Dog Food: Yeast-y Dog needs a change!

[rockonxox]

I’ve been going to the vet constantly for my American Bulldog who is prone to allergies/hives and constantly has yeasty ears and feet. Right now he is on Simply Nourish Sweet Potato dry food. He doesn’t have the hives with it but still has yeast and smells. Yes, he has the pleasant yeasty frito smell that is absolutely disgusting.

I have not done a test for allergies and at this point I am not planning to. As far as I know he is mainly a seasonal allergy sufferer versus a food one but depending on how trying new food goes I may get the allergy test done.

I read that grain free food is best. I only have a Petsmart within reasonable distance so it must be a food that they carry. I am not intersted in raw diet or canned food. Any suggestions for food or good non-bandaid solutions (ie: vet meds) for the yeast issues is appreciated.

[spotted_draft_x_fill]

I’ve used Blue Buffalo Wilderness on my dog with allergies and chronic ear problems. Petsmart does carry it

[kasjordan]

You can order your food online and have it delivered to your house, the price is competitive with buying from the store…There are a ton of different sites and lots of them offer first time discounts and free shipping. You will have much more variety that way.
Wag.com
Chewy.com
PetFoodDirect.com
even Amazon.
I get my Merrick Grain Free online and delivered now and I’m saving money from when I was buying Blue Buffalo.

[SuckerForHorses]

Is Simply Nourish a grain free food?

[wendy]

if you don’t know what the dog is allergic to, all you’re doing is random trial-and-error.

I assume you’re talking about the salmon n sweet potato simply nourish formula? That’s pretty much as good as it gets, unless of course the dog is allergic to salmon, sweet potatoes, carrots, or flaxseed. Salmon n sweet potato are highly anti-inflammatory and should improve reactions to other allergens, such as environmental allergens, which may be the lack of hives you are seeing.

You could try Nutro’s limited ingredient lamb and rice formula or venison and rice(carried at Petsmart) and just see if the dog improves or gets worse away from salmon/sweet potatoes. Blue buffalo also has a bunch of limited ingredient formulas (carried at Petsmart) you could try, but again it’s all trial and error.

have you tried antihistamines? OTC ones for humans, talk to your vet about dosage. These are often effective for doggy environmental allergies.

[LauraKY]

Have you had his thyroid levels checked?

[Cherry]

Along with a change in dog food you might also feed a non-dairy lactobacillus. I think I saw it in capsule come in a Vitamin World catalog; try calling your pharmacist if you can’t find it. Or add non fat plain yogurt to his meal (dogs don’t handle fat well). This will help keep the yeast in check.

Best of luck!

[Foxtrot_s]

We use plain yogurt for our Boxer to help her with her gas issues - seems to work, as Boxers are notorious for that problem.

[Sunsets]

My GSD had a serious yeast issue. Malassezia, according to the vet.

It started before I rescued him, and he was severely hypothyroid. Even once we had that under control, he was still itchy and smelly. I tried yogurt, I tried supplementing with fish oil, I went grain-free, but nothing helped. My vet bascially told me that “yeah, he’s probably got some allergies, but this is Houston and every dog is allergic to SOMETHING at some time during the year”, and then suggested that I try a prescription food that she had seen good results using.

Royal Canin Skin Support SS did the trick. Miracle food. I will sing its praises forever. Within 6 weeks I had a non-itchy, non-smelly, glossy coated dog. It is primarily whitefish and rice, and also contains curcumin, which is a good anti-inflammatory agent. I had my vet write a prescription into Chewy.com and I have it on auto-refill.

It might be worth trying before you drop the cash on allergy testing. But definitely check that thyroid level first!