My dog has a bad yeasty smell and skin issues. What should I do?

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.

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.

This is probably due to a severe allergy, although it could also be fleas or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat Rufus with a high quality flea treatment (e.g. advantage), then get him to the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try discovering the cause of the allergy. Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair the skin lesions (steroids and antibiotics). simultaneously you should start him on a prescription hypoallergenic diet for at least 2 months. Hopefully you will see some results after all this, if not you and your vet should consider putting him on a long term allergy treatment (Atopica or Apoquel).

You could try bathing him with a medicated shampoo that is antifungal and soothing to the skin. Make a lather and let it set on the skin for 5-10 minutes, then rinse thoroughly. Bathe 3 times a week for 2 weeks. If the smell is still there, then Wyatt should be re-examined by the vet. Chronic yeast infections can be caused by food allergies or underlying immune disorders, which could be caused by endocrine diseases like hypothyroidism or Cushing's. I like this shampoo: https://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=27920

I would probably have Sissy checked out by your vet. A chlorhexidine shampoo will help with superficial bacterial skin infections, but this may not be the cause of the crusting. It could also be caused by a fungal infection, deep bacterial infection, endocrine disease such as Cushing’s or hypothyroidism, mites, allergies, etc. The yeasty smell is often associated with allergic skin disease. Your vet can help you decide on a treatment for this, which may include oral medications, a different shampoo, or a special diet.

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!

There are various causes for the bad smell and they will need to be investigated by a veterinarian. 1) your dog (I am assuming it is a dog, you do not say anywhere what type of animal he is) may have a particularly stinky type of bacteria in his anal sacs. This could be remedied by emptying them and flushing them with an antibitic that kills off all bacteria and then hopefully a new type of bacteria will take up residence. 2) Your dog may have particularly smelly bacteria in his skin that emit a bad smell. Certain antibacterial shampoos can alleviate that 3) your dog may have a mite infection. Sarcoptes mite infections have a typical sweet smell. Sarcoptes mites can be killed with avermectins or a Bravecto chew. 4) He could have a fungal infection (treatable with fungicidal shampoo and/or tablets) 5) If you have other dogs in your house he may have a particular pack smell. 6) He may have a skin condition such as seborrhea which invites certain bacteria who can cause a bad smell. I suggest yu make an appointment with your vet who should then examine your dog and check for the various causes and treat accordingly. Don't forget to do flea control.