How much yogurt should we be giving for a yeast infection?

[jwathas]

Well, I just ordered some probiotics. We're going to give NaturVet Digestive Enzymes with Prebiotics & Probiotics a try and hope it helps. Hopefully that in combination with the NutriSource food will get him started back on the right track!

[JenC]

I agree that yogurt probably isn't enough for probiotics.

I've been impressed with this company and their products: DOGZYMES Probiotic Max 1 lb

[Snowshoe]

Allergies can manifest as a yeast infection so I think your first Vet may just have been poor at communicating with you.

When you stopped the Prednisone did you stop cold turkey? It's dangerous to do that and it's probably why you saw a resurgence of itchiness. Google, there's tons of confirmation of this on the internet.

Prednisone is a strong drug and very effective but it does have long term side effects. My first dog was fine on it but I was anxious the second time around so My Vet prescribed Atopica, which worked wonderfully. It also has possible side effects but is generally considered to be less dangerous than Prednisone. Another similar new drug is Apoquel.

My Vet didn't recommend allergy testing either but some people here have done it and been very happy they did. It is expensive. Another option, if you think your dog might have food allergies, is the NutriScan Food Sensitivity and Intolerance Test for Cats and Dogs test. I did this recently. My dog does, as we thought, have mostly seasonal environmental allergies but as per this test there are a few, very few, foods he should avoid.

I agree there is not enough probiotic in yogurt, or kefir to overcome an established infection. That's why the saying, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Probiotics from yogurt or kefire are more preventative. I'm not finding ACV to be of much help for ears either.

My dog was sick last summer and went off all his meds, tapered off the Pred,. and went first to a novel protein and filler both cooked, then the meat raw and now full raw as per our new Holistic Vet. She also used Chinese medicine and accupuncture. Despite not being on any of his previous meds he did not itch all summer. A diffferent Chinese herb concoction is proving to be effective on his ears. His ears have bothered him just these last two winters, as is typical his allergies seeem to be getting worse and he reacts to more things now. We are anxiously waiting to see what will happen this summer, maybe last year was an anomaly and influenced by his illness? We'll see but in the meantime he seems fine so this kind of Veterinary might be something for you to consider and look into as well? Good luck.

[lovemylabby]

Hello and welcome! I am sorry to hear of your dog's issues...it is so upsetting to see our dogs suffer.

By the way...Nitro is just gorgeous!

I just wanted to let you know that my Toby has been eating Nutrisource for about three years now...and he loves the food and does great on it.

He currently is eating the Nutrisource Grain Free Chicken formula.

Nutrisource makes many different varieties. It is a very good family run company.

I know when my Toby was eating yogurt (just after being on antibiotics to put the good bacteria back in his gut) my Vet suggested that we not over do it and give him about a tablespoon with his dinner. We also gave him the plain, Greek yogurt (Fage brand).

Good luck to you and I hope Nitro finds some relief. He is a beauty.

[jwathas]

Thanks everyone! Nitro is definitely a very good boy. I'm very anxious to try the NutriSource food when it arrives! It was very highly recommended. I love that it's a family run company. I was reading the reviews and it pretty much got 5-star reviews on every site I looked at. We ordered it off Amazon and signed up for automatic monthly shipments of it. We went with the seafood formula. I'm also hoping that the NaturVet probiotics will help him. That got good reviews as well.

We didn't stop the prednisone cold turkey. We gradually tapered it off. That's one med that can't just be suddenly stopped all at once. I HATE the effects of prednisone. When he was on it before, he put on too much weight and he was constantly having to pee and would even occasionally have accidents in the house, which is something he never does when he's not on it. Right now, we're adding about a tablespoon of plain Greek Fage yogurt to his breakfast and dinner as well as a little Bragg's apple cider vinegar. His new food and probiotics will be here at the beginning of the week, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

[Labradorks]

I've had good luck with Whole Foods 365 brand probiotic pearls for my dogs. It's about $30 for 90 pearls. It's a human probiotic, so not found in the pet section.

Good luck with your yeast issues. I had a dog with a similar problem and the food changes helped. I'd give him an antihistamine in the summer months. That said, I have met dogs with some serious issues and while food helped, it did not fix it. It's hard.

[jwathas]

We ended up going to the Vitamin Shoppe today and we picked up some of their probiotics that they had in their pet section because we didn't want to wait for the ones we ordered to come in the mail, especially since we're about to get yet another huge snow storm and that could cause a delay in the mail, so we figured we should just pick some up locally to get him started on them right away. I just gave him his first packet (it's the powdered stuff) with his dinner. I put it on top of his food and he didn't even seem to notice it. I'm not exactly sure how long it takes for probiotics to really start working, but hopefully we'll start to notice less itching and chewing soon. Should we still give him the yogurt along with the probiotics, or would that be overdoing it? He absolutely loves the yogurt. I'll be so happy once his hair starts growing back. He has such a beautiful coat and it's so hard seeing him with all of these bald patches from the constant scratching and gnawing he's been doing. I just gave him a bath yesterday and he already has that musty yeast smell back.

These are the probiotics we picked up today: Ultimate Probiotics for Dogs by the Vitamin Shoppe - Buy Ultimate Probiotics for Dogs 30 Packs at vitamin shoppe

[shellbell]

If he likes the yogurt, no harm in throwing a tbsp or so on his food as a topper.

[Doreen Davis]

Allergies can be environmental or food related. Our black lab Amy was allergic to trees, mites, mold, grasses, the cat, you name it. She also switched to a fish based kibble.

Dog Allergies | Dog Atopy- Causes, Symptoms, Treatment | VCA Animal Hospitals

We brought her to a Derm vet and with her help we got her on track. Allergies are the root cause of the itching which in turn causes scratching which opens the skin to bacteria and yeast. When we left the Derm vet the first time we had antibiotics and antifungals to treat the infections caused by the scratch/itch cycle.

The difference was that they were the right drugs, at the right strength for the proper length of time. My experience with yeast was that we needed to treat it with oral ketoconazole for an extended period of time and then take samples by placing scotch tape on the skin, lifting it and then looking at what was transferred onto a slide and examined under a microscope. Once we were clear we could use a medicated shampoo and an ear wash. Vigilant follow up kept her clear. In all the years I can't remember a Derm vet using a steroid other than for very short time for an acute situation.

While allergy testing and a visit to a Derm vet is expensive, it was more economical in the long run than the constant visits to our local vet. Once the Derm vet established a treatment plan we were able to return to our local vet who followed the Derm plan.

In our 12 years of working with Amy's allergies we always had to clear the infections before trying the holistic approaches such as cider vinegar, yogurt etc. et al. Best of luck with Nitro, he's a cutie.

[jwathas]

We started the probiotic last night with his dinner and he had it again this morning with his breakfast (he's still getting the plain Greek yogurt as well) and I haven't heard or seen him scratch or chew on himself one single time today! This is major progress. Hopefully this is just what we need to get him back on track!