative , I am worried about her, vets tell me its caused through moisture in the ear,which is possible as she puts her whole head in a bucket of water when she drinks, just loves playing in water regardless of weather, anyway I have got off the track a bit, I love this blogg idea,good luck with it.
Hi Julie,
Thanks for your feedback. I really appreciate it.
Ear infections can be a real problem with some dogs. I’m not sure why submerging her head would cause a yeast infection in your dog’s ear, but that’s probably because I’m not vet, so have no understanding of these things.
We had a beautiful cocker spaniel who had recurrent ear infections her whole life. They were caused by an allergy to meat products, and exacerbated by submerging her head (she used to love jumping into the family swimming pool and going for a swim with us, and we always had to keep her out, so her ears wouldn’t become reinfected). So certainly water does exacerbate ear infections.
You should persevere with the drops your vet has given you.
But what you might want to consider is detoxing your dog’s system with the toxin remover I mentioned. If allergies are involved in this yeast infection, or if the yeast infection is caused by a suppressed immune system due to toxins from drugs and chemicals she’s had in the past, the toxin remover may help.
Please note as always that I’m not a vet and I have no veterinary training whatsoever. Any suggestions I make are based solely on my own very limited experience as a dog owner like yourself.
Regards,
Brigitte
Love the new format, and thank you so much for this wonderful website. Great information.
Thanks, Meredith!
Where can we find safe dog toys that do not contain items manufactured in China? I’m concerned that I may be giving them toys containing toxic paint/chemicals/pesticides to play with. I have found a couple of brands that are made in the USA but there aren’t many choices in the stores and one of the rubber toys I purchased last year(made in China) leached the bright orange coloring all over my dog! This is a worry.
Thanks for the advice Brigitte,I will try some of the Toxin remover and see what happens, I am at the stage where I will try anything, I am tearing my hair out trying to get these drops in Mollys ear she just hates it, sometimes I can get them in her ear when she is asleep, but even then its hit or miss, its getting to the stage where she doesnt seem to trust me anymore,which is all rather sad, so hope this Toxin remover works. I will let you know what happens.
Hi Anne,
Not sure that your questions has anything to do with yeast infections in dogs! but I’ve located a couple of dog toys that are made in the US –
Planet Dog Flyer – blue/orange – $ 12.99
This super soaring disc flies a far distance but is so soft and easy to catch. Choose from 2 colors each with a minty scent!
Red Rover 3 Knot Rope Tug – various colors and sizes
These rope tugs are strong, safe, and help clean teeth and gums. Made with durable tennis balls and high density all natural cotton rope with a flossy web to help reduce plaque.
Regards,
Brigitte
I have a Golden Retriever and we started out being on Prednisone and Cephelexin to help with him stroke. The stroke affected his one eye and one side of his mouth ( a little droopy). two weeks later we took him in with bloating and circular spots all over his stomach. The vet diagnosed spider bites. He gave us Cephexarin shampoo. His spots turned black and now his skin is turning black. They took him off of the prednisone and Cephalexin and did blood tests and skin biopsies. The results were 1st atophy and 2nd bacterial folliculitis with dermititis ring worm. He had been fine up to his small stroke. Also his liver counts were high probably cause of the prednisone he was one. They have him on prednisolone now and shampooing 3 x a week with the above shampoo. (Not sure of the correct spelling right now). Any way my question do you think his darkening skin is from yeast because he was on the cephalexin for a while? And what will help his black skin?
I have a wire fox terrier with severe skin problems. I have tried medication from the VEt– Atopica and it has worsened. I changed her food to Deer & Sweet Potato holistic food & it has cut down on her itching and bitting- but still looks bad. Just ordered a yeast kit from Nzymes.com and really hope it works. Have any of you tried this? Or a paste to rub on them made up of baking soda, water or listerine?
Please check out the Solid Gold web site. It may have something on there to help.
My toy poodle started with a rash on stomach and then started with a cough. He was put on three rounds of antibiotics and was dying from the yeast infection in his lungs. I took him off the antibiotics and gave him1/2 tsp of collidal silver 3 x a day for 10 days , he improved greatly. It kills yeast . I ordered zymox ear drops for yeast from amazon , cleared up the ear in 7 days . Intacalzone from vet is given orally for fungis and he did that and all cleared up. I took him off all grains and carbs. Meat and veg only mixed with chicken broth for flavor, that helped alot .Order Ox-E drops and give 2 drops a day for yeast control . Very hard to cure so I did it all , it can still come back . Also give 1/2 cap of acidophilus daily in food.
Good article. Do you know whether Betadyne (surgical scrub) works to kill yeast infections. It seems to work well for almost everything else and it keeps the dogs wonderfully clean. Good luck with your site.