My dog smells yeasty and scratches his face and paws. What should I do?

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.

I would recommend taking Boo to the vet to have his ears and skin examined. Boo certainly could have a yeast or bacterial infection in his ears - ear infections are common in dogs and medicated ointments are necessary to treat the infection. It's possible that the scabs and scratch are related to a skin infection, or they could be from trauma. Allergies are a common cause of both ear and skin infections.

London should see the veterinarian. That looks really inflamed. That could be due to many things including allergies, a one time bacterial or yeast infection, trauma or a hotspot. You may try to find a cone at another pet store as that is needed regardless of the cause. You must stop her from scratching at it since that will only make it worse. Set up an appointment to be seen with your veterinarian. I hope this helps and she starts feeling better quickly.

It looks like he also has a bacterial skin infection. You could soak his paws in a warm Epsom salt solution and also bathe him with an anti microbial dog shampoo but he probably needs some prescription medications, too. Schedule an appointment with your vet for treatment.

If you stopped the Fluconazole course before you were supposed to, then that would be why the yeast infection spread from his paw to his leg. It's never recommended to stop a course of treatment unless told to do so by your vet. I would take Bruno back into your vet today for an exam, the vet can advise if they want you to continue on the Fluconazole. Itching in dogs can be causing by fleas, mites, or allergies. If he isn't up to date on his flea treatment, you will need to give him a spot on treatment such as Advantage or Revolution, and you will have to disinfect the environment. Should he be up to date on his flea treatment, I would have the vet examine and test him for mites (skin scrapings) and allergies (blood tests) when you see him for the yeast infection.

It would be hard to say what the cause is without having a sample of the affected area taken. Your vet can do this and have it cultured to determine if it is yeast or bacterial in cause which can provide a more targeted treatment. In the meantime, keeping the paws clean and dry is the best course of action as this can help minimize yeast and bacterial growth, especially between the toes where they thrive on moisture. Placing an Elizabethan (cone) collar on Val can also help keep her from licking which can introduce more moisture and bacteria.

It is possible we could have yeast or bacteria here. The only way to tell for certain is to do what is called a cytology on the area. Your vet can take a sample (they may use a piece of tape or press a microscope slide directly on the skin) and look at it under the microscope. They can then determine if we have infection present and treat appropriately.