[Dori]

I wouldn’t. I have a dog with many food intolerances and allergies as well as environmental issues. She had very yeasty ears. What fixed that issue was going to an all grain free diet also free of corn, soy, white potatoes and any type of poultry. I avoid anything that has any type of yeast in it. Any food or supplements that I have tried with her that contain yeast of any sort starts the yeasty ears all over again. My other two dogs though not having any allergies or intolerances whatsoever also used to have gunky ears. Their ears have all cleared up also once I made all the switches. All clear now. Good Luck.

[Zach M]

Can I give my dog active dry yeast, or yeast culture, for her dog food? The product Dinovite uses it to cure ear infections so I was wondering on it.

[Bobby dog]

I am not sure if Bentley has seen his Vet for diagnosis yet, but I read this article posted by HDM with some interesting info on yeasty dogs. Maybe you want to reconsider giving Bentley honey due to its sugar content and try bee pollen instead. If he has a yeast condition this could be why you saw initial improvement then nothing; the sugar from honey feeds yeast.
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/05/03/eating-these-foods-can-make-your-dog-itch-like-crazy.aspx

[NectarMom]

I been using Brother’s Complete for 2 yrs and 3 of mine do fine on it and my 4th girl does not do well on it because she is allergic to Poultry and fish but I can honestly say before I started using it my dogs smelled yeasty and it took approx. 8 months to get the yeast out of their systems when feeding only Brother’s Complete and now they are free and clear of Candida Yeast. I now rotate different brands that are grain free and white potato free. Brother’s Complete will always be one of our rotation foods.

[Becca]

no I have not tried that one. I crush fresh garlic and I ordered nutritional yeast, to see if that will work just found out brewers yeast can cause bloat. I will look into the info you sent thank you.

[ladyquixote]

Hi all, first want to thank ya’ll for all the great info you supply here. Have been gathering nutrition info for about a year now and have some major budgeting concerns regarding planning cooked meals for my two dogs. Background: Eldest dog, Gracie is 12 y.o./55# (she is much bigger than standard Aussie) and has major yeast and anxiety problems. Found an alt vet last March who prescribed a variety of chinese herb powders which have significantly helped both problems but still a work in progress. Second dog, Tonto is about 3-1/2 (turned up at my front door emaciated last year and ended up part of our family). He weighs about 60 and is experiencing airborne allergies, due for vet check tomorrow for further input. Both are Aussie mixes.

Foodwise, they were on a mix of the 5-star dry no-grain dog foods since beginning of last year, then began adding the usual recommended toppers plus supplements and then transitioned to all-cooked meals over the last three months. It’s quickly begun taking a lot of my time to prepare meals, so this evening I sat down to figure out my monthly cost. Until now I would go out and buy enough food for a week so the cost bite wasn’t so noticeable.

I knew it was getting too costly but the final tally ended up being $15/day for two dogs! Way, way too much. In addition to the food, there are the supplemental herbs and now monthly visits to the alt vet to check progress which should end once both dogs level off with their itchies.

I’ve removed cottage cheese, carrots and rice which make great fillers because both dogs’ itchies worsened. So more meat takes the place.

My question to you is this, if I switch back to at least level 4-star dry dog food and toppers what would you suggest would be the right ratio between the both?

Gracie’s daily calorie target: 1037, Tonto’s daily calorie target: 1280
Here is a sample 1-day meal divided into two meals for Gracie:
— Chicken Liver pate, (chicken liver smothered then pureed): 2 TBSP 47 Cal
— Chicken Hearts, (lightly smothered then chopped fine): 1-1/2C 402 Cal
— Turkey, Ground; 93% Lean: 1-1/4C 425 Cal
— Mixed Veggies, 1 Cup Cooked then pureed: 40 Cal
— Pumpkin, Canned; 2 TBSP: 13 Cal
— Berries, 1/2 C: 36 Cal
— Alternate Every Day: Either 1-Egg or 1/2 tin Sardines in Water: 65-72 Cal
— Supplements include, Probiotics, 1/2 tsp finely ground eggshells, 1-multi, fish oil or coconut oil.

I’d be interested in your input as well as hearing what your average cost per day is for two medium sized dogs! Thanks so much.

[Jackie B]

I tried everything– parsley, distilled water, eye wipes, food with no dyes, grain-free, hypoallergenic, yeast starvation diet, on and on. Finally I broke down and bought Tylan powder. 1/8 tsp twice a day for 3 weeks– and my mini poodle’s eye stains are gone and have been gone for weeks now. This is the same antibiotic used in Angel’s Eyes, and previously I wanted to avoid antibiotics, but he was miserable with the scratching and eye rubbing. Buying the Tylan by itself is cheaper than the Angel Eye’s. The taste is horrible and bitter but my dog didn’t seem to care.

[Bobby dog]

Oops, forgot about your plan/phone issues, sorry! Anyway, it may be something that can help out while you are discussing things with your mom. 😉 I do use the solution as part of treatment plans for certain infections with my horses with no issues.

I used the pov/io shampoo on Bobby before (it worked great), but never thought of using the solution for him when he had his yeast and hot spot issues. Wish I knew I could use it as she demonstrates in the video, poor little guy probably wouldn’t have been so uncomfortable last summer. I definately will be using it as Dr. Becker demonstrated if he ever has skin issues in the future.

[Bobby dog]

AKari:
Did you happen to check out the Mercola link I sent you in my last reply? I know finances are an issue, but what they talk about in the video might provide some treatment (if it is an infection) as well as relief for a very affordable price! You can pick up a bottle of povidone/iodine solution at Wal-Mart for $6.24 and it will last you forever. The other benefit for you is that it does not require bathing! From the video, according to Dr. Becker “The solution I’m about to use will take care of staph, yeast, and pretty much any common bacteria, but doesn’t sting or irritate the dog’s skin at all. And it’s safe if dogs lick the area after cleaning.”

I inquired about ordering it a while ago and got the run around about if it wasn’t on the website you couldn’t order large quantities. I never followed up with customer service, so you never know. I would love to do that though.

[DogFoodie]

No oatmeal shampoo for a yeast pup! Oatmeal feeds Malassezia. I’d choose one of the medicated shampoos the others mentioned or an antifungal shampoo. Or choose a shampoo that is clear, not creamy, and has an essential oil like tea tree oil.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by DogFoodie.

[Susan]

Yes, Shasta 220 is right.. treating the outside is just as importatnt with dry itchy skin, you need a real good medicated shampoo that kills bacteria (yeast) I use Medicated Malaseb shampoo & bath every 5-7 days as soon as Patch starts his scratching its bath time…His feet are real bad at the moment cause we are having heaps of rain so I fill a shallow bath & put a couple of caps of Detol Antiseptic lotion in water & soak his feet they smell awful like corn, you can smell him when he sits next to me like a bad yeasty bread shop a real yukky yeasty smell, after I soaked his feet, then I washed his feet in some Medicated Malaseb shampoo the reddness has gone & he has stopped licking… so we’ll sleep tonight..try to get a medicated shampoo that kills bacteria of the skin.. with food low carbs no potatoes, sweet potatoes, any foods that converts to sugar are NO good as they make yeast… scratching can start the bacteria breeding & spreading, so bath weekly…. If you cant find Malaseb look for Paws (Pure Animal Wellbeing) Nutriderm Replenishing Shampoo & Conditioner for dry itchy skin.. I bath in the Malaseb shampoo then the Paws Conditioner, the conditioner u leave on their skin to moisturise & soften the skin..u’ll need to do this routine probably for the rest of his life even though they start to look real good & stop scratching you can then maybe bath fornightly, in winter Patches itch slows down, then when summer is back so is his seasonal allergies..

[pugmomsandy]

That site has a “yeast starvation diet” recipe too. And the recipes call for only 2 supplements!

[Kay G]

I am currently feeding Fromm GF dry & rotate the proteins. I also had in raw toppers once or twice a day. I have 3 Springers and 1 Cavalier. My oldest Springer (7) has numerous health issues which I have been told are immune related, one being bad allergies/yeast. He has had double ACL surgery, sees a chiropractor regularly and on supplements for his joints, immune system etc. but he just doesn’t seem “right”. After doing research, Nature’s Logic was suggested to me because it does not have the starchy carbs that feeds the yeast (potatoes, peas etc.) that is in the Fromm food. My only concern is the millet in the Nature’s Logic. I bought a bag of Chicken to try, so we will see how he handles it. I am also leaning toward switching the other three dogs over to Nature’s Logic mainly because it is easier for me to feed all four dogs the same thing….. does anyone have feed back on this they could share with me?

[Akari_32]

You guys may recall, my moms dog, Bentley, is always itchy. Right now, his back half is almost completely bald, and his skin is bright red. No matter what we do, what foods he’s on, what protein and carb sources the food has or doesn’t have, fleas or no fleas (obviously we strive for no fleas, but we have some sort of freakish super fleas around here, and he’s so small he’s like a flea magnet in the grass). It just doesn’t matter. We yell at him for scratch so much that he actually goes and hides so he can scratch. Crafty little terrier… Lol

He also smells. Doesn’t matter of he just had a bath or not. He’s stinky. I think it’s a yeast thing?

I’m 99% sure most of it has to do with seasonal allergies, as he gets much better in the winter, and almost all his hair grows back by the time is warms up again for spring.

I always hear of these stories of these dogs that are doing terrible on any kibble, no matter what kind it is, and then they are put on raw and all their problems go away, or are greatly reduced to the point where they can actually be dogs again.

Does anyone have tips on how I can do an extremely cheap raw diet? And is it cheaper to go with a RMB base and not supplement calcium, or to do mostly muscle meat and supplement the calcium, etc associated with bones? Money is defiantly an issue, but we can’t have this freakish Chinese crested/poodle/terrier Frankenstein love child looking thing. There is a Save-A-Lot near the house, which I know would help with the cost, but I’m not sure the quality of their meats. We usually shop at Publix or SAMs Club for meat, depending on what we need. We also have Winn Dixie. I know they do great deals on meat, as well.

He’s about 8 pounds, very active (so fat isn’t too much of a problem), and loves him a good raw bone (I’ve given him chicken necks, pig knuckles, a few others before).

And back on the supplement thing again, is it possible to feed raw with no supplements? What supplements are some cost effective ones?

I’d love to hear of some of your recipes and weekly meal plans and such, as well 🙂

[Bobby dog]

Some signs of food intolerances are itchiness, dry skin, skin irritations (ex: hot spots), digestive issues, yeast infections in the ear, but there are many more signs as each dog is different.

[Dori]

I’m always on the search for yeast free food and always thankful if someone knows of any and passes it along. Thanks. Dori

[Marietta B]

Neezerfan, thank you for the coupon code! Dori, there are plenty of other great yeast free foods out there. Being a dog food nut like me, I’m sure you know that haha.

[Dori]

Unfortunately for me, after checking out Only Natural Pet and The Real Meat Co. they contain yeast and one of my girls is intolerant to yeast and a host of other proteins and ingredients. Thanks for the info though.

[Susan]

Hi, my rescue English Staffy boy that I rescued about 17months ago sounds like ur girl, Ive been having problems with his paws & ears since Feburuary, he was put on an elimation diet I found he cant have sweet potatoes & potatos make him itch more probably cause of the carbs in the Potatos Ive found that when he walks on wet grass of a money his paws are worst, making them red & itchy Ive been putting Cortic-DS 1% cream that I use for myself this cream will clear his paws if I put on at night before bed when he wakes up his red sore paws are all better I go for our morning walk then by lunch he’s starting to lick his feet if he has walked on grass..with his ear vet gave me Dermotic (ear & skin suspension) these drops clear his ear with days of applying very good ear drops, Have you tried the Holistic Select Anchovy Sardines & Salmon meal Adult Health kibble this kibble has No Peas beef or Chicken & has helped my friend Staffy & Ive told another lady at the park & now her mix breed staffys skin & itches have cleared up..my boy isnt on the Anchoy sardine & Salmon he’s on the Holistic Select Senoir as he also suffer from I.B.D & Pancreatitis & the Senior is a lower fat%….I also have taught Patch No Lick & everytime I see him lickin his paws, I tell his no & in the begingin I’d put him in a shallow bath with Detol Antseptic lotion or betadine, & soak his paws 3 times a week this helped kill the fungus & bacteria inbetween the toes, also no Potato, Sweet Potato make the yeast worst..

[Alex V]

I do not typically write reviews, but in this case it is necessary. I have had my 8 year old black lab on Dinovite for 6 months and have seen absolutely no results. Yesterday I took him to an allergist to have him checked out. He has a bacterial skin infection and a yeast infection. It’s really sad that we have had him on what is considered one of the best nutritional supplements that is supposed to alleviate and cure these types of problems in dogs…. and also very sad that our allergist vet said it was a waste of money. I would not recommend this product to anyone, don’t waste your money. And to top it off, the 90 day money back guarantee is a joke. They do not want you to return product before 90 days because they say that ” you haven’t given it enough time to do the job” but then after you exceed the 90 days and it still isn’t working, they say they can’t offer refunds because the refund period has expired. So ridiculous! Not to mention their customer service is some of the worst I have ever experienced! Do yourself a favor and stay away from this product and their bullshit scam company!!!

[spaniel39]

I feed my baby (sophie the Komondor) 130pound
14 months old
Nutrisource large breed lamb
about 1.63 pound
as you get a 30 pound bag
I went through so many and this is perfect
Gets 5 stars dog advisor also
Lamb meal, peas, pea starch, pea flour, salmon meal, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), potatoes, tomato pomace, natural turkey and chicken flavor, sunflower oil, potassium chloride, dried brewers yeast, salmon oil, minerals (zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, cobalt proteinate, selenium yeast), salt, choline chloride, taurine, vitamins (vitamin A acetate, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, niacin, d-calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement), glucosamine hydrochloride, tryptophan, ascorbic acid (source of vitamin C), chondroitin sulfate, yucca schidigera extract, calcium iodate, rosemary extract, yeast culture (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product, dried Aspergillus niger fermentation product, dried Bacillus subtillis fermentation product.

[Jacob B]

Yes a scrape was done and yeast was indeed found but I can’t recall the word he used but the only things I’ve been told was there was a surgery I could do or try diets I’m just new to this whole diet thing as I’ve never had an issue with other dogs… Which diet would you recommend starting with also where to go about getting it
Thank you so much

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Jacob –

Chronic otitis in dogs can have numerous causes – many of which are secondary (meaning the otitis is in fact a symptom of another underlying issue).

If you’ve been battling ear infections for as long as you have I’m sure your vet has already looked into this, but just in case, has a scraping from the ear been examined to check for yeast? Malassezia is a fairly common type of yeast that can infect the ears.

Has your dog’s thyroid been checked (especially would recommend having this done if the dog is overweight). Hypothyroidism can predispose dogs to chronic otitis.

Have you tried a grain-free diet? If not – I’d recommend trying a grain-free diet with a novel protein source (think rabbit, buffalo, kangaroo, etc. – something your dog hasn’t eaten before). Keep her on this for a couple months and see if things clear up.

Supplementing with multi-strain non-dairy probiotics, enzymes and coconut oil probably wouldn’t hurt either.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of what could be causing the otitis, however it may give you a few avenues to explore as far as getting to the root of the problem.

[DogFoodie]

Darn it! I posted a response, but it disappeared. I hate that! I’ll try again.

My Golden, Sam, just turned two and he has some food intolerances. He can’t have fish in any form, garlic (apparently) or chickpeas & lentils. He’s eaten a lot of foods that he did great on, once; but, when I feed it again, he reacted. When he’s exposed to something to which he’s intolerant, he develops a red inflamed right ear that quickly turns into a yeast infection in that same ear. The chickpeas and lentils give him horrible gas and loose stools. He also doesn’t seem to do well on foods with lots of fruits and veggies, like Orijen and Wholesome Blend. He does well on Darwin’s raw for short periods of time at a stretch, but I think you’re looking for kibble. I have to pay attention to his protein, fat and carb levels and know what ranges he seems to work best within. I recently started him on Udo’s Choice DHA blend, an omega supplement, and the poor thing had gas so bad it woke me up at night after just one teaspoon per day for a week. There are so many foods I’d love to try him on, but wouldn’t dare; but, it’s very important to me to have multiple foods for him, so I keep trying. So far, the only food he can eat without reacting is MS Lamb. I’m getting ready to try him next on Nature’s Variety Instinct LID Duck next and have my fingers crossed. My Cavalier can eat most anything, but it does seem that chickpeas and lentils cause her to become constipated. She doesn’t have anything that I consider to be “true intolerances.”

So, that said, foods that I trust and that Sam has eaten, at least once, and did well on are Canine Caviar, Horizon Legacy (my Cavalier eats Amicus sometimes which would be great for your little guy), Nature’s Logic, Dr. Tim’s, Brother’s Complete, Wellness Core, Earthborn Holistics and NutriSource. Of these, I most wish I was still able to use the Horizon and Dr. Tim’s.

If it weren’t for those intolerances, there would be many more he’d have eaten. One food I like and tried a couple of different formulas for Sam is Victor. I was disappointed the Victor didn’t work, it’s a great product and the price is a huge unexpected bonus! A couple of foods I wish I could use for him are Go!, Now Fresh, Farmina and Annamaet, but those all contain triggers. I’ve considered fermenting some veggies to add to his foods because I often wonder if it’s the cabbage in the MS that’s one of the reasons he does so well on it. Commercial raw and canned foods are a completely different story ~ are either of those options for you?

[Bobby dog]

Hi Christina K:
Plain Kefir has more strains of probiotics than yogurt; you can usually find it in the yogurt aisle. Kefir has 10 different strains as opposed to yogurt’s typical 3 strains. If you do buy yogurt, read the label to ensure it states it “contains” live active yeast cultures.

I suggest adding anything new to his diet slowly, one at a time, and in small amounts building up to recommended portions. If there are any digestive upsets, this will help you pinpoint any possible culprits a little more easily.

[Naturella]

The best thing for you to do is to see what you feed him now (maybe let us know), and then do an elimination diet – I think it’s something like cooking a basic homemade chicken and rice diet and slowly adding other ingredients from the food he is currently on to see if he reacts to one or more of them. But some of the pros on here could maybe able to better explain how to do an elimination diet.

Some more common allergens are various grains, corn, sometimes chicken or another protein, sometimes peas or tomatoes (or tomato pomace), sometimes yeast. So doing an elimination will help you know what to avoid in a food and it will make it easier for us to know what to recommend.

As for skin/coat issues, fish oil and coconut oil do some miracles. Also fish-based foods and treats. For my dog who had the worst case the vet has seen of fleas and wounds and hair falling out when he was found and taken to a vet, The Honest Kitchen’s Beams (dried fish skins to be given as chews/treats) did some miracles and then a teaspoon of coconut oil every other day continually enhances this miracle and his skin is nice and healthy and his coat is as soft and shiny as ever, I love it. No trace of wounds or missing hair – he is double-coated and his coat is very thick, soft, shiny on top and healthy. 🙂 He is also on mostly a fish-based food now so that probably helps too.

But as for pet dander – sometimes the above measures may help, sometimes not – the dog may just be genetically predisposed to extra dander. But it’s worth a shot to see if you can help it some too.

[doodles0067]

Hi again,
After reading through the threads on this forum, (Sorry– I should have done that first…), It appears that the problems people have with GL is how they handled an incident they had last year while switching factories, not a problem with the quality of their food. Am I correct in this assumption? I spoke with a company rep and they were very forthright regarding the issues they have had in the past. She named 3 issues- a preservative problem with a batch that spoiled, plastic from a factory part during the switch and problems with hair (ew) in the buffalo formula. So, not a great track record– but she was honest, says the problems have been corrected and it appears to be a high quality food. Right? My dog cannot tolerate many foods (peas, carrots, wheat, soy, peanut, yeast, and white potatoes) and this is one of the only ones that we’ve found that seems to agree with her. I just want to make sure its a quality product that is worth switching to…. Thanks in advance for all/any advise!

[Akari_32]

It’s been going away with the brewers yeast pills. I don’t know if it happened to just be starting to go away anyways, or if the pills are helping it, but as long as it’s going away, I’m good! Lol

Here’s the email wellness sent me.

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/AEC93409-2E01-4209-8385-8686CAE9FAF4_zpsvp7yipk5.png

I’m surprised how high the C/S/M ones are too. He’s been eating on those since I got him pretty much! Yeesh!

Good luck with your stocking up! If you get any good deals with coupons, you know where to put them 😉

[Mike M]

Yes, I can tell Cyndi. 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to provide that level of detail Hound Dog Mom!

For the record, our dog Wally is 15 years old and is smallish, weighing in at about 17.5 pounds, needing to lose probably 2 of those.

Yes, I have read about most of what you suggested HDM, though it is still not clear to me that my dog will “need” liver, given everything else he will get. I did send an email to Urban Wolf – will see if they respond though they do suggest the liver supplement. They just responded, asking if I could give him liver treats but that’s all they offered.

I will have to reconsider adding the sweet potato and rest of the non-meat stuff since much of that is in the Urban Wolf (which I will start using on Friday) but if I do, it will be in “treat” amounts and I will use Wally’s poop status to help monitor. I do understand he needs adequate protein and I’m confident he’ll be getting more than he did with his Wellness canned food, who seemingly just began adding more liquid to their formula.

The nutritional yeast he just likes, if I did add any, it would be occasionally and just a small sprinkle.

Was thinking I should add just a sprinkle of calcium now and again because my plan was to feed Wally more Salmon — which has the phosphorous — than would be in the Urban Wolf recipe. Of course, the diet then becomes a bit less controlled or precise.

I’ve read the fat balancing discussions and it seems a little too much like rocket science to me but I will keep researching that and won’t stick my head in the sand on it. I’d rather not feed him beef but will if I need to.

Any further recommendations or discussion are welcomed ….. thanks again

[Hound Dog Mom]

Liver is a species-appropriate means of supplying several trace minerals such as copper, iron, manganese, iodine and zinc and it’s also a good source of vitamin a and vitamin d. A properly balanced homemade diet should be comprised of about 5% – 7.5% liver – as long as this amount isn’t exceeded the dog isn’t at risk of consuming too much vitamin a. Because the liver (this also applies when feeding kidney or spleen) is a filtering organ, myself (and many others here) prefer to use liver from naturally raised animals. It’s certainly possible to supplement separately for the nutrients liver supplies and exclude it from the diet but, with the exception of someone who can’t get liver or can’t get liver from a clean source, I’m not sure why someone wouldn’t want to include liver in the diet. As for exactly how much of which nutrients the liver is contributing to the Urban Wolf recipe, you’d have to contact the company directly for that data.

Just a few other suggestions.

I would not recommend feeding only turkey or mostly turkey – it’s very important to feed a variety of protein sources and especially important to ensure an equal balance of red meat and poultry is being fed (unless you want to go through a lot of additional work to balance the fats). Poultry is very high in polyunsaturated fats (especially linoleic acid – a short-chain omega 6) while red meats are high in saturated fats and low in polyunsaturated fats, therefore rotating between red meat-based and poultry-based recipes is ideal.

You don’t want to add calcium to a pre-mix. Pre-mixes (such as Urban Wolf) are designed to supply a proper ratio of calcium and phosphorus with the addition of boneless meat. As long as you follow the instructions on the package there is no need to supply additional calcium.

Personally, I wouldn’t add additional starches such as yams and garbanzo beans. Urban Wolf already contains potatoes and several vegetables so your dog will be getting more than enough plant matter, you’ll just be diluting the protein further and cancelling out one of the main benefits a home-prepared diet has over kibble – more meat and less plant matter.

Also – just in case you missed it on the ingredient panel – Urban Wolf already contains nutritional yeast so if that’s something you want included in your dog’s diet there’s no reason to add extra outside of the pre-mix.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 7 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.
• This reply was modified 11 years, 7 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.

[Mike M]

At the risk of being a nube posting redundant questions that have been answered (I did do a search and didn’t find specifically what I needed), I am trying to find out if there is something — vitamins, minerals, protein — in liver that my dog needs that cannot be gotten from other sources because …. I do not want to feed my dog liver if I don’t “have to.”

I’ve done my research and will be making my own dog food with cooked ground turkey and canned unsalted Alaskan salmon as the main meats, with the occasional eggs and packed in water unsalted sardines, some added fish oil, a bit of calcium, yam/carrot/garbonzo beans, the occasional cooked/processed veggies, nutritional yeast, etc. Lucky dog.

I will be using the Urban Wolf mix and it recommends adding the liver powder to that, along with the meat but I haven’t been able to find out why I need the liver and/or if there is something else I use or can use that will provide what the liver does.

Thanks – Mike

[Michele M]

My Irish Setter has been licking for 2 years, last year was severe. I took him to a Dermatologist and spent at least $5000.00 on medication and procedures. He is allergic to almost everything, even human dander. I started him on the allergy injections, which did not help, the Dermatologist had prescribed many different antibiotics, we found one that controlled his itch, Clavamox, which is very expensive. He was on it for 6 months along with Atopica and his injections. He still licks. I took him off the Clavamox and injections he still is on the atopica and a plastic collar around his neck. My feelings are of quilt, I take the collar off when I can sit with him or when we are outside, some days he is not as itchy as others so I take off the collar. I clean his areas of irritation with alcohol or peroxide, then i apply women vaginal creme. This controls the infected area but does not stop it completely. My dogs infection is yeast based or fungal, from what the dermatologist said. I ordered the dynovite and I hope that it works. I’m ready for a miracle, my dog is very important to me. He rescued me when I was sadden from the death of my first Irish Setter. I just hope that Dynovite is a true solution. My dog eats Verus which is a grain free food. His symptoms are ear irritations, licky paws, inside portion of the legs, groin area and tail. I have not received the Dynovite as of yet ,but will start posting weekly results when my dog starts. I need encouragement from other dog owners. Michele

[Susan]

Did you have a skin scrapping to see if it was mites or yeast infection, it should of went away if it was mites & treated properly be now, my friends white staffy was real bad, real red skin & hairless in the end, she was put on vet prescription diets that didnt help, in the end she was put on Holistic Select Adult health Anchovys Sardines & salmon meal this helped her & she looks beautiful know…Holistic Select have a grainfree puppy Anchovys Sardines & salmon meal but it has potatoes in it…. they have just released a new grainfree called ‘Deboned Turkey & Lentils recipe’ that has NO Potatoes..Its worth a try or the Adult Health Anchovys Sardines & salmon meal.. you have to also treat the outside..I bath Patch every 5-7 days with Medicated Malaseb shampoo & I use a hyrocortisone cream as I dont like medications.. The best is an elimination diet that way u’ll know what makes him scratch, he may not have food allergies, he may suffer from eviornment allergies, or flea allergies, have you googled ‘Atopic dematitis in dogs’..also keep a diary, write when he’s real itchy, what foods he was eating at the time & over the years u’ll start to see a pattern, patch has seasonal allergies worst summer & the end of summer Autumn..also he may need an Anthisimine Patch was put on Iramine 8mg tablets theyre a dog anthisimine not human..maybe find a new vet, I see one vet for Patches skin then the other vet for Patches tummy & bowel they are both in the same surgury but sometimes some vets specialise more in certain areas, well thats what Ive found, Sue’s better with Patches skin & Johnathan is excellent when it comes to Gastro & stomach problems..Give the Holistic Select a try http://www.holisticselect.com

[Bobby dog]

Marie: For ticks you use it like a flea powder

Akari:
I used to buy Shoo Flea by the Natural Vet, really liked it but just didn’t fit into the budget anymore. The main ingredient in Shoo Flea is food grade DE and it is scented with a capsule of herbs and essential oils. I began using plain food grade DE several years ago as a flea powder and for treating pet beds, floors etc with good results. Keep in mind it does not kill them immediately.

I have seen warnings about DE clogging vacuums, it has never happened to me. I just make sure I take their bedding outside to shake them out then throw them in the washer. I have only had to use DE on the floors in my basement so I swept the floor well before vacuuming.

Be careful not to inhale the dust or let your pets inhale the dust.

I have never fed it to my cats or dogs.

The one drawback I found using it as a flea powder is that it can dry their skin. I always use organic unrefined coco oil as a food supplement when using it. Fish oil would probably be a good choice also. I use CVS 1000 mg fish oil capsules for Bobby and the cats. The good thing about coco oil is it can be applied externally. As a flea deterrent I had the best luck using coco oil applied directly to the skin, but it can be messy for your furniture. Coco oil does very well at soothing skin irritations like flea bites. I apply DE first, then coco oil if needed in certain areas. I used coco oil daily on Bobby last summer. Hopefully I won’t have to treat flea bites this year because his yeasty smell is gone and his skin is healthy since I have improved his diet. So far so good!

Good thing I checked the links I saved on DE, some of them no longer existed.

http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/degen.html
http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/benefits-diatomaceous-earth/
http://www.vetinfo.com/using-diatomaceous-earth-to-worm-pets.html
http://www.diatomaceousearth.com/?gclid=CJ2Dt8S5p74CFaQF7Aod5g4AcA
http://vetmedicine.about.com/od/parasites/a/Diatomaceous-Earth-For-Flea-Control.htm
https://www.google.com/url?q=http://wolfcreekranch1.tripod.com/defaq.html&sa=U&ei=9l5xU7PaKPLHsATEvYCQCA&ved=0CB0QFjAA&sig2=DCYxeQKLHzMoXm6BYZtcxw&usg=AFQjCNHLDmVU6sLMs22UbzqWxC0OnCzAVw

[Akari_32]

Ok, so a little thing I noticed…. You guys may remember me saying I got a flea collar for the cat a while back. Well, I took it off about a week ago. It hit me that his face wasn’t as fluffy as it used to be, and that he was really scratching at the collar a lot. After a closer look, he also has a scab on the side of his neck, and a bald ring where the collar sat.

Here’s a picture from before the collar:

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/2A46772B-40BA-4DE5-890C-83F400CFB78C_zpsqi1schna.jpg

And a week after having it off.

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/936C75A6-780A-4AB7-B825-C59A53124255_zpsmjcb3zu5.jpg

And here’s his neck

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/323CF7A5-64CB-4808-BECB-C08A9B425C3E_zpsj9r1n2hx.jpg

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/D41C9CB8-B722-4C7E-827B-8021E998B5EA_zpsilnetf6c.jpg

And him snuggling on the couch with Bentley 🙂 (you can also see his neck his bald here)

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/F3BB3F31-18E7-46A4-9B5B-E3DF56ECA471_zps6vyuo6um.jpg

I did some googling and it seems this is a pretty common problem. Some cats have even died from these collars! Why are they still selling these?? Is there anything I can do to help the fur grow back?

Anyway, I’ve been doing brewers yeast and garlic pills every day for the fleas for the last week or so (when ever they came in the mail, I took the collar off and started those instead). Whatever fleas are on him are sluggish and don’t seem too happy, so maybe it’s working? Even if it’s not doing anything for fleas, it’s helping his greasy tail, which I figured out is called stud tail and can get pretty nasty when not treated.

[Kim L]

Thank you…this was really helpful. I am currently only using Probiotic Miracle from Nusentia, and it only seems to have 6 strains in it:

“Made in the USA
Recommended by veterinarians
2 Billion CFU per serving
6 canine-researched bacteria strains and species
No Animal Products
No Fillers / Flavors
Non GMO
Gluten Free
Wheat Free
Dairy Free”

Apparently by adding the Enzyme Miracle product, it has really good yeast fighting ability though. I will start using these two together and add in Kefir occasionally and try your ACV and coconut oil ideas. Thank you so much!

[Kim L]

Hello,

I have posted on other topics before, so forgive me if this background is a repeat for anyone. I have a rescued Shih Tzu that has developed allergies in the past year or so. The vet says they aren’t super serious as they only really cause red skin/crust under one armpit, but I know they are yeast-related so I have decided to start on Nusentia Probiotic AND Enzyme Miracle.

My question is that since his skin is already infected, I am clearly going to use these at the higher doseage suggested and not just a maintenance dose. I know any results could take weeks to see. In the meantime, I have also read that plain Kefir and coconut oil are great Probiotics as well. Would it be ok to also give him one or both of these in smaller doses? I certainly do not want to overdose him, but from what I have read, “overdosing,” per say, is not super likely.

Anyway, I would just love some suggestions/ideas/other things I can use to help my poor guy feel better. I already bathe him in the Malaseb shampoo and have Zymox drops for his infrequent ear infections. I try ACV in his water when I can, but he realllllllllly hates it so it isn’t a real option for me.

Thanks!

[Liesa K]

My dog has grandma seizures I am able to keep them down to (1) every nine months with no cluster seizures, have the vet run a (5) panel thryoid and check sugar levels, did you have any pesticides put on your lawn, or flowers, could your dog have eaten any dangerous plants in your yard. Unfortunately once a dog has a seizure they are prone to seizures, you need to find the underlying causes. My dogs thyroid is being attacked by his system we suspect yeast is the offensive underlying problem, the thryoid when it isn’t able to work properly drops his sugar levels, which causes the seizures I have a blood glucose testing kit for him, he is not diabetic. I am positive this was the cause from giving the chicken jerky treats as I had another dog who ended up with cushing confirmed by blood tests but he never lost his hair, he was also yeasty he passed before he was 7 years old.
I use Azmira Herbal products line and this is why I am able to keep the seizures down to (1) every nine months. Over exercise causes him to have seizures and the heat which causes yeast over growth. still trying to get a handle on the yeast, he is (5) years old and a tibetan Mastiff (pure blood). If you get the thryoid test have it checked by Dr. Jean Dodd she has incredible expertise in the thyroid epidemic, please be careful with seizure medications as this can cause more seizures and is very hard on the liver, my dog was never put on seizure medicine, also as soon as he has a seizure I start putting organic honey which is very thick not runny like most brands and this brings him outta of the seizure quicker and helps to not have the cluster seizures. Good Luck.

[Marietta B]

I would go with Ziwipeak air dried or canned. My dog has allergies, too, and she does really well on this and it is on the Editor’s Choice list. You can also use an antibacterial rinse on your dog or use it as a foot soak. It’s 1 gallon water, 1 cup white vinegar and 1 cup of peroxide. Don’t get it near the dogs eyes and don’t rinse it off. Never use an oatmeal bath or shampoo if you think your dog is itchy because of yeast. It will feed the yeast and make it worse. Don’t feed any starches at all like grains, potatoes or even peas. Don’t feed any sugar, either. I also started my dog on a steroid that is made from plants that is completely safe and natural. You can use Only Natural Pet Stores Immune Balance or buy the human grade plant steroid called Moducare. The only thing that helped my dog was steroids from the vet and I needed to get her off them and all of this is working. Good luck!

[DogFoodie]

That is fascinating Aquariangt! I’m going to put in a link to your other post from the Fromm thread: /forums/topic/fromms-gold-holistic/#post-40495.

I believe in a lot of alternative Eastern medicine practices and take my Sam for chiropractic with a TCVM practitioner. We discussed acupuncture for him, but decided against it at the time. I haven’t discussed Chinese herbals with my TCVM vet yet. I have been looking at some Hebsmith products that interest me, but I am reluctant to add anything to Sam’s diet right now. The nearest TCVM food therapist is not far from me, but it’s a crazy drive into the city with Sam.

I’m not sure what’s going on with my Sam, I can’t pathom nhat he’s reacting to everything and after speaking with Shawna, I’m wondering if it could be a detox issue. I have one food left in his rotation that worked for him like magic last time we used it. It’s Mulligan Stew lamb and he’s currently eating Victor Lamb Meal & Rice, but I have also noticed that Sam pants a lot in the evening and feels warm to the touch. Sometimes his ears feel hot, both of them, not just the yeasty one. I have one food that interests me that he hasn’t tried, NV LID and I was thinking of trying the duck, because it’s a cooling food. He tried B2B duck before, but he was very young and the heavy organ content was a bit too much for him at the time.

I plan to put Sam on Mulligan Stew starting this weekend and pray that it works like it has before, but something so far hasn’t been working and I’m going to give a lot of thought to food energetics, and pursue that direction.

I love knowing that others have had success with food energetic and am really eager to hear more about others experiences!

[dogluver95828]

I wanted to tell everyone that my pitt was having a horrible rash in his crotch and unerarm areas. bad, he scratched till it was raw. I spent 2 years searching on the internet and found the problem! I kept treating it as an external problem and it was an internal problem. he had a yeast inblance in his intestines. So i tried 2 tsp lemon juice once a day and it was gone in a week and has stayed gone. the info i read said to use lemon juice or unfiltered apple cider vinegar. If you pit has a rash that wont go away then try this, what have you got to loose? oh yes, and puree lemons dont work, tried that, rash came back. has to be lemon juice. I am so happy i am not having to wash his crotch area everyday. It wss so bad i cried cuz i felt so bad for him and i didnt know what to do. i searched and searched on the internet for about 2 years and it paid off. Tried all diff foods too, didnt work. so if your dog has a bumpy red rash on his crotch and under the armpits too, that is the sign of an internal yeast infection or inbalance. Wow, we are so very happy now. About twice it started to flare up again and i just washed it and was gone the next day! Such and easy solution too!

[Maureen P]

I am looking for a 5 star (or as close to) quality Grain Free and Potato Free dog food in both kibble and wet dog food for my 12 year old JRT @ 13 lbs, 11 year old CHI @ 6 lbs. and 9 year old Yorkie @ 7 lbs. – They all have terrible itchy and dry skin, licking paws and pink irritated belly skin – Where my pups are concerned no price is to high for their well being. I know I am over the top and love them like my children ( crazy dog lady here!)

They currently eat Artemis Small Breed Adult Dog food. Two of the 3 are on benedryl with every meal – Will not give them the predisone, only helps when they are on it.

I give them the Coco Therapy coconut chips, fruit and veggie crunch treats. At dinner in their food they get cosequin plus MSM, as well as brewers yeast and garlic tablets, Dr. Mercola krill oil. In their Poland Springs water (have never had tap water, as I live in NYC) I put 1 tsp.of Bragg Organic/unfiltered apple cider vinegar.

I bathe them monthlywith Dr. Mercola Peppermint Shampooand also use the same conditioner, both are recommeded by Dr. Mercola for skin problems. I have even tried no conditioner at all and only using 1/2 water and 1/2 Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar with no rinsing. This all started about 18 months ago.

Please. . . . any help or information would be greatly appreciated !!!! Thank you all . . .

[Natasha F]

Our rescue bully, Henry is chubby. We feed him 3/4c 2x daily & a handful of green beans of Solid Gold Wolf King right now, but after realizing that Diamond manufactures it, beyond using a different food, I will likely switch brands. We walk him every day, which he grudgingly does, although he can only go about 4-6 blocks before he is too tired to walk (has had to be carried home before!). He weighs 56-60lbs and the vet says he is 5-8 lbs overweight for his build. We throw his ball for him, which he will sometimes do, but he is a lazy bugger. He also has a bad rear foot & leg as a result. The vet thinks that his foot was broken as a puppy & never seen to. We got him when he was about 2 so we don’t know. As a result, he gets sore & tired, & limps fairly fast.
So, I am looking for a new food that is very good quality but would be good for weight loss. He gets a freeze dried sweet potato chew once a day, 2-3 baby carrots or other veggies for treats…but no biscuits or other treats of that nature. We already feed him less than the recommended amount so I think a different food is a good idea?
He is prone to yeast infections in his folds, toes & ears which I treat w unfiltered cider vinegar, natural ear wash & daily wipe downs.

[Bobby dog]

Hi Sharon:
That is so funny your cats did not like the Wellness indoor, mine didn’t either! That has been the only dry food they wouldn’t eat since I changed how I fed them back in September. I gave it a try because it didn’t have fish meal and indoor formulas typically have a little more fiber which my kitties needed at the time, oh well. For dry I feed Wellness GF Turkey & Duck, Merrick GF chicken, and Innova Nature’s Table GF. I probably will not feed Innova after Mars completes the buyout. So I am going to try another dry cat food soon to add to their rotation.

I use Wellness canned also, but I have to continually rotate because they get bored with food. I use Friskees poultry platter, Wellness, Merrick, Evo, 4Health, Blue, Tiki Cat, Against the Grain, and Soulistic regularily. I just added a few flavors of Pro Plan, One, Fancy Feast and Sheba. I got tired of them snubbing their noses at expensive cat food so I am giving in to some grocery store foods that don’t have fish (or contain a little), wheat, corn, or soy and are low in carbs. Innova sent me some coupons for canned food and my cats liked it so I will add that to my rotation as well.

Jump over to the coupon thread Akari started for coupons and sales info! It’s under the “off topic forums.”

Akari:
Let us know how Kitty does on the yeast! 🙂

[Bobby dog]

Hey Akari:
What’s the brewers yeast for?

[Akari_32]

Hey guys! Just stopping in to say that I ordered some brewers yeast for the kitty kitty. 1000 pills for $11 after shipping. I figure thats about a penny a day (assuming its 1 pill per 10 pounds like most others are), and that sure as heck sounds better than $10-30 a month! I’m always weird about try chemicals, and this was much cheaper, so I’ll give it a try!

[chris h]

Hi,

My dog is a golden/collie/spaniel mix that we rescued a couple years ago. She had terrible yeast issues when we got her, her skin was black which looked strange on a dog with golden fur. After too many antibiotics and recommendations from various vets, I decided enough was enough. I researched foods and put her on the Natures Variety Instinct limited ingredient turkey meal formula. I then researched probiotics and I ordered the probiotic miracle on amazon. I get the year supply for $39.99. It took six months and lots of research but her skin is now pink and healthy, her fur is silky and she is a happy dog. We really can’t try too many different foods or else she will start itching and having trouble again but she gets carrots and duck treats which she loves. The probiotic miracle has done wonders combined with the right food. Hope this helps.

[mountainhound]

The store I work at sells Canine Caviar, I think its a decent food, but lately the company has been jacking up the price on it to the point that the grain free varieties were as much as $90-95 for a large bag. What was even worse when I checked chewy.com, their prices are what we pay wholesale or less, so it makes us look like we’re the ones hiking up the prices.

I ended up dropping the grain free line and only have the chicken, lamb and special needs left.
I’m considering bringing in Nature’s logic. The reason I like it is because they use millet which is a gluten free grain instead of peas and potatoes. Since we have a lot of dogs coming in with yeast issues, finding a suitable option can be challenging. A lot are becoming intolerant of peas, and usually dont do well with potatoes/sweet potatoes/tapioca due to sugar content.

I do have 2 reservations about the food, one is that they do not use any fresh meats, just meals. Also, the ash content of the food is 10-11% which is pretty high and tells me that the quality of the meals that they use is not very high.

Has anyone used Natures Logic? any feedback on it, positive or negative?
Also, do you have any suggestions for another gluten free food thats pea/potato free? and under $65 for a large bag?

thanks

[DogFoodie]

What was the diagnosis?

If you’re dealing with yeast in the ear, you might want to reconsider what you’re feeding. The first sign of my dog’s food intolerance is usually a gunky right ear.

[Ryan K]

So, I have two dogs. My female is a 12 year old Old English Sheepdog and my male is a 4 year old Dachshund/Terrier mix. I have noticed that my OES has been pretty picky with what she eats lately. She was normally on anything with Lamb and I wasn’t really paying too much attention to whether or not her food was grain free despite her constant itching and chewing of her paws throughout the years. She was constantly getting yeast infections in her ears but my vet never told me to change her diet. I recently decided to switch up her diet on my own to various reactions. I tried Zignature’s Lamb formula and she seemed to like it but wouldn’t touch it after a month of eating it. Then I moved her onto Earthborne Holistic Meadow Feast, which she had a HORRIBLE allergic reaction to. I am not sure what in that mix caused the reaction (eye swelling, lethargy, fever, vomiting, etc) but I wondered if it might have been the Tapioca? I am not sure though. Since that experience I put her on California Natural’s Kangaroo formula but she would only eat it if I put about 1/4th cup of warm water in it…this is something I had never done before but thought I would try after reading that someone else did that with their dog’s food…this caused ANOTHER problem with my dog…she didn’t chew the food with it being watered down but instead decided to just slurp it up and then wound up with food stuck in her esophagus. This ended my watering down of the food.

Since THAT I have put her on Acana Duck & Bartlett Pear and at first she seemed to go CRAZY for it but her love for it has cooled and now I have started mixing canned food with her dry food which she goes nuts for. However, I am not sure how much to give her? I normally let my dogs have a full bowl every day since I have grazers but the canned food has become scheduled at night. Before that, she will not touch the dry food. Should I be concerned about this? She has the dry food out to eat but she isn’t eating it unless the canned is mixed it. Buying both grain free canned and such an expensive grain free dry for her is a little much for my budget. Should I try a new less expensive grain-free? I was thinking of moving over to Fromm’s to see if she would like their Beef recipe or maybe the pork? I don’t know if those are ok for senior dogs though? Someone I know mentioned that I should watch the form of protein she is getting since she is older now but they didn’t say WHAT protein to go for. Is there truth in that??

Of course, my main concern is that she is getting enough food. Is it ok that she is just eating one big meal a day but not touching her dry food the rest of the day??