Understanding Vet Care For Dogs And Cats

Does your dog continually suffer with smelly ears and dry skin? Are you stopping up your vacuum from the hair your dog is losing every day during the spring? Does your dog chew his or her feet, or scratch a lot? Your dog could be suffering with an internal yeast imbalance. Learn how a yeast imbalance can cause chronic ear infections and substantial hair loss.

The Whys And Whats Of Canine Yeast Imbalance

An internal yeast imbalance in your dog can be caused by a variety of things. However, the end result when yeast is concerned is the same: ear infections and severe hair loss. If your dog's diet is off kilter and he or she is eating too many starches and carbohydrates, his or her body could be feeding yeast bacteria with the sugars carbohydrates and starches are converted to after ingestion. If your dog is taking antibiotics for another medical problems, he or she may end up suffering with a yeast imbalance. Your dog may also be dealing a number of external factors that cause an internal yeast imbalance like:

• Diseases like hyper- or hypothyroidism and diabetes can create sugar conversion problems in your dog's system that lead to an imbalance of yeast.

• Nutritional deficiency can cause yeast imbalance, especially if your dog eats a dog food that is high in cornmeal or wheat fillers. Feeding your dog people food can cause a greater level of starches and carbohydrates that are converted to sugars as well. This is especially true if your dog is experiencing an allergic reaction to corn and wheat fillers.

• Dogs living in hot, humid climates can have more problems with internal yeast imbalances that lead to hair loss and ear infections.

• Medications that work to suppress the immune system, like corticosteroids, can bring about the perfect internal conditions for yeast imbalance.

• Allergic reactions to flea and tick bites.

Yeast lives naturally in the gut and on the skin in dogs. When your dog's body is converting a lot of sugars, it feeds yeast and causes it to grow out of control. Your dog may have scaly, dry skin and scratches until the skin is raw and bleeding. Many dogs chew their feet to ease the itching between their toes. Some dogs lose a lot of weight and lose their appetite when yeast is uncontrolled and imbalanced.

Chronic, smelly yeast ear infections, constant itching and remarkable hair loss are common symptoms of yeast imbalance. Taking your dog to an animal hospital to see a vet is the best way to combat an internal yeast imbalance. In this way, you have better chances of pinpointing the exact cause and receiving the best treatment for your canine companion.