My dog has yeasty ears, hair loss, and chews feet. What can I do?

I recommend to have Harley examined by the veterinarian. Green discharge may indicate that a bacterial infection is now also present in addition to the yeast infection. This often requires systemic antibiotics, clipping of the hair, a topical solution, an anti-inflammatory and protection from scratching or rubbing to heal quickly. Chronic skin issues can be related to several things including allergies to fleas, allergies to something in the environment, food allergy or endocrine disease. Each one of these problems is detected and addressed differently and I recommend to discuss with your veterinarian which one to start hunting down first. Parasites are often ruled out with an oral medication like Simparica. Food allergy is best ruled out with a diet trial using a hydrolyzed protein. Endocrine diseases are detected with blood work. Environmental allergies are a little more difficult to detect but a response to therapy or a blood test can give an indication. Once you figure out and address the underlying cause, the lesions should not come back. There are a couple things you can do at home and they can help but they may not address the underlying cause. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing his diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.

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.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I would recommend using the below products and if no improvement, I would suggest asking your veterinarian about an oral antifungal drug such as Fluconazole to help treat the yeast infection. All of the below products can be found online quite easily. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. 1. Douxo PS Chlorhexidine combination shampoo and bathe twice weekly until resolved 2. Malacetic conditioning spray and apply to affected areas twice daily until resolved

Hi, thanks for using PetCoach! I think you might have meant to attach a picture, it not that would help! Bacterial and yeast infections are common causes of pododermatitis (infections of the feet). They can even be present together. You can try soaking her feet in Epsom salts or use a medicated shampoo on her feet three times per week and leave the lather on for 10 mins before rinsing. If there is no improvement in 2 weeks she should be examined by a Vet. I wish Paris the best! https://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=27307

Hello an thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. The skin does not look infected, I suspect the excessive itching and redness is related to an allergy. You should try and bath Diamond in an oatmeal soothing shampoo for dogs (the shampoos are available over-the-counter at pet shops, local vets or online). However, if it does not help and Diamond keeps licking herself, you will have to take her to your local vets to get anti-allergic treatment in form of injections or tablets.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This could be due to allergies and a yeast infection is possible. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing her allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

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.