[Kristabelle]

Our Komondor pup had his 1 year check yesterday and it was determined the recent cause of his ear itching/scratching was a yeast infection.

They put him on a cream, wash, antibiotic, and steroid for the sore he caused on one ear and we've started that routine.

A question though - In my mind, it makes sense, but would it be beneficial to give him a dollop of plain yogurt in his kibble each day? I know that some doctors recommend ladies having yogurt on a regular basis to help maintain the good bacterias needed to ward off yeast infections.

My DF thinks I'm weird but I'm trying to come up with natural preventative treatments.

 

[bluefish]

That would help, but usually yeast is an allergy symptom. Usually to feed, but could be environmental. My GP has huge yeast issues with any grain except rice. He's on a raw diet mostly. He also gets cooked rice and split peas every so often. He's always been raw, but when young he was getting into the chicken feed. Took me a while to figure that out. I fixed it so that he couldn't get in there anymore and then gave him 1-2 garlic cloves a day and a couple capsules of olive leaf and kefir in his food. The garlic and olive leaf was to help get rid of the yeast once the cause was removed. The kefir was for probiotics. Be aware that it can be a long, drawn out process. Yeast is very tenacious. The cream and steroid will make the symptoms go away, but if the cause is still there, they will come back.

 

[simi-steading]

Been having this problem with my dog and yeast on her nails/claws. We were feeding her yogurt with probiotics, and dipping her paws in apple cider vinegar mixed with water.. been a huge help..

 

[GrannyCarol]

Yes, by all means give him a dollop of plain yogurt in his kibble every day. It won't hurt him and it will help to repopulate his gut with beneficial bacteria. Particularly keep doing it after he is done with his antibiotics, which will probably kill off the bacteria in the yogurt too. You may even want to find doggie probiotics and use them for a time.

Keep in mind that many yeast infections are caused by diet - too starchy, something the dog is allergic to (allergies cause itchy ears, scratching and irritated skin opens up pathways for infections) - and your dog might benefit even more from a change in diet, depending on what you are feeding him. Usually recommended are diets low in grains and starches, particularly corn, and high in animal proteins.

Also there can be a connection with internal parasites. Whip worm, in particular, is very damaging to the gut and can cause leaky gut syndrome, which really affects nutrition and allergies. Allergies because holes in the gut from the parasite allow larger particles of food to enter into the blood stream, which then trigger allergic responses, which give you the irritated itchy skin and allows the infections.

Komondors also have floppy ears and heavy coats, which can block air flow into the ear canal, giving a perfect place for yeast infections. You can either trim the hair under and on the ear to open up some air flow, or have your Komondor wear a snood at least part of the time to pull the ears back and allow the insides to dry out.

Once the ears are healed up, you can use distilled vinegar to wash them out and even put a dollop of plain yogurt (warmed) into the ears themselves. One of my friends did this with a German Shepherd that came to her with body odor and yeastiness and it entirely cleared her up. I babysat my parent's English Setter years ago, they live in the "wet" side of our state, the land of mold and mildew. He had chronic ear problems and came to me with ear meds... however, in our semi desert area, his ears were clear in a week from the low humidity and lack of mold/mildew in our house. I can't visit their house for more than 3 - 4 days and my allergies are killing me and my ears itch like mad!

Hopefully this will help you with some ideas as to cause that can be dealt with to get him healed up and to stay that way.

 

[Kristabelle]

His rescue had him on a Purina grocery store food and I suspect that was a big culprit. We put him on TotW salmon kibble since our little corgi mix has a chicken allergy. He seems to be happy on it but it's only been a week since we've had him now so I don't expect immediate changes. He had stopped shaking his head so often prior to his vet check yesterday. We are still researching raw but if this doesn't work out for him I have considered making him a cooked meat and brown rice dish.

We are careful on him not getting any table scraps until we rule out which allergies he has. His treats are also grain free and chicken free, due to our other dog.

I didn't know about garlic cloves! I have tons of fresh garlic!

 

[bluefish]

Garlic works well, but don't overdo it. Too much can cause heinz-body anemia. However, it takes 1%-2% of the body weight to cause problems. That's a fair bit of garlic in a Komondor. I have had absolutely no problems with 1-2 clover per day, depending on the size of the clove. I also take 2 days off every 10 and, of course, stop once the infection is cleared.
I just peel a clove and stuff it down the throat just like giving a pill since mine won't touch it in food in any way.

 

[simi-steading]

Also make sure your dog food doesn't have brewers yeast in it..

 

[Maura]

You are probably right about the Purina, and one week of good food isn’t going to clear up the infection. If you can get kefir, use that. Does he have fur growing inside the ears, down the ear canal? If so, you have to pull that out.

 

[Kristabelle]

I'm on the hunt for kefir! He did but his vet plucked it out yesterday. We suspected ear mites initially because his ears were so gunky and he refused to let us clean them so we hurried in getting him to the vet. She plucked and cleaned his ears thoroughly for him. Poor guy.

 

[HandyDandyAcres]

Our dog's yeast issue is her allergy to nearly all animal proteins. The only animal protein source she has not had major issues with was kangaroo, and that stuff is hard to find and expensive. So she eats a vegan dog food. And when I say all animal proteins I mean anything that has come from an animal, no treats with eggs or chicken fat either.


HDAcres

 

[Just Little Me]

We use female cream in the ears of all our down ear guys. It works like a charm. Way cheaper than the stuff from the vet. We just clean the ears once a month and add the cream. Keep a close check during the wetter times.

 

[farmmom]

My hound dog used to have constant yeasty ears. I found this website that has a recipe for and ear solution. I use it every time he has a bath, and no more yeasty ears!!

http://www.zimfamilycockers.com/EarCleaner.html

 

[Kristabelle]

Our yeasty puppy has been doing pretty well! He finished his meds and he's put on a little weight from the new food, even though he eats less. His ears aren't angry pink and doesn't shake his head like crazy anymore. His sores on his ears and the couple of hot spots he had are healing up.

We discovered he itches almost immediately if he eats anything that isn't grain fee so we are careful in what he gets into. Even human food (a biscuit he swiped out of the trash) sets him off so I think there's a wheat allergy or something.

Everybody in this house has a food allergy so why not the dogs too? :facepalm:

 

[farmmom]

I'm glad you were able to figure out what starts the problem. That is a huge step to prevention.