She stinks! (allergy related)

Not to sound nasty, but I think I'd be finding a new vet.  I know you can test ear infections for yeast.  I beleive feet, etc can be tested, too.   I wouldn't feed TOTW until you know what it is your dog is allergic to.  You want something with one protein and one card source.  I feed Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diets.  Food changes only helps if your dog has a food allergy/sensitivity, and can take several weeks before you see a real change. I'm dealing with a dog who has food senstivities as well as environmental allergies (I've learned here that true food allergies are rare, but he definitely reacts to certain ingredients).  His once yellow feet are red from saliva stains because of him chewing them (although they have been dry lately- yippy!).  Something I've found that helps is giving him Benadryll and also rinsing him off with the hose to remove pollen.  Wiping him down with baby wipes works, too.

I've found a lot of help from my TCVM (Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine) vet -- http://www.tcvm.com -- that's the Chi Institute (a qualifying agency for vet acupuncture) and there is a locator on the left that should help you (check it both via zip code and state).

I'm sorry -- I agree with Micksmom -- you can SMELL yeast -- it's not rocket science!!  But honestly you DON'T WANT them to give you stuff like ketaconazole -- it's hard harsh nasty on the liver.

A good TCVM vet will give you hers (some of the Chiense herbs work VERY well for allergy/itchy dog stuff).

Don't be misled into thinking it's ALL food -- atopic allergies are HUGE -- everything from oak/maple, etc trees to dust mites, wallpaper dust, goldenrod and anything else WE can be allergic to.

PS -- try bathing her in Selsun Blue - it's the bEST thing out there for yeasty skin -- also -- try dipping her feet in black tea (just make plain old regular tea and keep a bowl next to the door -- dip her feet and wipe off with a terry towel -- the tanins will help defeat the allergies). 

Also -- get some liquid aloe (dirnkable aloe) or harvest the goo out of aloe leaves and apply that to the feet in between the toes -- will make them feel better and also help dry them up (do both the tea AND the aloe --w orks pretty well)

what everyone else said.... you CAN test for yeast - we usually do a 'tape test' AND treat it. easily. find a new vet....

 couldn't test or treat for yeast? Why not?

It is quite possible that it could be yeast infection, allergies make dog more susceptible.

 Sadly, we seem to be a proof to the contrary. Seeing a TCVM vet for a year now, having some improvement, but I couldn't say I'm being too impressed with our allergy results.

Thank you so much for the suggestions. At least there is something i can try now i feel so bad for her.

I am not to impressed with my vet either.  I thought it was rather silly  that he said you cant test for yeast.  Thank you for the link, hopefully there will be someone in my area that i can take her too.

 I will have to dig deeper on the food too. Thanks again!

Dawnben

... Also a good rinse for the feet would be apple cider vinegar, it puts the PH back in the skin and kills yeast. Mix a cup in a gallon bucket of water. Soak the feet in the bucket. It is great as a rinse after bathing.

Speaking of ACV- you can also put some on your dog's food or in the water dish.  I prefer putting it on the food- 1 tablespoon a day.  Because of the bitterness, most people add an equal amount of water to it.  Caleb is one of the odd ones- he doesn't mind it undiluted.  Also- make sure to get the organic stuff with "The Mother" in it.  Yes, the bottle will say "The Mother" someplace on it.  The ACV itself will look cloudy. 

KristineH

I asked my vet about it and he said he couldnt test her for yeast or treat her for yeast?

  He should be able to; my vet can. Your vet should be able to swab her feet with a Q-Tip and examine the cells under a microscope to see if there's bacteria or yeast. Callie is right; this may not be caused by food. There's a good chance this is at least partly due to environmental allergies. For the feet, you can try a chlorhexidine soak. You use a product like this; 

http://vetamerica.com/chlorhexidine-scrub-2-gallon-128-fl-oz.aspx 

 Your vet should carry chlorhexidine gluconate, or you should be able to find it at a farm supply store like Tractor Supply.  Mix one ounce to a gallon of water and soak each foot for five minutes twice a day until they're healed. This will work on bacteria and yeast. You do not need to make a fresh mixture each day; you can use what you mix up until it's gone before making more. My vet recommended this last summer when Jessie was going through a bad allergy flare-up. I poured some of the mixture in a zip lock bag and would put her feet in it one at a time. The tree tea oil rinses can be painful if her feet are very raw; the soaks should be enough. It will take awhile for her feet to heal and in the meantime, she will still want to chew them. You may need to put an e-collar on her so she can't get at her feet while they're healing.  Another option is to put dog boots on he feet that won't come off; I've used Muttluks for that purpose. Either way, it's important to prevent her from chewing them while they heal.

 Have you tried giving her an antihistamine like Benedryl? That, together with fish oil, may help her feel less itchy. Your vet should know how much Benedryl she needs. For fish oil, most vets consider 50 to 100 milligrams per kilogram of body weight to be safe. More than that may prevent the blood from clotting. For example, Jessie weighs about 60 pounds. If I gave her the lower dose, that would be about 1360 milligrams.

jessies_mom

KristineH

I asked my vet about it and he said he couldnt test her for yeast or treat her for yeast?

 

  He should be able to; my vet can. Your vet should be able to swab her feet with a Q-Tip and examine the cells under a microscope to see if there's bacteria or yeast. Callie is right; this may not be caused by food. There's a good chance this is at least partly due to environmental allergies. For the feet, you can try a chlorhexidine soak. You use a product like this; 

http://vetamerica.com/chlorhexidine-scrub-2-gallon-128-fl-oz.aspx 

 Your vet should carry chlorhexidine gluconate, or you should be able to find it at a farm supply store like Tractor Supply.  Mix one ounce to a gallon of water and soak each foot for five minutes twice a day until they're healed. This will work on bacteria and yeast. You do not need to make a fresh mixture each day; you can use what you mix up until it's gone before making more. My vet recommended this last summer when Jessie was going through a bad allergy flare-up. I poured some of the mixture in a zip lock bag and would put her feet in it one at a time. The tree tea oil rinses can be painful if her feet are very raw; the soaks should be enough. It will take awhile for her feet to heal and in the meantime, she will still want to chew them. You may need to put an e-collar on her so she can't get at her feet while they're healing.  Another option is to put dog boots on he feet that won't come off; I've used Muttluks for that purpose. Either way, it's important to prevent her from chewing them while they heal.

 Have you tried giving her an antihistamine like Benedryl? That, together with fish oil, may help her feel less itchy. Your vet should know how much Benedryl she needs. For fish oil, most vets consider 50 to 100 milligrams per kilogram of body weight to be safe. More than that may prevent the blood from clotting. For example, Jessie weighs about 60 pounds. If I gave her the lower dose, that would be about 1360 milligrams.

Thank you!  I will for sure try doing that foot soak with her. And look into getting her some Muttluks as well. I have already tried using a cone collar on her and after about a day she found a way to reach her back feet. I do give her Benedryl, usually once a day, but now we are doing it twice a day since its so bad right now. That seems to be taking the edge of and helping some. Thank you for the guidelines on fish oil i will do that with her as well.

  I dont think its food related to be honest. I really think it has something to do with the outdoors. I have tried a few different foods for months at a time before switching and nothing seems to decrease her licking and chewing.

 Thanks so much again, you guys all  have been a BIG help :)

KristineH

I do give her Benedryl, usually once a day, but now we are doing it twice a day since its so bad right now. That seems to be taking the edge of and helping some. Thank you for the guidelines on fish oil i will do that with her as well.

When you give benedryl you MUST give 1 mg/lb at least twice a day.  That sounds like a lot but their metabolism is FASTER than ours and it just doesn't do any good if you don't give it properly.  Yes, they'll be sleepy for a while but they will learn to overcome it  But giving it consistently helps the body deal with the allergens as they come in the body rather than just after thef act.