I am so frustrated i am just in tears when i think about all we have done, all the different advice we have followed and all of the time my pups have spent at the vet. I am out of ideas and was wondering if anyone can help.

Both of my dogs have had trouble with yeast infections for the entire time that we have had them. Yeast infections occur in their ears and Shelby's paws are often yeasty. She also has problems with her girl parts being irritated and the vet has stated that he has found yeast in this area as well. Hanford often has an irritated anus that he will rub against the carpet, the patio the yard. He has no trouble expressing his anal glands. The vet has told us that he has yeast in the area of his anus which is causing it to be itchy.

Let me say that my vet is unlike some vets i have heard about from some of you who say their vet doesn't understand food allergies or sensitivities. He is positive that this is a food sensitivity and has been very good about taking my concerns seriously and recommending different foods for the pups to try. He is the one who suggested eliminating everythign in their diet but their kibble. In the over two and a half years that we have had the dogs, we have tried several foods recommended on this site and several recommended bythe vet. The last we have tried is Natural Balance Duck and Potato. Our vet was very positive that this would help with the problem. We started the switch over buy mixing one bag of the Lamb and Rice with one bag of the Duck and potato and feeding that til it was gone (about 3-4 weeks) Then we mixed Two bags of the Duck and Potato with one bag of the lamb and rice and that lasted about 6 weeks. We are on our 2nd full week with just the Duck and Potato and things aren't any better.

Hanford and Shelby still have raging yeast infections in their right ears and we have used the medication given to us by the vet religiously. Shelby's girl parts are still irritated and now both dogs stink! They both smell of yeast. My husband says that this may be overblown since i am 7 1/2 months pregnant and am sensitive to smells. However, he agrees that they do have an odor they didn't have before.

The only "treats" these two recieve are ice cubes. They get no people food whatsoever. They do not roam the neighborhood and they have no access to the trash. These pups get dog food and dog food only. Have i not given enought time to the Duck and Potato?? Is there something else going on here? Are my pups doomed to a life of yeast infections? Their skin is not irritated (except for the inside of their ears) and their coats are beautiful. The pads of Shelby's paws are very rough, not smooth like Hanford's but i attribute that to yeast. I don't know how much more of this they and i can take. Please help.

Might be time to try a raw diet as a last resort.

McBain was similar to your pups, he got ear infections all the time and he was always itchy all over. I tried every food, eliminating all treats etc. Finally as a last resort I tried a raw diet. He hasn't had an ear infection for over 2 years!

I don't know what it is in kibble that causes his infections but it seems to be something in all kibbles.

According to all of the research I've found, they need two months at least in order to assess the full effect of the food change. I am in the process of changing Hunter over to NB fish and sweet potato myself. Also, I think you took too long to switch them over, everything I have found says to do it over the course of a week or two, not two months.

Give it time. I'd bet it will improve.

If you still want to feed kibble. Have you considered California Naturals? It's a great kibble to switch to if you dog has allergies.. It's Pure and Simple..

Here's their website:

http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=cal-home

When Dakota started to develop food allergies, I switched her to Cali. Natural Herring and Sweet Potato. When I switched her, all her allergy symptoms stopped. :)

I hope this helps and good luck.

Melissa :)

you may have gone in this direction and just haven't mentioned it - but, have you had actual allergy tests done? rather than continuing to try to guess, i think it would be worth the investment in getting some bloodwork done and find out for sure exactly what ingredient is causing the problem.

or, have you had them tested for environmental allergies? perhaps it's in a carpet you have or something else in the house?

You took a very long time to switch them over by mixing 2 whole bags together, etc.

If the old food was the culprit you were still putting it in their systems all that time.

Its only been 2 weeks on the new food. give it time. And I would give probiotics to put some good bacteria in to help fight off the yeast.

Calif. Natural is an excellent dog food but the chicken and rice formula is only 21% protein. Don't know how old your dog are but IMO this isn't hi enough for a growing Labrador. Don't know the Prot. %age of the specific CN forumula recommended.

Good luck - hope your babies are feeling better soon.

Thank you for your input, the reason i took so long to switch them over is because after two years of switching foods, if i do it over a period of a week, Shelby throws up and has diarhea that she can not control while she is crated during the day. I HAVE to switch it slowly to prevent this from happening. This had to be learned the hard way unfortunately.

The pups have not had any official allergy testing for environmental allergies. I don't think it is an environmental allergy as we have lived in two different houses since having the dogs. It was the same situation in both houses. Also, this happens in all seasons so i don't think it is grass or pollen related as we are in the dead of winter here. I wash their bedding in a fragrance free, hypo allergen detergent. The vet agrees that it is most certainly a food allergy.

I will give the Duck and Potato more time but i think this food is what is causing them to smell so bad. I have not tried the California Naturals as they don't have it around here anywhere. Thanks again for your suggestions. I am just to the point where i don't know that anything else will work. I am feeling so overwhelmed with a new baby coming and the thought of having a baby, working full time and trying to do RAW just seems like too much. But if it has to happen it has to happen. Thanks again.

i guess i thought it must be an environmental thing because it would be so unusual for 2 dogs to have the exact same food allergy.

the only other thing is, as i mention, getting them allergy tests. a friend had to do it for her cat, and i know it cost quite a bit, but in the end it was so worth it for her. she found out exactly what was causing the problem in the food and has been able to avoid it and avoid problems ever since.

good luck with whatever you do to try to help them.

i guess i thought it must be an environmental thing because it would be so unusual for 2 dogs to have the exact same food allergy.
I agree with you and i too have thought this to be strange. Shelby's case is much much worse and manifests itself in many more symptoms. Until recently, Hanford's only problem was the yeast infection in the ear. Now he has the anus problem and the smelly problem. We have another vet appointment for next week. I am going to let him know that i am ready for the allergy testing.

Holly had a big problem with yeast infections in her ears since she was a little pup. Now, at age 5, we know for certain that she has no food allergy. We have done food trials on 3 different foods, and she also ate home cooked food for the first 2 years of life. Two things got it under control.
1) Testing for environmental allergies and, when we got the serum from the more accurate skin test, shots every 10 days.
2) Cleaning her ears once a week.
She lived in PA from 8 weeks until almost 2 years old. This house was 150 years old and had radiators. Then we moved to TX, where we lived for 3 years. That house was like 10 years old and had forced air. These were 2 totally different houses in 2 totally different environments. Her allergies did get worse in TX, and her allergies were more mild in PA. In fact, we didn't recognize them as allergies until we moved to TX and realized just what allergies are! Then, we started reflecting back and noticing things like periods of intense itching in August, the reddishness to her skin, and the repeated ear infections.
So, my advice is to look beyond food if there is a continued problem after food trials. Holly was doing wonderfully in TX after we got it all figured out. When we got up here to MD, it is a different environment not covered by her serum, and we did have a little trouble again. She had an ear infection again after going for a very long time without one (well over a year, at least). She can be tested again after she has been in this region for a year, and I can guarantee that we will be doing that.

Allergies can occur year-round, they can be allergic to other things that pollen so that still could be a possibility. Environmental allergies are much more common, and the fact you're struggling to find a food points to environmental allergies.

I have to agree with McBainandLoki'sMom. Even if you don't want to feed a raw diet forever, it's the easiest way to get a limited ingredient diet that you have full control over. If you prepare a very simple and basic diet and there is no improvement, chances are you're not dealing with food allergies. If you see an improvement, then you can start figuring out what you can add, and if you want, start trying kibbles again.

Otherwise, you can switch foods all day long and if it's environmental you'll never find a food that works.

Something tells me 7 1/2 months pregnant might not be the ideal time to begin a switch to raw ;) I agree that environmental allergies should be considered. It is exceptionally bad luck to have two dogs affected, whatever the source.

One other thing to keep in mind is that allergies to the yeast itself (malassezia yeast) is fairly common. Sometimes getting the yeast under control through medication can allow the dog to get a handle on it with a new diet regimen. Ketoconazole is generic now and quite inexpensive, so it may be worth a try if you haven't already done so.

Best of luck to you.

In short, based on what Hanford and Shelby are dealing with, I believe is stagnation of the liver/stomach/pancreas/gallbladder (as per Natural Dog Health books, TCM and Holistic vet medicine). The "smell" on them that you're smelling is probably a "rancid" smell - this comes from stagnation of the liver. Do you give them digestive enzymes with their kibble?

NB D&P isn't for every dog who is sensitive (potatoes can be yeast forming ;(), sometimes you have to look outside the box, if you know what I mean. The Natural Dog Health books listed in the Natural Diet section, help to look outside the box :).

Are you giving them any supplements?

BL, malassezia yeast has a very distinct odor which vets can recognize on the skin immediately.

A digestive enzyme certainly wouldn't hurt, and I agree that since most of the "holistic" foods are very high in carbohydrates and lower in protein and fat (the exact opposite of raw diets), they are not always the best choice to facilitate healing.

If the malassezia yeast has had a foothold for a long time, knocking it back with medication might still be the best course of action as you seek to discover the cause. We had an amazing success story with a rescue dog who was given up when her owner could no longer afford the $100+ a week for special food and supplements, and the dog had not improved. Ketoconazole had just become generic at that time, so I think the miracle ended up costing something like $16!!! The dog has lived a normal life for several years now, and really, no one has ever quite figured out the cause. The previous owner did have quite a lot of essential oil candles in her house, so it's possible that was the initial allergy, but she's been fine in her new home, where there are no scented candles.

3DN, i will look into the supplement you mentioned. I am currently not feeding either one of them any supplements. The frustrating part about the yeast in the ears is that after the medication clears up the problem, it only takes about 2 weeks for it to come back. Shelby is by far the worse off of the two. The smell that has developed on them smells like corn chips only ten times stronger. Shelby's feet have always smelled that way, Hanford's less so. But now both of them have this smell permeating from their bodies. (since the Duck and potato)

Like i mentioned before, what perplexes me so much is that they do not have any skin issues, they aren't itching themselves, they aren't red, they don't have dry skin or flakey skin. Their coats are beautifully shiny and they don't over shed. (well, they shed like labs) I don't mind the expense of treating them so much. But it is getting costly to try more and more expensive dog foods, vet appointments and medications. No to mention it breaks my heart when they are in obvious pain from the ear infections.

I will suggest to the vet at our upcoming appointment that maybe we need to look at an environmental allergy. Does the fact that they have so much yeast showing up in their cultures point to a food allergy or more of an environmental allergy?
Thanks again for all of your responses.

But now both of them have this smell permeating from their bodies. (since the Duck and potato) What do they smell like?

Have you read any Natural Health dog books?

The smell that has developed on them smells like corn chips only ten times stronger. Shelby's feet have always smelled that way, Hanford's less so. But now both of them have this smell permeating from their bodies. (since the Duck and potato)
I have not read any books like you mention, however, instead of working, i have been researching malassezia yeast on the internet for the last 30 minutes and much of what i have read is similar to what we have going on at our house. I didn't realize the skin would not be flakey and dry but instead greasy. And Shelby ALWAYS wants her mouth scratched. I couldn't figure out why she would have an itchy mouth but reading what i have about the malassezia yeast, it makes sense. I don't know if this makes any difference, but unless i keep an eye on them and make them stop, they will lick each others ears (the infected ones) and i wonder if it is possible to pass the yeast back and forth between the two of them this way.

Keep the ideas and suggestions coming, i am acutally feeling a ray of hope in this ongoing mess and i have a lot to ask the vet about at our upcoming appointment! Thank you thank you thank you!

My dog Tela use to get terrible yeasty ears, so much so that everyone at the vet office knew us the moment we walked in. My vet thought it could be environmental or food allergies. So, I started on my quest of the ever changing kibble diet and finally tried a RAW diet. I will never feed kibble to any dog I ever have as a result. Everything cleared up very quickly in Tela's ear and her anal gland problem was long gone!

Honestly, if you want to help your dog, get it off kibble and onto RAW meat to at least 'test' it out and see what happens. I just switched my father-in law's lab over to RAW because she was always itching and the vet kept changing food, etc. A month later the dog grew hair where she never had any, she lost about 8lbs and has such a different personality. It is really amazing that such a simple thing can effect so much.