★★★★★
Dietary Changes
★★★★★
Dietary Changes
★★★★★
Dietary Changes
★★★★★
Dietary Changes
★★★★★
So, I took matters into my own hands and got him tested for allergies using a non traditional way using frequency vial tests. Wow! That was the start to my dogs recovery. I had then started him on a grain free diet from costco. It had tomato in it and I had to get him desensitized to the tomato but now that is fixed. I also started him on products from ortho molecular. The products were Ortho biotic ( a probiotic) candicid forte, Intestinol, and Adrenall. I have given him these for 5 months or so now and his coat is nearly back to normal. My grown kids who had not seen my dog for 6 months easy could not believe the change! They wondered what I had done.
I also agree with the other writers about Malaseb shampoo. It really is the best. I went from bathing my dog 2x per week ( at 110lbs that is no easy task) to 2x per month!
I still have to give him benadryl to help with the itchys but he is so much happier and not tearing himself apart literally, ( I had blood all over my carpet on the main floor and basement from his open sores)
There is no sign of the missing hair patches any longer, all his coat is back to normal. He looks like his handsome self again.
I write this to help those of you struggling with the yeast issues to not give up and take matters into your own hands. Most vets just want to give meds and not look at anything else. One vet even told me what I was doing had no scientific validity. So I asked him if he wanted to see the pics of my dog at his worst because he was getting to see him 5 months after my treatment plan. He did not care to and we left abruptly as you can imagine.
I hope this helps someone out there.
P.S. I forgot to tell you that I also gave my lab 1/2 cup of plain yogurt 2x per day as well.
Dietary Changes
★★★★★
So I did some research and decided to simply eliminate the most common food allergens - wheat, corn and soy - presto! No more ear infections. At least, not nearly as often and not as bad - there is no way to prevent all airborne allergens from getting in, but no more sudden, awful ones.
In a pinch, I buy Purina One Beyond. It has soy but no wheat or corn, and can be obtained from the grocery store.
When I can get what I prefer, I use Canidae from the feed store. It is the cheapest of the 'premium' foods, and contains no wheat, corn or soy.
When I notice that an infection might be trying to start - when she scratches and I see gunk in her ear, I use a product called Zymox. It is so much better than the two step cleaner antifungal/antibiotic from the vet. It is a gel that is easier on the ears - no alcohol to sting - and nicely travels down like you need it to. I normally only have to use that one-three days max. It also works for a full-on infection, but takes 1-2 weeks like the stuff from the vet. I buy a large bottle that lasts me a very long time and we never have to see the vet anymore.
Of course, if there is a possibility there is something in the ear canal, a vet trip is required. Otherwise any substance put in there will be very damaging, possibly fatal.
Anyway, I really encourage everyone with any type of problem possibly caused by allergies to change foods. It may not be as simple as avoiding wheat, corn, and soy, but it might be! And if not, you can do your testing further and see what you find for yourself.
Also, if she is really itchy - chewing on her paws and such, I give benadryl. be sure and look up the correct amount for the weight of your dog if you try that.
Dietary Changes
★★★★★
Oskar has had itchy, red, smelly ears, sores that crust and flake off his skin, oily, smelly skin and hotspots. We've been through it all! It really breaks my heart to keep seeing these issues flare up. We've been to the vet throughout his life for these issues and he's been treated with antibotics and steriods which never helped. So this is what I've been doing:
I feed a raw-food or grain-free dry food. Try and stay away from beef, because this is considered a "hot food" and can irritate the allergy. (Oskar likes duck, lamb and I know fish is a good choice as well. ) Also, a tbsp of Greek yogurt with live cultures and a tbsp of apple cider vinger with food once a day. This took two weeks to really notice much of a difference, but his ears started to open and I was able to clean them and then begin treatment for his ears.
It was recommended to me to use Zymox products, you can get them on Amazon.Com, I have yet to find them in a pet store. I use the shampoo and rinse, two times a week. Leave the shampoo on for 10mins and then you can leave the rinse (conditioner) on to dry if you want, or just do spot-treatment with it on your pet's worse itchy places. I've also used their ear products, I got the ones with the hydrocortisone in it because Oskar is constantly scratching his ears, and this has helped as well.
Recently I picked up their Topical Cream with hydrocortisone and have been using that in between baths, once a day and it's been really amazing. His hotspots on his back legs have healed up tremendously and he hasn't been chewing nearly as much. I really recommend this. But as a disclaimer, if you have a white dog it will turn the fur yellow to the areas you're applying it. The yellow does grow out and wash out though. I usually throw an old T-shirt on Oskar after applying so that way the oil from the cream doesn't get on anything and he can't lick it off.
Anyway, I hope this helps some. I'm still on the road to completely getting rid of his yeasty self, but this has really been helping!
Dietary Changes
★★★★★
