Yeast

Yeast is a type of fungus also known as candida that occurs naturally on our dogs skin and in their gut. Yeast is an important part of the of the microbiome, it lives in balance with other fungi, bacteria and viruses. It can become a problem when there is an overgrowth of yeast, this condition is known as SIFO (small intestinal fungal overgrowth)

SIGNS of a yeast overgrowth can be:

- A ‘cheesy’ smell coming from feet or ears

- Ear infections and black,brown discharge

- Rusty coloured discolouration of fur between feet pads and around the genitals

- Itching

- Black speckles appearing on the skin in the tummy area or in the ears.

- loss of fur

-loose stools

-stomach upset

-itchy genitals

CAUSES of yeast overgrowth

Yeast overgrowths and infections can stem from many things: from a weakened immune system to food intolerances, environmental allergies, pharmaceuticals, vaccines, chemical flea and worm treatments - antibiotics being one of the biggest culprits. Environmental toxins like cleaning products and lawn treatments can also throw the microbiota out of balance.

We’re all aware of the negative effects stress can have on us and our dogs, but did you know that stress can also contribute to yeast overgrowth? Reducing stress to our dogs wherever possible can help the battle with yeast as well as many other health issues.

REDUCING and treating yeast.

Thankfully, there’s lots of things we can do to support our dogs and reduce or irradicate yeast overgrowth naturally.

Yeast loves sugar!! So the first thing we suggest is looking at the diet and removing any high carbohydrate/sugary foods. This means we need to take a very close look at what we feed our dogs - not just food, treats also. Does anything in the diet contain carbohydrates and sugars? If the answer is yes, then remove it from the diet initially, this will help to starve the yeast. Kibble is around 40-60% carbohydrates so must not be fed. Fruits, veggies and biscuit type treats all contain carbohydrates and sugar. Once the yeast is under control you can slowly introduce some low carbohydrate plant matter back into the diet. If you would like more help on what to feed ask us in group as we’d be delighted to help.

We should also avoid feeding any fermented foods such as kefir and sauerkraut. Although these foods are fantastic probiotics, they use sugars derived from the food source in the fermentation process, so feeding these foods can inadvertently add to the problem. We will discuss suitable probiotics to feed later. Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) is also fermented so avoid feeding this too. If you make bone broth with ACV, try switching to lemon juice instead.

Yeast also loves heavy metal and not the musical kind!! This may sound absurd as we would never knowingly add heavy metals into our dogs diet, however, they can be present in our dogs’ bodies from vaccines, chemical flea and worming treatments, tap water and some fish such as tuna, salmon and seabass.

To reduce heavy metals in our dogs’ bodies we can do several things:

- Titre test rather than routinely vaccinate

- Switch to natural flea and worm prevention

- Offer OxyPet or bottled water

- Stick to feeding low mercury fish such as sprats, mackerel and sardines

- Offer bentonite clay which attracts heavy metals and can help to remove them from our dogs’ bodies.

Offering antibacterial foods such as fresh garlic can also be helpful as well as adding things like oil of oregano, thyme oil and olive leaf extract, these can also be used topically.

-Black seed oil is a powerful anti fungal and antibacterial

Dr Conor Brady does a product called Yeast Defeat the may help internally and a topical treatment called Propythium.

Yeast over growth can cause inflammation of the gut lining, the one cell epithelial layer is responsible for producing stomach acid. If the stomach acid is out of kilter this will allow the yeast to flourish. Giving slippery elm or marshmallow root which have a mucilage effect helps to heal and sooth the mucosal wall, as well as being adaptogens that can help regulate the stomach acid, which in turn helps keep the microbiota in balance keeping yeast in check. Be mindful both are prebiotic so can feed the yeast also.

Probiotics, Saccharmomyces Boulardii is know to be helpful with yeast infections or look for a soil based probiotic like Gut Guardian or Four leaf rover Protect.

Using paw dips and rinses of 50/50 water and ACV may be helpful for reducing yeast topically.

If your dog has any food allergies/ intolerances or environmental allergies it’s also a good idea to work on these issues as they can add to unbalancing the gut and give opportunistic yeast the chance to overgrow.

When we start to address the yeast please start any protocol very very slowly as symptoms can sometimes get worse, this is known as the “herx” reaction. This is caused from high numbers of yeast die off. The die off releases large amounts of toxins into the body which can cause dogs to feel unwell. Symptoms can be anything from fatigue, headaches, fever, nausea and itching. Symptoms may worsen anything from a few days to a few weeks. Not all dogs will experience this though and many don’t show any symptoms at all, to reduce the risk go slowly with any protocol.

We do not recommend the use of any anti microbial shampoos as they not only wipe out the bad guys but the good guys also, use a mild natural shampoo.

Written by Sarah Hibbert, No Bull Just Natural Health for Dogs