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Coat issues

Ugh, I keep missing info in the ingredient list. Ok, so 10B cfu’s per lb of food may be too low if there’s an issue that needs to be corrected. Sorry for all the self-corrections! (Doing too many things at once)
 
@GennyB (or anyone good at analyzing dog food) This is the breakdown of the food the dog is on now. I noticed there are 3 types of yeast listed (Yeast culture, Yeast extract, Selenium Yeast). ANything in here look alarming?

Guaranteed Analysis:

Crude Protein (min) 26.0%
Crude Fat (min) 16.0%
Crude Fiber (max) 5.0%
Moisture (max) 10.0%
Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) (min) 0.12%
Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) (min) 0.09%
Calcium (min) 1.4%
Phosphorus (min) 1.0%
Vitamin A (min) 24,000 IU/kg
Vitamin E (min) 350 IU/kg
Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C)* (min) 325 mg/kg
Omega-3 Fatty Acids* (min) 0.75%
Omega-6 Fatty Acids* (min) 3.0%
Taurine* (min) 0.12%
Total microorganisms* (min) 10,000,000 CFU/lb

Ingredients:
Chicken Meal, Ground Brown Rice, Oat Groats, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Egg Product, Dried Tomato Pomace, Pearled Barley, Flaxseed Meal, Yeast Culture, Natural Flavor, Salmon Oil, Whitefish Meal, Potassium Chloride, Sunflower Lecithin, Dicalcium Phosphate, Salt, Carrots, Celery, DL-Methionine, Choline Chloride, L-Lysine, Fructooligosaccharide, Yeast Extract, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Blueberries, Vitamin E Supplement, Broccoli, Taurine, Beets, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate, Parsley, Lettuce, Iron Proteinate, Pomegranate Extract, Selenium Yeast, Copper Proteinate, Inositol, Watercress, Spinach, Niacin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Acetate, Manganese Sulfate, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Manganese Proteinate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Calcium Iodate, Folic Acid, Dried Lactobacillus casei Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Bifidobacterium animalis Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus reuteri Fermentation Product.


Its all the Carbs (40-60%) in these foods! Anything after Salt is very minimal ingredient.
Starch which is used to hold the kibble together. Starch=Carbs=Sugar


Ingredients:

Chicken Meal, Ground Brown Rice, Oat Groats, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Egg Product, Dried Tomato Pomace, Pearled Barley, Flaxseed Meal, Yeast Culture, Natural Flavor, Salmon Oil, Whitefish Meal, Potassium Chloride, Sunflower Lecithin, Dicalcium Phosphate, Salt, Carrots, Celery, DL-Methionine, Choline Chloride, L-Lysine, Fructooligosaccharide, Yeast Extract, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Blueberries, Vitamin E Supplement, Broccoli, Taurine, Beets, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate, Parsley, Lettuce, Iron Proteinate, Pomegranate Extract, Selenium Yeast, Copper Proteinate, Inositol, Watercress, Spinach, Niacin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Acetate, Manganese Sulfate, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Manganese Proteinate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Calcium Iodate, Folic Acid, Dried Lactobacillus casei Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Bifidobacterium animalis Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus reuteri Fermentation Product.


HOW TO CALCULATE HOW MANY CARBS ARE IN A ... - Rodney …
HOW TO CALCULATE HOW MANY CARBS ARE IN A BAG OF PET FOOD! - Planet Pawsto-calculate-how-many-carbs-are-in-a-bag-of...
Protein + Fat + Moisture + Ash, then subtract 100 = Carbohydrates. (This method works for dry food only; to figure out canned food you need to get the dry matter values.) After the calculations, pet parents are going to find that some of these bags of kibble have anywhere from 40% to 70% carbs in them.
Author: Pawseditor

THE UNKNOWN SUGAR IN PET FOOD
 
Yes but they and everyone else boost the protein levels with plants!
I always thought Orijen (the one made in the U.S.) ingredients were the best! The first 16 ingredients were named meat proteins.
But then after the mutton meal you have this BS! The (in Bold)

85%
MEAT AND FISH INGREDIENTS
15%
VEGETABLES | FRUIT | BOTANICALS
0%
GRAIN | POTATO | TAPIOCA | PLANT PROTEIN CONCENTRATES

REGIONAL RED
INGREDIENTS WE LOVE FROM PEOPLE WE TRUST
Deboned beef, deboned wild boar, deboned goat, deboned lamb, lamb liver, beef liver, beef tripe, wild boar liver, deboned mutton, beef heart, whole Atlantic mackerel, deboned pork, goat meal, beef meal, lamb meal, mackerel meal, whole red lentils, whole pinto beans, beef kidney, pork liver, herring meal, mutton meal, whole green peas, whole green lentils, whole navy beans, whole chickpeas, natural pork flavor, beef fat, lentil fiber, pork kidney, pollock oil, whole yellow peas, lamb tripe, wild boar heart, wild boar cartilage, beef cartilage, whole pumpkin, whole butternut squash, mixed tocopherols (preservative), dried kelp, zinc proteinate, kale, spinach, mustard greens, collard greens, turnip greens, whole carrots, whole apples, whole pears, freeze-dried beef liver, freeze-dried beef tripe, freeze-dried lamb liver, freeze-dried lamb tripe, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, chicory root, turmeric, sarsaparilla root, althea root, rosehips, juniper berries, dried lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried bifidobacterium animalis fermentation product, dried lactobacillus casei fermentation product.
 
@Panama
My two cents, and questionably worth that:D
When Daisy was young she had some coat issues and re-occurring yeast in the ears.
It was diet related, in her case corn.
I think you’re probably on to something with protein source.
If your friend isn’t yet, she should consider a pre and pro biotic.
Most of a dogs health and immune system stems from the gut.
Experiment to find the source of the problem but treat the gut along the way!
 
Itchy Dog? It Might Be A Yeast Infection

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Yeast-Infection-4.jpeg



By: Dana Scott -

Reading Time: 10 minutes


Does your dog have itchy skin? Recurrent hot spots or gunky ears? Does she lick and chew at her feet?

This doesn’t necessarily mean she has allergies, it could a yeast infection.

Yeast: The Allergy Imitator
Not all skin issues are caused by allergies and in many cases, the cause of your dog’s itchy skin can be found in her gut.

Yeast is a fungus and is in all dogs (and people) as a normal part of their flora. Yeast lives on your dog’s skin and inside her gut, where it normally lives with other healthy flora, as part of the balanced immune system.

But when the immune system is stressed, yeast can begin to over-populate the gut.

Your dog’s skin is the largest organ in her body … and when yeast populations grow out of control in the gut, the body tries to get rid of the fungus.

This is when you will start to see the effects in your pet. It’s called a yeast infection.

[Note] Grab our Leaky Gut Guide and get the tools you need to start healing your dog from the inside out.

How To Tell The Difference Between Yeast Infections And Allergies
There are a few telltale signs that will help you figure out what’s causing your dog’s problems:
Chewing or licking the feet, and dark rusty-red hair between the toes. The hair is often red or rust-colored because of the yeast (not because of the licking).

Any black skin, especially where there’s also hair loss.

A foul, funky smell and greasy hair (seborrhea), often accompanied by heavy dandruff. This is an active fungal infection of the hair follicles.

Scratching-the-ears-1.jpeg

Scratching the ears, or head shaking. Ear mites can also cause intense itching in the ears, so make sure your vet actually tests for these things first before diagnosing your dog

Cyclic symptoms (appearing in the spring and “going away” in the fall). This is often confused with “grass allergies” and other spring and summer symptoms.

Hair loss on the tail and upper back.

Speckles-1-1.jpeg

Speckles (like tiny black dots) on the underbelly, or grayish or rust coloration around the genitals. Regular grooming should reveal this early indicator of yeast.

The longer your dog’s yeast infection goes untreated, the harder it will be to resolve, so it’s important to look for these early signs.

Treating Your Dog’s Yeast Infection
Since yeast infections start in the gut, one of the first step in treating yeast is to look at your dog’s diet. In order to grow, yeast needs to eat. And yeast loves sugar.

Your dog might not be eating candy and drinking soda … but foods that contain any type of starch or carbohydrate still feed the yeast in her gut.

Carbohydrates are complex chains made up of sugars. When your dog eats them, her body converts them into sugars and this feeds her yeast. Foods like corn, potatoes, rice, peas, sweet potatoes, oats are examples of high carbohydrate foods.

Your dog’s skin is the largest organ in her body … and when yeast populations grow out of control in the gut, the body tries to get rid of the fungus.

Take a slice of bread (which is made of carbohydrates), bite off a piece and hold it in your mouth for half a minute. You’ll notice that it starts to taste sweet.

That’s because the amylase in your saliva is breaking that starch down into sugar. The same thing happens in your dog’s gut … and that sugar feeds her yeast.

In the wild, the foods your dog’s ancestors ate (as well as the foods that our human ancestors ate), contained about 4% starch.

Most commercial pet foods have ten times that amount! Even grain-free foods are usually full of potatoes, sweet potatoes or tapioca and have just as much starch as other kibbles.

The solution is to feed your dog a food low in starches.
[RELATED] If yeast is a problem, it could be Leaky Gut. Here’s how it harms your dog and how to beat it.

Supporting The Gut
There are other things you can do to help prevent or treat yeast infections in your dog, and once again, these involve the gut.

  1. First, limit antibiotic use. Antibiotics will destroy the balance in the gut and allow yeast to bloom.
  2. Second, avoid toxins that will stress the immune system. This includes any unnecessary vaccines, drugs and chemicals, including pesticides contained in flea and tick preventatives. These all interfere with your dog’s ability to keep her intestinal flora in balance. Focus on building good health and supporting your dog’s immune system.
  3. Third, give your dog probiotics and prebiotics to support the balance of her intestinal flora.
  4. Fourth, treat leaky gut. Yeast can be very damaging to the gut lining, leading to leaky gut syndrome that affects overall health in many ways. Read more about leaky gut below.
Yeast-Infection-1.jpeg


Probiotics
Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that help populate your dog’s gut with “good” bacteria to support her digestive health.

Balanced intestinal flora are not just important for digestive health … but 80% of the immune system lives in your dog’s gut, so this will strengthen her immune system as well

You can give your dog probiotic supplements or probiotic whole foods.
Probiotic Supplements
There are many probiotic supplements available for both dogs and humans and the choices can be overwhelming. A good rule is to look for a refrigerated product. Ask your specialty pet store or health food store for advice on a quality brand.

Dosage: If you buy a product made for dogs, follow the dosing directions on the container. You can also buy a human probiotic supplement. If you do, assume the directions are for a 150 pound human and adjust the dose to your dog’s weight.

Most probiotics are dairy based but soil based probiotics can be a better choice as dairy-based probiotics can aggravate allergies in many dogs.

Probiotic Whole Foods
It’s always best to give whole foods instead of a pill if you can … so an even better way to give your dog probiotics is to feed her probiotic whole foods. Some examples are kefir, fermented fish stock or fermented vegetables. These foods will add natural probiotics as well as other valuable nutrients and enzymes to your dog’s meals.



Adding a prebiotic will make your probiotics more effective.

There are now several brands of fermented goat milk products for dogs. Fermented milk contains 200 different probiotic strains that may do a better job at surviving stomach acids because of the proteins that accompany them.

Three ounces of milk or kefir is about 60 calories, so don’t forget to cut back elsewhere in your dog’s diet to compensate!

Fermented vegetables have the same benefits and you can feed about a teaspoon per 15 pounds of body weight. You can buy fermented vegetables or make your own from many recipes found online. Start with small amounts and work your way up.

Prebiotics
Adding a prebiotic will make your probiotics more effective. Prebiotics are non-digestible food ingredients that feed the probiotics in the gut. You can buy prebiotic supplements like inulin and fructo-oligosaccharides. As with all human supplements, assume the dose is for a 150 lb person and adjust for your dog’s weight.

Another excellent source of prebiotics is larch arabinogalactan. Arabinogalactans are prebiotics that are contained in small amounts in foods like carrots, pears, corn, and coconut, as well as herbs like echinacea, astragalus and shiitake mushrooms. But the most highly concentrated source of arabinogalactan is from the Western Larch tree. There are many brands of larch arabinogalactan available and you can add about half a teaspoon daily to meals for a medium sized dog. For maximum benefits, give larch that’s combined with a good probiotic containing 10 billion CFU (colony forming units), like this one.

You can also use whole food sources of prebiotics. A couple of good ones for dogs are:

  • Raw dandelion greens: sprinkle on food 1 teaspoon of dried greens per 20 lbs of body weight per day.
  • Garlic: feed 1 teaspoon of chopped raw garlic per 30 lbs of your dog’s weight per day.
Leaky Gut Syndrome
Yeast often goes hand in hand with leaky gut syndrome, so it’s important to treat leaky gut as well. Leaky gut means that your dog’s intestinal wall is inflamed and damaged, and yeast can contribute to this damage.

The intestinal wall is lined with a delicate mucous membrane that allows digested nutrients to enter the bloodstream. Picture a cheesecloth that only lets tiny particles through. This “cheesecloth” also protects the bloodstream from pathogens and undigested food.

When your dog has a yeast infection, the mucosa can become inflamed. This causes the holes in the cheesecloth to get stretched out, letting larger food particles, bacteria and toxins through into the blood stream. This is leaky gut syndrome. The condition sets off a chain reaction in the body: the liver has to work harder to screen out the particles; the immune system tries to prevent the invaders but can’t keep up. The result is inflammation that can lead to many types of disease, including skin issues, food sensitivities and allergies, chronic digestive and other disorders, and even autoimmune disease and arthritis.

Treating leaky gut has some similarities to managing yeast.

  • Addressing the diet and removing processed, starchy foods is paramount. Feed a whole foods, preferably raw, species appropriate diet.
  • Avoid vaccinations, antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals that damage the gut, as well as other chemicals like flea and tick products.
  • Give healing foods like kefir, fermented vegetables and bone broth, as well as supplements like prebiotics, probiotics and digestive enzymes to heal the gut.
  • Feed whole fish or a supplement like phytoplankton to provide to supply omega-3 essential fatty acids.
  • Supplement with herbs like aloe, slippery elm, deglycyrrhizinated licorice (DGL), L-glutamine, N-acetylglucosamine, marshmallow root, to repair the gut.
Learn more about leaky gut and how to treat it here.

Or consider using an all-in-one leaky gut repair kit.

Antifungal Foods
Garlic
As well as being a good natural prebiotic, garlic also has antifungal properties so that’s another reason to feed it to your dog. For maximum health benefits, chop fresh garlic and let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes before adding it to your dog’s food. Exposing garlic to air releases allicin, the substance that provides garlic’s many health benefits. Here’s some more information about safely giving garlic to your dog.

Coconut Oil
Coconut oil has antifungal properties and is another good food to add to your yeasty dog’s diet.

It contains medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), which are made up of lauric acid, capric acid, caprylic acid, myristic acid and palmitic acid. All of these contribute to coconut oil’s antifungal as well as antibacterial and antiviral properties.

Always buy Virgin or Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (they’re the same thing), preferably organic (and non-GMO), cold pressed, and packaged in a glass jar. Start slowly to avoid loose stool and work up to 1 teaspoon per day per 10 lbs of body weight.

You can also use coconut oil topically, as you’ll see below.

Oil Of Oregano
Oil of oregano also has strong antifungal properties and is another good addition to your dog’s diet. It’s very powerful so a drop or two a day is plenty for most dogs. Don’t give it full strength but dilute it in either coconut oil or olive oil, using one drop of oil or oregano per teaspoon of olive or coconut oil. So if you’re already giving your dog coconut oil for her yeast, give it an extra boost with a drop of oil of oregano.

Fighting Yeast On The Surface
Apple cider vinegar is a great solution for yeast, especially for dogs who love the water (because yeast loves water and moist, damp skin).

Fill a squeeze bottle (the kind with a long pointy end like ketchup bottles at a diner) with Bragg Organic Apple Cider Vinegar. Stick it in your dog’s fur and squeeze. Massage it around your dog’s body, and don’t forget the belly area too. This will help restore your dog’s healthy pH levels and discourage yeast.

Then, once a week, or more if needed, massage yeasty areas with this coconut oil mixture:

  • Let extra virgin coconut oil melt in a small glass bottle holding about 8 oz.
  • Add 10 drops of lavender oil and 2 drops of lemon essential oil.
  • Shake to mix and massage it into your dog’s skin.
This coconut oil mix will last several months. Store it in a dark place. This recipe is from Rita Hogan of Farm Dog Naturals (FarmDogNaturals.com).

After-Bath Rinse
Dr Dee Blanco recommends using apple cider vinegar as an after-bath rinse for your dog. Before bathing, prepare a mixture of

  • ¼ cup of apple cider vinegar to 1 gallon of filtered water (increase the quantities for a large or giant breed dog).
  • Set the mixture aside while you bathe your dog.
  • Use a coconut-based or unscented, organic shampoo.
  • After bathing and rinsing your dog, gently pour the ACV mixture over her body and legs. Be careful to avoid her nose, ears and eyes.
Dana Scott

Dana Scott is the Founder and CEO of Dogs Naturally Magazine. She also breeds award winning Labrador Retrievers under the Fallriver prefix. Dana has been a raw feeding, natural rearing breeder since the 90's and is a sought after speaker and outspoken advocate for natural health care for dogs and people. Dana works tirelessly to educate pet owners so they can influence veterinary medicine and change current vaccine, food and preventive health practices. Visit Dana's Labradors at Fallriver Labs
 
Coat update:

Protein source was gradually changed from chicken to fish. He is still being bathed every 4 days (vet said 2x a wk) with the medicated shampoo (brushed before bathing), mixture of coconut oil/water spritz every other day rubbed and brushed through the coat...........

The boy's coat is coming in nicely. Still looks a bit thin, but not patchy.
 
Ok, I went by to check to see how the dog was doing. I got a picture to add to the first one I took when she first brought him to me. WOW......... Not quite a month apart but look at the difference the diet change has made. WOW

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Just catching up on this thread. I'm curious what food she was on originally and what she is on now that made the big difference?
 
When his coat started looking a little dull and he was shedding alot. he was on ProPlan Savor (Shredded blend). A full thyroid check and all came back mid-range normal. He was put on the "Greatest Food Available" :rolleyes: Life's Abundance (chicken base, grain inclusive). $90/40 lb bag, should be amazing right? He was on that for about 5 wks and it progressively got worse (1st pic).

The options were Steroids or diet change. So the entire diet got scrapped, cold turkey. He was put back on ProPlan but this time, Focus, Salmon/rice formula. He's been on it for 3 wks (2nd pic).

So, whether it was an allergy or an "intolerance", it's obvious chicken is not for this boy!
 

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