Does apple cider vinegar help dog skin yeast and odor issues?

If you are observing skin lesions and an odor he may have both a bacterial and yeast infection. While some cases can be treated topically and with medicated shampoos, more severe cases often requires oral antibiotic and antifungal therapy. As a first line therapy, start with a medicated shampoo that can be used for both yeast and bacterial infections such as Malaseb or Virbac or products recommended by your veterinarian. Additionally, it is important to make sure he is on a monthly flea prevention as many pets are sensitive to fleas. If this is secondary to allergies or what we refer to as atopy, he may require additional therapy including an allergy vaccine.

Unfortunately there is no home cure. You will need to take your dog to a veterinarian for an exam, diagnosis and, if it is a yeast infection, prescription antifungal medicine and possibly shampoo. Besides a yeast dermatitis, this could also be a bacterial infection or sarcoptes mites. This is why diagnosis is important.

Yeast infections are especially itchy, crusty, and smelly. Often a dog starts with a rash or with simple itching but the skin thickens to an “elephant” skin appearance. The itch is extreme and the odor can be especially troublesome. Parts of the body or the entire body can be affected. Malassezia overgrowth is particularly problematic where there are skin folds ("armpits," eyelids, facial folds, lip folds, throat latch, and especially between the toes). Treatment can be topical, oral, or both. Topical treatment is best used for localized spots of infection while oral medication would be better applied to larger infected areas. If the yeast infection is recurrent or if one wishes to supplement oral medication, topical and oral treatment can be combined. Oral medications are available through your vet. Shampoos such as Chlorhexiderm Max® or Malaseb® shampoo both strip skin oil and kill yeast; however, other anti-yeast products include Selsun Blue®, Miconazole® shampoo, Nizoral® shampoo, Douxo® shampoo and more. The pet must be bathed twice a week to start and the shampoo requires a 15 minute contact time (meaning do not rinse the lather for 15 minutes). It is important to realize that yeast overgrowth occurs in response to a primary problem be it allergy, seborrhea or something else. If the underlying problem is not controlled, yeast dermatitis is likely to periodically recur. It is common for allergic dogs to require some kind of periodic if not on-going anti-yeast therapy.

Snoopy's skin issues could be a result of allergies or even systemic diseases (such as Cushing's disease or hypothyroidism) that can compromise the immune system and weaken the skin barrier to infection. Some yeast infections can be managed with prescription-based shampoos containing climbazole, ketoconazole, or other antifungals. To my knowledge, there are no safe and effective over the counter anti-fungal shampoos for dogs. Your vet should be able to prescribe an appropriate shampoo for Snoopy. I realize that you are unable to medicate Snoopy, but realize that some skin yeast infections do not respond to topical medications or shampoos alone and require oral antifungal medications. Hopefully this won't be an issue for her. I hope that she's on the mend soon!

A yeast infection is a good thought and the medicated shampoo would help that condition, but he may need stronger treatment to completely eliminate it. However, the yeast infection is not often the primary cause of the skin problem. More likely, it's due to an internal problem with the dog. It can also be caused by bathing too frequently with innapropriate products like human shampoo or soaps. Hypothyroidism is a condition that is a possible cause. If Kado is chunky, but doesn't eat that much, then that would raise my suspicion. This would have to be diagnosed and treated by a veterinarian. Either way, Kado likely needs a vet and it would be worth having an exam done to see what the possible causes are and the expense. In the meantime I would keep up the medicated dog shampoo baths once every other day. You should also add a dog conditioner to the routine after the medicated bath. I hope that helps and Kado gets better soon.

I am unsure if she presented with this irritation during her recent exam with the vet which would have alerted them to thoroughly check this area or not; however this appears to be a possible mild vaginitis with a secondary yeast infection. A skin impression/cytology is ideal to confirm this diagnosis through your vet. We typically treat these with a pet formulated topical chlorhexidine/ketoconazole skin wipe or spray. I have never used hydrogen peroxide, vinegar or yogurt to treat a yeast infection in a dog, nor do I see any reliable information on the veterinary boards to suggest that this is a plausible treatment; therefore, I wouldn't recommend it. I have seen where vinegar can reduce some yeast populations on the skin, but complete resolve is not guaranteed. Instead your vet should be able to supply the appropriate medicated topical treatment to help resolve Isa's apparent vaginitis. I can sense that you feel this may have been missed on her recent exam and may have some resentment about that; however I would still recommend returning for the appropriate treatment for Isa. I hope her skin infections gets resolved soon. Take care.

Hi, thank you for using PetCoach. Skin issues can certainly be frustrating. If Mocha isn't responding to the therapy her vet prescribed, please contact them to discuss next steps. It is impossible to diagnose a skin condition from photos alone. Her vet may recommend doing cytology, fungal culture and/or skin scrapes to determine the cause of her infection. In some cases referral to a veterinary dermatologist may be recommended for difficult cases. Sometimes there is underlying endocrine disease or allergies that may require bloodwork to diagnose. In the meantime, a diet for sensitive skin is always a good idea for dogs with recurrent skin infection. I really like Purina ProPlan Salmon for dogs with skin problems. VIP-_-58700003318233982&kwid=p30226684098&device=c&gclid=CKDNtaClntoCFcu0fgodJBgN9A&gclsrc=ds Many times your vet may recommend a medicated shampoo to help with skin infections. I would check with Mocha's vet to see what they recommend based on her condition. Some shampoos can be more irritating than helpful. Though ketohex is usually useful for bacterial and fungal infections https://www.amazon.com/Vet-One-313985007705-Ketohex-Shampoo/product-reviews/B00WAP0M1U/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_199_tr_cr_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1W04Q4164W15DCWTM9HE Good luck, I hope Mocha improves soon.