Yeast infection and treatment care for our first boxer.

[MarleysMa]

Our boxer, Cassius, has little red bumps all over his chin and chews his front paws, usually at night time. His little paws are red and imflamed when he does that. He has no sores anywhere else on his body and doesn't itch much. I made a vet appointment for him but after reading about how to clean his ears I realized he may have a yeast infection. I was suprised though, because I feed him NUTRO and I didnt think it contained gluten/wheat or corn.

I would love to be able treat it without paying the vet because now that I have this information I thought back to that my mothers dog and think they had the same problem only much worse. They took their dog to the vet so many times and were never told to try a gluten free diet. The treatment seems really simple so basically my question is can anyone tell me from experience if I am on the right track.

I'm using Tea tree oil on his chin and paws and I'm going to look over the Nutro ingredients. I'm also going to try witch hazel as I read it is a great antibiotic. If the food is okay then maybe I'll stop giving him rawhide although he doesn't get much at all... (Cassius is out first dog so I'm determined to get the facts but my confidence is not so great.) Oh I should mention that I know it is not his toe-nails because they are trimmed regularly. We appreciate any advice!

 

[Independence]

I can't help with the yeast infection info but i would not give him anymore rawhide. Please do some research on it. Along with being very difficult to digest and possibly causing intestinal blockages the rawhide is treating with chemicals. These chemicals aren't always fully removed from the rawhides.

Hope you figure our what is going on with Cassius.

 

[DiverDiva]

I would change his food. Oscar gets a yeast infection when he eats any food with beet pulp, and many of the Nutro fomulae have beet pulp. It seems that some of the lower end Nutro flavors don't have beet pulp, but they have such a high proportion of grains that I would not feed any of them, especially to a dog prone to yeast infections. Most, if not all, of the Nutro varieties have either beet pulp, corn gluten, or rice gluten.

I would look at Dog Food Analysis - Reviews of kibble and pick a food from the 6-star or 5-star categories. Especially consider getting a grain-free food for Cassius. Good luck.

 

[lhsdavis]

I had a boxer years ago that had allergic reactions too..she was a female and also showed signs of yeast infection on/off. So was told by vet to start adding some yougart to her food, because the bacteria in yougert is also benficial to dogs with yeast infections. Also she got the red bumps under her chin, come to find out she was allergic to all dog bowls unless they were stainless steel. Not saying this would solve the issues since hes a male, but could help some.

 

[markanthony]

Apple Cider Vinegar is great for yeast issues. I think maybe a teaspoon in the morning and at night with the food will do it, but maybe google it to find the proper dosage. Our boxer was on antibiotics for a few weeks and he developed these red/brown markings on his nails, so that it almost looked like they were bleeding. It was a yeast problem and it went away with time as he got off the medicine and with the ACV. Food is very important. I strongly recommend a raw diet. Our boxer has been a different dog since we have been feeding him raw - so the food goes a long way. And, yes, like the prior post says, no rawhide. We give our boxer braided bullysticks and a cow ear here and there, but that's it.