OT - Skin condition on a dog.

[mrsilv04]

Has anyone fought a skin condition with a dog, caused by yeast.... and won?

And to "win".. what did you do?

My folks' dog is in a mess, and I hate to see any dog be uncomfortable.

They've taken it to the vet twice, and the dog gets a steroid shot which appears to only be a short term fix.

I've spent about 5 hours total reading what there is on the internet. We're now giving him a couple tablespoons of yogurt each day, along with 200 million acidophilus bacteria (a probiotic) a day.

We've changed his diet (different food), and are also giving him a product which is a competitor of Dynovite each day.

We're seeing small progress, and he seems to be responding favorably to these changes.

One thing that I read today was applying a 50/50 mix of Apple Cider vinegar and water directly to the affected skin. Basically, the acidophilus and yogurt fights from inside, and the vinegar/water mix fights from the outside.

I've never seen anything like this, and hope that my dog doesn't ever develop this.

Has anyone been though this, and can offer any advice?

 

[Shannow]

My elkhound, I had good results with a little copper sulfate in the vinegar...

 

[dparm]

Is it allergies? My parents had a dog with allergies -- had to give him a shot every week or he would be very itchy and uncomfortable.

 

[BISCUT]

Apple Cider vinegar was what worked for my boyhood dog back in "The Day."

 

[oldhp]

Check where your dog food is made. No China [censored]. Vet said try any American made dog food. Switched to Alpo. Chewing stopped.

 

[ClutchDisc]

What food are you feeding?

 

[Ndx]

Food quality is important - http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/
Probotics
Salmon fish oil

Shampoo natural stuff amazon has some ...

I would stay away from steroids

Maybe you have a holistic vet around for next time.

 

[tenderloin]

Try Dinovite. You maybe surprised...

 

[285south]

My dog started losing his hair and I'm not sure if it was caused by yeast, a bug, bacteria rash or all three, but eventually it grew back after two months which seemed like forever. I too was very worried for the little one while the larger one did not get it. I have pictures of the hair loss but not posting them here, ask if you want to see them.

I went to the big-box pet store and bought some stuff but after a few days that was useless. So I concocted my own remedies;

Fresh filtered water with a dose of Knudsen Cranberry Juice, hand washed their bowls every 3rd day, vacuumed every other day, washed all my clothes and linens in hot water with detergent then right again with Kleen Free Naturally Enzyme Solution Cleaner. Added Salmon oil to their dry dog food. Washed their paws every other day, bought him a Dog Cone to put around his neck. Quit taking them to the dog park (more of a gravel patch full of baked urine and I fully believe this is where he contracted it.)

Went to CVS and bought a bottle of Mineral Oil. Went to the 99 cent store and bought several bottles of Hydrogen Peroxide and a package of q-tips. With the q-tips I poured some mineral oil into the cap and dipped them to wipe the inside of his ears 4x a day. With the Hydrogen Peroxide I would marinate his ears with it, let it bubble up, washed it off with warm water, repeat 2x a day for an entire week, after that I would just q-tip the where the largest spots were for one more week then stopped. Washed him 4x that month then back to the regular once-a-month shampoo and wash. Threw away all the tennis balls and old brush. Hot wash with dawn all the toys, boiled them for 2 minutes in the boiling hot pot of water on the stove then double zip-bagged them and placed in the freezer for a month. Fed them a mid-day snack of a whole apple or pear or carrot or bell pepper or a scrambled egg or a half cup of pumkin/sweet potato.

I feed my dogs GRAIN-FREE dog food. Corn, Grain, and fillers are the number one reason dogs have health issues. Dogs derived from the Wolf and naturally need to eat like a wolf.

No offense but Alpo is garbage, along with the name brand dog food in your local groceries. Also many have been recalled. After adopting mine, I fed them Taste of the Wild, then a few months later I read about the Diamond Recall in 2012, among others like Costco's Kirkland, and switched to Acana.

Feed Acana Pacifica with a squirt of Iceland Pure Salmon Oil (Kept in the Refrigerator) on the kibble in the morning and night. Salmon oil does wonders. Wash my dogs once a month with Earthbath All Natural Shampoo and Sentry Natural Defense Flea Shampoo.

 

[mcrn]

I had a dog with bad skin for awhile....vet did his dips and all that garbage which made his skin a little better but was making him sick at the same time. I just washed my dog and after bath i coated him with oatmeal. i just cooked a bowl of instant oatmeal and just patted it on his skin and let it sit there for at least 10 minutes and rinsed off. Made a world of difference. I also agree with going with grain free food. Dogs were not meant to eat grain.

 

[mcrn]

Also im using a soap now called Balance and its the EMU oil version. This stuff is $16 a bottle but you can mix it 4 parts water to 1 part soap. Its not really even considered a soap.....you can use it everyday for your dog. it smells good and my dogs used to lick their paws and other parts after a bath, they do not do that since I switched to this soap and it makes their coat feel great