[somebodysme]

I’m hoping that someone more familiar with dealing with allergies and yeast issues could make some sense of these symptoms after two different foods given. I’m just so confused!

She’s been on two different foods post vet visit where I was told that all her issues were most likely dog food allergies. Her worst problem was that her paws were full of pustules and raw and infected. She had runny/watery eyes and her ears were gunky. She was scratching her sides and gnawing her knees…etc. She had been on Pro Plan chicken. She was given antibiotics and prednisone.

1) I purchased some NV LID Turkey and things improved a lot and she was on that for 6 weeks. She still had a slight amount of eye watering and still some general scratching but much better than before. Her paws were healing up and she was not scratching them at all. No pustules on them at all but skin was still kind of pink. She was kind of having constipation and her poo was the most horrible smelling you can imagine.

2) I decided that I would try a different LID food and purchase Zignature Lamb. Similar list of ingredients but no tapioca and this time LAMB instead of TURKEY. Her constipation issues went away and her remaining scratching and eye watering totally cleared up after about a week and a half and I thought we’d found the best food for her.

HERE’S WHAT THEN HAPPENED: Almost over night, her paws erupted into a mass of pustules and she began chewing them like crazy. She was also smelling sour. BUT and this is where it gets confusing…all her other symptoms are going away. Her eye doesn’t water, her ear is clean, she’s not scratching her body and even that rash I keep talking about on her back is suddenly healing up. But her paws are HORRIBLE and FULL of blood filled blisters and pustules!

I rushed out to the store and bought a small bag of NV again and after two days her paws are already healing up and she is not gnawing them. Now of course her eye is watering…

What the heck? This is what I’m thinking has happened. Perhaps the Zignature is too high in carbs and it’s yeast on her paws? But yet Lamb is working better for the allergy aspect of it? Does this sound logical? One food is good for some symptoms and the other food is good for other symptoms just doesn’t make sense to me! GAH!

I would sure appreciate some expert input from you guys! Thanks!

[theBCnut]

You also have to throw in the possibility that since the food is agreeing with her body more that her body now has the opportunity to get rid of some of the toxin that have been accumulating in her system for so long. This detoxing can cause the exact same things you are seeing. I was fortunate that when Micah had skin eruptions it was all in one small dime sized area on his foreleg, easily treated and then gone. If the biggest problem you had with the NVI LID was constipation and bad smelling poop, I would stick with it for a while, but add a source of fiber, and of course digestive enzymes. It takes a while for yeast to die back, but she may handle the Zignature just fine later. You could throw it in the freezer and try again in a few months.

I wish I could be of more help.

[somebodysme]

That’s a good idea, I’ll go ahead and put that food all wrapped up good in the freezer. I’m thinking it just has too much fruit and veggies(carbs). I could probably even alternate it in every few days. I’m giving her some pumpkin and she LOVES IT! HAHAHA! I’m going to try the lamb NV LID next and see how that is. A small bag only lasts a week if that.

I guess it could be the “healing crisis” but dadgummit…her paws were bleeding all over the carpet and she was chewing them and absolutely miserable. I couldn’t think of anything to do but get her off that food and back to NV. I gave it a few days hoping it would take care of itself but it only kept getting worse. After she’s back on NV, the feet are healing.

Thanks!!!!!!

[somebodysme]

I forgot to mention also that her girly parts were itching really bad too along with the paw rash.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 8 months ago by somebodysme.

[theBCnut]

If her paws ever do that again, an epsom salt foot bath will help, but it must be rinsed off afterward. Also look for a product called Vetericyn gel. It is an oxigenating spray and good for her girl parts as well as her feet. Any time you think you have something on the skin that you are afraid might need antibiotics, use that first.

[somebodysme]

I know, I’m so afraid that she’ll need more antibiotics! That’s why I was just panicked! I’m so glad they are healing up. You know, I did NOT know that the epsom salt soak needed to be rinsed off. When her feet were bad before, I’d soak them in epsom salt but did not rinse it off, never read to. UGH! Good to know.

[theBCnut]

Licking off the epsom salts works as a laxitive and can mess with blood values too.

[somebodysme]

Yeah that makes sense, she had to wear a cone all the time so she didn’t lick but I think it also caused some irritation so I didn’t keep doing it because it didn’t help. Maybe rinsing would have stopped the irritation.

So anyway, do y’all think that yeast would cause the feet and vaginal area to be irritated but not the rest of her? Also I had stopped her probiotic to see if that caused the back rash and that also did cause her to stink like yeast…I started her back on probiotic and a few days later is when the feet broke out…thought maybe a delayed reaction to the lack of probiotic? I realize there are a lot of factors but mostly I wondered if yeast would cause the feet/vaginal stuff? At least It would make some sense and I can make decisions for her food choices. Right now I’m baffled!

[theBCnut]

I’ve never heard of yeast causing pustules, so I don’t know. Usually pustules are something like a staph infestion, and they can be very localized. But if her microflora are out of balance then just because she has yeast issues doesn’t mean she can’t have other stuff going on too. I just don’t know. Yeast could definitely have the skin damaged enough to allow something else to get a foothold.

The epsom salt could have definitely caused irritation too. Have you ever gone to the beach and not been able to rinse off immediately after? Very irritating!

Do you recognize the difference in smell between yeast and seborrhea? Could the smell have been more towards rancid grease? Irritation will cause the skin glands to over produce oils, that’s why I’m asking. That can be very localized.

[somebodysme]

Her smell was, to me, like a stinky cheese smell…like if you opened a bag of Cheetos and took a whiff. What does that tell you? Her paws, now that they are irritated, smell like if you’d been handling pennies. I think that’s irritation/infection not yeast? But I really am only guessing. The stinky cheese smell was after I stopped the probiotic pill for a few days. After I started the probiotic back, that smell went away quickly after a couple days. Poor dog, she can’t win for losing!

The vet doesn’t know, all he just says is allergies. He doesn’t mention a word about all the antibiotics she’s been on or anything like that and needing a probiotic. All they do is stick needles in her and the sores heal up real quick and send us home with a pile of pills to take for a couple weeks and give a suggestion to some food and then I’m on my own. I do not want her to have to take more antibiotics but she can’t have infection either! So I’m d*mned if I do and d*mned if I don’t!

[theBCnut]

Get the vetericyn and use it first. Don’t do antibiotics at all if you don’t absolutely have to, it will just set her back again. The copper smell does sound like a bacterial infection, not yeast, but the smell does sound like yeast, yikes!! BTW, vaginal area and feet are areas that hold moisture, so yes, they could be prime yeast areas.

[somebodysme]

I do have the vetericyn but it just seems like any time I use it, it irritates her skin even worse. It’s so hard with her because she has such sensitive skin. The only spray I’ve used that doesn’t seem to irritate is made my Excel Medicated antiseptic spray. Everything else I have used on this poor dog is an irritant. UGH! It could have been that her feet were wet because I rinse them off after each walk, I towel dry them but still they could have been damp and maybe I put her in her crate with wet paws? May have even been something on someone’s grass? I guess it’s hard to say but all I know is I switched her back to NV and her paws are healing up nicely…sheeeew!

I appreciate being able to talk this over with you…it helps iron things out and I’m new to all this dog allergies and yeast stuff. My last dog ate grocery store food and was fine…of course at the time I never heard of DFA! HAHA!

[theBCnut]

Yikes!! OK, do you rinse her feet off when she comes in due to contact allergies? Try adding a cup of vinegar to a gallon of water for rinsing her feet and you can use this on her girl parts too. Yeast don’t like the acid and it also kills several bacteria that may be opportunistic in those areas where she is having the most problems.

[somebodysme]

Just white vinegar or do I need the Bragg’s stuff? I assume you just leave that on right?

OH yeah well my last dog we got back around 1990 so I don’t even know if any good dog foods existed back then. I can remember trying to put him on some Iams stuff and he hated it, back then, as far as I know, that was the “good stuff”. We’d never even conceived of the idea of Internet back then. Ya know, how did we find out anything back then? HAHA! Grapevine?

I forgot to mention that when we first got her she smelled really bad of that stinky cheese smell and the rescue people told me to spray her with that Nature’s Miracle odor stuff…GAH! Even people that are involved in dog rescue are clueless about yeast and the effects of too many antibiotics.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 8 months ago by somebodysme.
• This reply was modified 10 years, 8 months ago by somebodysme.

[theBCnut]

Just white vinegar will do. I don’t know if ACV would be better. Yes, just leave it on.

[InkedMarie]

I’m just throwing this out there but a friend has a frenchie with horrible red, raw paws. Even tho it has potatoes,she finally to them learned with Annamaet Aqualuk.

[somebodysme]

Marie, the last sentence must have gotten auto-corrected, it doesn’t make sense…what did you mean to say?

[InkedMarie]

Yikes, darn auto correct! Even tho it has potatoes, she finally got them cleared up with Annamaet Aqualuk.

I need to always proof read when on my tablet!

[somebodysme]

I keep hearing good things about Annamaet Aqualuk or the brand in general. Would this work for a yeasty dog? At this point I really don’t know what she’s allergic to. She had been on the Zign. for two weeks with absolutely no signs of allergies as far as scratching goes and it’s a lamb based food but it contains fruits and vegetables. On the NV LID Turkey she still scratches a little bit but her paws were fine on that and it has pretty much nothing but turkey, peas and tapioca and vitamins. Usually I can tell immediately if something is bothering her because she will begin to claw at her sides like when I gave her a rawhide to test, that happened in two days so I knew.

Another weird thing is she seems to do good until I buy a large bag of food but is fine on the tiny bags. Could there be some difference in the kibble used in large bags? I was thinking that maybe they package them somewhere different OR they may use more preservatives for the food that goes into a large bag? When I bought a large bag of NV, there was a definite difference in the appearance of the kibble..I will attest to that much! It also had a lot of “dust” (ground up bottom of the barrel kibble) in with the food which I was kind of miffed over.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 8 months ago by somebodysme.

[InkedMarie]

It’s hard to know what works for each dog. People say, myself included, to try grain/potato free. Then, my friend with the frenchie had luck with Aqualuk so who knows? My Boone is yeasty, I think. He does paw lick, alot & only once has he caused any damage by licking. My problem is his ears. I can live with paw licking because it could be behavioral but not ear infections.

So, to know whether it would work for your dog, who knows? I just know it worked or my friends dog. I’d think the food would be the same for all size bags, unless they had an ingredient change.

[dog34747]

The cheese smell, aka “Frito Feet”, is from yeast overgrowth on the skin. If you google it, you’ll see it’s very common side effect of excess yeast on the skin. My current dog does not have this, though he does have yeast allergies and gets ear infections. However, my previous dog had severe yeast/cheese/Frito smell all over his body, not just the feet and he bit, gnawed, scratched and itched almost non-stop, all day, every day. The vet said it was caused by allergies. He recommended bathing him 3 times a week to help relieve the overgrowth. That did help, the smell went away temporarily and he was less itchy but it always returned within a few days. A daily dose of Claritan or generic, really helped. Do not use the “D” formula that has a decongestant in it and is usually kept behind the pharmacy counter. He was about 50 lbs and I gave him one pill per day, it gave him some relief but 2 pills per day were too strong and he seemed drowsy, probably should not exceed 10 mg per 50lbs. Also putting about 1 to 2 tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar in the water bowl every day helped him too, he was a little less smelly and itchy.

Really, that dog should have been on a grain-free food but I couldn’t convince my ex to do it. Technically the dog was his, so I could only do so much to provide relief.

[bullterriermom]

If you don’t mind me asking around how much did the allergy testing cost? I am considering getting it done for my girl, I prob will tack on another $200 to what you paid bc I live in NY lol.

[somebodysme]

bullterriermom, I haven’t had allergy testing done yet, we are just trying elimination and I’m hoping to find a good food. I put her back on NV LID the Turkey one and she is actually doing good on it and the feet are slowly but surely healing all up. Her rash on her back has magically healed up out of the blue. I really can’t help but think it was demodex and just getting healthy and taking supplements and vitamins have healed up up. I really do not know what caused her feet to flare up.

As far as diagnosis, it was just the vet that told me all her rashes and hair loss and scratching was most likely food allergies and he made some suggestions. It was just up to me to research a good food to start with. He wanted to put her on Iams.

I understand is quite pricey to have accurate allergy testing done though.

[Anonymous]

Your vet wanted you to feed him Iams…I’d look for another vet.

[somebodysme]

Nah, I think that’s pretty much par for the course.

[shawnapage]

WOW! im new on the forum and i hope your poor dog is feeling better since it is 3 months later…but if not… I have found that my local RESCUE groups..(not pounds) have a HUGE knowledge of everything that can go wrong with a dog.The rescue i got my dog from has a forum on her website.She also tells in detail how she is handling different things that are going on with some of her rescued dogs with health problems.(For example she just rescued an entire litter of pups with mange.They were so compromised healthwise that she could not give them the regular demodex (not sure of exact name) dip that they give mange infected dogs.She had experience and treated them in several holistic ways until they were strong enough to receive the strong stuff.) Maybe a local rescue would have some tried and true fixes for you! Good luck!

[somebodysme]

Yes, with the help of her rescue, we figured out what she can eat. She is now perfectly fine. Once she stopped eating all these supposedly 4 and 5 stars foods and got on a food that had no allergens (to her) then she just healed right up and is doing fantastic. Just because a food is rated 5 star at this place doesn’t mean it’s going to be the fix all for an allergy dog. She is extremely allergic to rice and peas and lord only knows what else…but not allergic to what the people here will tell us are common allergens…for my dog she apparently is not allergic to “common allergens”. I no longer look to DFA for assistance when it comes to dog food. She’ll eat this(horrible terrible sickening food) until it no longer works or until hell freezes over…whichever comes first…HA!

[Dog Warrior]

has any one ever tried this product on how to make homemade recipes, I am actually thinking of getting it to help me prepare more recipes for my little cutie. i don’t know whether to buy it or not. but i need something my she’ll love very well.. what do you guys think? should i get it? @somebodysme can you help me out here.. anybody??

[Angeldogs]

I rescue deaf dogs of all breeds. Allergies are really common. I highly recommend finding a vet that sends allergy tests out to Spectrum Labs. The results include food proteins, carbs, grasses, trees, and other common household issues like dust, etc. It’s been very helpful for us. Just wish finding a kibble for the allergic dogs was as easy…..some of our dogs are raw fed so we can control the ingredients.

[pfegan77]

I just learned that my 3 year old Sheltie is highly allergic to Brewer’s yeast. I’ve been checking all the labels on the Halo food, various nutritional supplements and treats. There are a lot of different yeast products. Do I need to be wary of any type of yeast, not just Brewer’s Yeast? Does Brewer’s Yeast go by any other name(s) which would be listed on the ingredients?

Thanks so much for your help!

[Author]

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