Dog allergy test? Yeasty ears

[KatieDM]

Hi guys. So, my dog is constantly battling yeasty ears and itchy skin. We’ve changed her food and she does best on Arden Grange Salmon (in the pink bag). It might not be the “best” but it works for her and her coat looks glossy on it, stomach and poops fine etc. We know from observing her over the years that she is definitely sensitive or allergic to chicken and egg. We’ve had vets prescribe stuff for her ears a few times. Don’t really want her on steroids.

The overall itching seems to be bad at the moment and I’m just not sure what to do. We already avoid any treats outside of her food, which we do supplement with some mackerel. She doesn’t have our scraps or chews etc., as we’ve found even a chicken flavoured toothpaste has set her off in the past. She just seems miserable and she’s shedding a lot in addition. Has anybody experienced the itching and excess yeast and found anything effective?

This leads me to wanting to ask if anybody has tried this Peanut allergy test? 90% of me is thinking it can’t be accurate. It’s tested via their fur.

Thanks for any help

(She’s majority Belgian Malinois and the rest is mutt — bit of Boxer in her and then lots of Shepherding breeds. Her mum arrived from Romania pregnant. We did a Wisdom DNA test a few years ago. She’s now 7.)

 

[CorvusCorax]

What has the vet said?

Mine doesn't have yeasty ears but she does get a cytopoint injection to keep hormonal/seasonal itching under control.
She's also had courses of apoquel and steroids for really bad outbreaks.

With an old dog who I really struggled with, I fed him a really low protein fish based food for senior dogs. It wasn't the best quality but kept the itching at bay for a while.

 

[KatieDM]

What has the vet said?

Mine doesn't have yeasty ears but she does get a cytopoint injection to keep hormonal/seasonal itching under control.
She's also had courses of apoquel and steroids for really bad outbreaks.

With an old dog who I really struggled with, I fed him a really low protein fish based food for senior dogs. It wasn't the best quality but kept the itching at bay for a while.

Thanks for your reply.

The vets just keep prescribing spray for her ears (which are steroid based) and that she has narrow ear canals. But not getting much further than that with them.

That seems to be our experience with the fish-based food. Perhaps supplementing with additional fish is too much protein and we could try cutting that out for a bit.

Edited to add she is spayed - not sure if hormones could be an issue!

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

I would ask vet for a steroid injection to break the itch cycle. I doubt it will do much damage once.

 

[quizzie]

Arden Grange Salmon

You mention that you believe she reacts to chicken and egg....unfortunately the arden grange salmon appears to contain both?

You need to read ingredient labels in minute detail if you are going to attempt to exclude certain food groups unfortunately!

I would suggest trying a grain free formulation if possible, but look for "sneaky" ingredient names which may disguise the things you wish to avoid.

 

[HopOnTrot]

I would ask your vet to run allergy tests rather than an online test, the below website has pretty good information on it.

Dog Allergy Testing: How Much Does It Cost & Is It Worth It?

Today, our Newtown vets discuss allergy testing for dogs.

www.newtownvets.com

 

[KatieDM]

You mention that you believe she reacts to chicken and egg....unfortunately the arden grange salmon appears to contain both?

You need to read ingredient labels in minute detail if you are going to attempt to exclude certain food groups unfortunately!

I would suggest trying a grain free formulation if possible, but look for "sneaky" ingredient names which may disguise the things you wish to avoid.

This is so silly of me. There’s been crossed wires with the husband who assured me it was chicken-free… Poor dog. Going to look for an alternative. We tried some others and her tummy and coat were awful.

 

[skinnydipper]

There are a few things you can try.

As post #6, you could ask for vet to arrange allergy tests, which although not perfect can give you some idea of what she could be allergic to.

Feed her a hydrolysed protein dog food, something like Purina Pro Plan HA. And nothing else. Or start an elimination diet.

If you can't find what she is allergic/intolerant to and remove it from her diet then ask your vet if Atopica, Apoquel or Cytopoint would be helpful in controlling her symptoms.

 

[Andie02]

There has been threads about this in the past.

You need to avoid carbs, grains and sugar. There is rice, maize and beet pulp in the Arden grange salmon, these can be triggers.

There is lots of info on Dogs First and Dogs Naturally. https://dogsfirst.ie/ https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/dog-ear-yeast-infections/

I have gone through the itching and manky ears with my dog and eventually solved without drugs. Drugs only mask the problems.

Edited links

 

[KatieDM]

Thanks guys. On to the vet about an allergy test and looking at a hypoallergenic, single protein food.

 

[skinnydipper]

Thanks guys. On to the vet about an allergy test and looking at a hypoallergenic, single protein food.

Hydrolysed. Where the protein is broken down to particles small enough that it shouldn't trigger an immune response. Although if you know she is allergic to chicken I would avoid food containing chicken even if it has been hydrolysed.

 

[BlueDiamond]

My dog gets itchy yeasty ears, the Vet stuff clears it up then it’s back again.
I get less of a problem when I have him on Wainrights Lamb and wainwrights Turkey trays, no kibble. It’s on special offer at the moment at Vets for Pets £12.50 for 12 trays.

 

[Clodagh]

Millies wolfheart does my skanky eared dog well.
Also I clean her ears twice a week if they need it or not and if she has a proper flare up it’s vets for prescription drops and those with daily cleaning, for probably twice as long as the minimum suggestion, clears them up a treat.

 

[Highmileagecob]

If your vet keeps prescribing, without swabbing and culturing, then it's entirely possible she has some sort of fungus growing in the ear. The longer it goes on, the more resistant the bug. If you think diet may not be right, maybe switch to raw, or a premium tinned food. I would ask your vet to take a swab and find out what is going on.

 

[maisie06]

With a dog like this I would switch to raw and start with a single novel protein, then go from there adding other proteins and watching for any reaction.