Both people and dogs have a normal amount of healthy levels of yeast
that occur naturally on the body. The typical normal, healthy flora of
dogs is a naturally occurring staph, as well as a light layer of
naturally occurring yeast. These healthy levels of flora are possible
thanks to a balanced immune system.
On the immune system spectrum, balance is in the middle, and that’s what you want your dog’s immune function to be – balanced.
An under active immune system can lead to yeast overgrowth because it
can’t control the balance. The other end of the spectrum is an
overactive immune response where allergies are present. This can also
lead to problems with yeast.
Often when there are signs of
an overactive immune system – steroid therapy will be prescribed to shut off the immune response (this improves symptoms but does not fix the underlying cause of the allergies).
When your dog’s immune system is turned off with drugs, it can’t do
its job of regulating and balancing normal flora levels, so your pet
ends up with yeast blooms.
When dogs exhibit the symptoms of allergies and possibly secondary skin infections, antibiotics are often prescribed.
Antibiotics are well-known to destroy all good bacteria along with the
bad, wiping out healthy yeast levels in the process, so these drugs
often make a bad situation worse.
Another reason an allergic dog, in particular, can end up with a lot
of yeast is it can actually develop an allergy to its yeast.
Intradermal tests often reveal that a dog is having an allergic
response to its own natural flora.
This situation can be very problematic because the dog’s allergic
response can affect its whole body. These dogs are often red from the
tip of the nose to the tip of the tail – their entire bodies are flaming
red and irritated.
So dogs with an under-active immune system or that are
immuno-suppressed can end up with a yeast infection, as well as dogs
that have overactive immune systems, or allergies. Read more
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