Pets may show a response to treatment within a month, however some take several months, even a year. The length of treatment seems proportional to the cooperation of the owner. In other words, if the owner gives the remedies once a day, administers antibiotics during the treatment program, and feeds a low quality diet, the treatment will take longer. Treatment will be more effective if the owner remains persistent with the required regimen.
yes, it can take a while to treat, but i honestly feel this ill conceived treatment plan and there are far more issues that need to be addressed than what has been brought up by the author so far.
A yeast infection is very frustrating and an ailment that takes commitment on the part of the owner. The program is not easy, however, when the yeast is under control, owners report significant improvement and a new positive lifestyle for the pet.
A consultation is highly recommended before any treatment is started. A consultation will include a personalized diet and holistic program suggestions, all custom-tailored to your pet's personal needs. While Purely Pets continues to provide and even add educational articles on the website, these are just general in nature. We therefore encourage you to tailor a program specifically for your pet's needs. This is particularly imperative in pets with complicated health issues, or if you have done outside reading and have conflicting information.
more self-advertising....
okay, now i can finally get to the point. anybody still with me? if you have made it so far, thanks for hanging on, i promise i don't have all that much more to say, just that treating a yeast problem is by far not as complicated as this author makes it sound.
now you want to know what you would have to do, right?
it's rather simple, but may or may not be easy. you need to find the underlying cause that makes the yeast overgrow and become problematic. once that is done, the yeast will go away on its own and it will not return.
this is achieved by doing a strict elimination diet, not by introducing even more possible irritants into the dog's diet. here is how it's done:
1. do consult a veterinarian, espcially if the dog in question is still a puppy in the growth phase. do not do this on your own. if your vet is not willing to work on this with you, find another vet, preferably a holistic practitioner. you can find one in your area at the referral list here:
http://www.ahvma.org/referral/index.html
2. completely forget the notion about feeding any commercial food or any supplements, at least for some time. the only exception being a potent, high quality probiotic that is free of flavoring agents, stabilizers, sugar, salt, yeast, wheat, gluten, soy and preservatives. in other words: most of the pet quality supplements need not apply, look for a human grade product.
3. choose one type of protein source and one type of carb source that your dog has not previously been exposed to. depending on what the dog has eaten in the past, this can be more or less complicated. most of the better mainstream pet foods are either chicken or lamb based, while the low end stuff is usually beef based. go through whatever brands you have used and see what is
not included. if you are lucky, you end up being able to make use of something fairly easy to get, like beef, pork, turkey or duck as far as protein goes, and oats, millet, barley, or white potato as a carb source. if you are not so lucky, you might have to scout for buffalo, rabbit, venison etc. and more exotic grains like quinoa, amaranth and buckwheat, or forego grains altogether and use yellow squash, acorn squash, turnips or another type of vegetable.
4. do not be scared to hear that your simplistic diet of only two ingredients is be all you will be feeding for the next few weeks. it's absolutely necessary. the idea behind it is to start with a foundation the dog does not react to, and then challenging his system by reintroducing items he has been exposed to in the past, in order to eliminate the ones that cause a reaction.
5. feed your elimination diet for 8 weeks and watch for results. very important: keep a diary every single day, and make note of
* any mishaps (e.g. dog gets hold of something other than the elimination diet ingredients)
* clinical signs like itching, chewing, redness or sores on certain body parts, developing odor etc. etc.
* any changes in the consistency, color, appearance and odor of stool
6. after 8 weeks, evaluate the situation:
a) if there has been no improvement at all, it is unlikely that the underlying cause is a food allergy or sensitivity and you need to explore other areas.
b) if there has been some improvement, continue the same way for another 4 weeks and reevaluate
c) if there has been a marked improvement, you can start "challenging" the dog's system, see step 7.
7. reintroduce food items he has been exposed to in the past, but slowly, in small amounts and only one by one. for example: you have been feeding items A & B for the past 8-12 weeks, now introduce a small amount of item C for a few days. changes in stool are generally the earlierst signs of something being a problem and usually appear within 24 to 48 hours. there are two possible outcomes:
a) no negative reactions: the ingredient is safe and you can include it in your diet plan after the elimination diet is done. move on to challenging the next item.
b) apparent negative reaction: the item is problematic and should be excluded from the diet. return to the previous elimination diet until the situation is stable again, then challenge the next item.
continue until you have eliminated the ingredients the dog reacts to and are left with a number of things you can use to feed a more varied diet again. any supplements you want to use as part of your dog's new feeding plan are tested the same way.
i hope it becomes clear now why it is so important not to feed many different kinds of supplements and remedies while the dog is going through this. you
need an established safe basis where the dog does not have to fight off additional issues. you can still use gentle topical remedies to treat the yeast problems, like a boric acid wash for inflamed ears, a mild, natural tea tree oil shampoo for cleaning the skin, and you can also mix some of your probiotic supplement with a little water and apply it topically to help with normalizing the skin. overall the absence of irritants will allow the dog's immune system to do its work and the body will heal itself.
ultimately it might become possible to return to a commercial food after you know what causes reactions and what doesn't, but a home prepared diet (regardless if you decide to feed raw or cooked or a combination of both) is the better, healthier choice in my opinion.
that's it now. i hope it's helpful.
