Reviewed by Dr. Sarah Wilson, BScH, DVM, DACVIM (Nutrition)
If your dog is dealing with recurring itching, ear infections, or skin irritation, you may be wondering if their diet is part of the problem. Many pet parents start asking the same question: what is the worst dog food for yeast infection issues?
The truth is yeast infections in dogs can be due to many reasons, so understanding where it comes from and how to manage overgrowths can help your dog live a much more comfortable life. While some dogs may have food sensitivities as a potential cause, it is important to understand how yeast can play a role in the infection process and what you can do to make a difference in your dog’s comfort and long-term health.
In this guide, we’ll break down the information that you need that may impact yeast infections and how making better nutrition choices for your dog may help.
What is Yeast (in Dogs)?
Yeast is a fungus known by its medical name Malassezia pachydermatis. Yeast naturally exists on your dog’s skin as part of their microbiome (along with many other bacteria, fungi, and other organisms). It can be found on the skin including on the foot pads, inside the ear canals, and only becomes a problem when it grows out of balance. Malassezia yeast is different than bread yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) so no need to worry about bread growing off your dog’s skin or out of their ears!
What Causes Yeast Infections in Dogs?
Yeast overgrowth can occur when your dog’s system is out of balance, such as when dealing with food allergies, environmental allergies (known as atopic dermatitis), a weakened immune system, or when the environment favors overgrowth as with excessive moisture. Diet can play a role in yeast overgrowth, either by supporting balance or contributing to the inflammation that weakens the overall system which then allows yeast to take advantage and thrive.
While food isn’t always the root cause, it may impact signs – sometimes better, sometimes worse.
What Is the Worst Dog Food for Yeast Infection Issues?
While it would nice if there was a specific food that we knew to be a problem, the reality is every dog is different, so what causes inflammation in one dog (which then allows the yeast to increase in number), may not cause any problems in another dog.
The worst dog food for yeast infection concerns is usually specific to that dog. A food that is not well tolerated by a dog can create inflammation in the body and that can support an environment where yeast can easily overgrow.
This can include many different types of foods with many different ingredients. While many people may think that type of processing may impact yeast infections, or certain ingredients are always the guilty culprit, the truth is every dog responds differently to foods, and what is problematic for one dog may be a great ingredient choice for another.
Instead of pointing to a single ingredient, it’s more helpful to understand how nutrition can play a role, and how to identify what works and what does not.
How Can Nutrition Impact Yeast Overgrowth
Myth vs Fact
There are many ways in which nutrition can impact yeast overgrowth, however there is also some misinformation available so here is some helpful information to help clarify how nutrition can impact skin health and yeast overgrowth.
Skin is the largest organ of your dog’s body, and many different organisms live on it – that is the microbiome and a healthy one includes some yeast. Skin also requires many nutrients to support a healthy coat, and skin barrier. One of the most important aspects of skin is the skin barrier, which is sometimes described as a ‘brick and mortar wall’ to protect your dog from the world. Skin cells are the bricks, and the mortar in between the cells is an oily substance called sebum, which is a mixture of fatty acids and is important for keeping the skin soft, and movable while also protecting from the outer environment.
Myths: High Sugar, Refined Carbohydrates, Excess Starches
You may see (incorrect) information online or perhaps from AI saying things like:
“Yeast feeds on sugar. Diets that are high in refined carbohydrates can break down into sugars in your dog’s body, which may contribute to yeast growth. Or that ingredients that are high in starches such as whole grains, corn, potatoes, or legumes contribute to sugars in digestion leading to excess yeast.”
However, Malassezia species (yeast) primarily consume lipids such as skin oils and sebum (which is found on the skin) and in fact do not feed on sugar at all. It is rare that dog food products include sugar (the way human products do), but many appropriate foods include carbohydrates which include starches. While these carbohydrates are broken down into glucose (which is a sugar) that glucose goes through metabolic processes to create ATP or energy for your dog to run around and be their silly selves – not feed yeast infections.
Below are some facts clarifying how nutrition can impact overall skin health, or yeast overgrowth.
Facts: Complete and Balanced
Many essential nutrients can impact a healthy skin and coat. If the skin barrier is compromised because of not enough or too much of some nutrients, then yeast can overgrow.
Protein is essential for healthy skin and coat as the skin alone requires about 25-30% of the total protein that a dog eats. In addition, fur is almost 95% protein, so appropriate, bioavailable protein is essential. The Pets Table recipes provide high quality, highly digestible protein to support a healthy coat and skin.
Vitamins and minerals are essential for many different processes in the dog, but some are critical to skin health. Vitamins A, E, and D, are necessary in the right amounts for health skin growth (too little or too much may lead to skin barrier problems), while minerals such as zinc and copper play vital roles in skin and fur health.
Essential fatty acids (both omega 3 and 6) are necessary for overall health and a healthy skin barrier. Omega 3 fatty acids EPA & DHA found in ingredients like fatty fish or fish oils, help with a healthy anti-inflammatory response in the body. Essential fatty acid linoleic acid, which is an omega 6 fatty acid and found in high concentrations in sunflower oil, supports the skin barrier as it is critical to the formation of ceramides in the skin.
Treats are also important to consider. They play an important role in enriching the human animal bond or supporting the training process, it is important to keep the amount within reason. Treats should be limited to at most 10% of total calorie intake so as not to unbalance the overall diet. All the essential nutrients above can be inadequate if half of the calories your dog gets are from unbalanced treats, leading to an unhealthy skin barrier – that yeast may take advantage of.
Facts: Food Allergies or Hypersensitivity
Dogs with food allergies or food intolerance will often show signs of problems either on the skin (ex. itching, licking, redness) or in the gut (ex. bloating, gas, poor stool quality). These allergies or intolerances are usually due to the protein in an ingredient. Some ingredients are large amounts of protein (such as chicken or beef – basically protein and some fat), other ingredients have some protein but aren’t typically considered proteins (such as potato or wheat). Carbohydrates like potato, wheat, rice, lentils do have some protein in them, so they do have the potential to cause reactions. If there is a sensitivity to an ingredient being consumed, an inflammatory response can lead to swelling or irritation and can negatively impact the skin barrier.
The best way to avoid problems is to avoid the problem ingredient for YOUR dog because every dog is different. Avoiding the problem ingredient is best determined by an elimination-challenge feeding trial done with the help of your veterinary team.
Facts: Microbiome Support
A healthy microbiome is essential to your dog’s overall health. The microbiome is found both inside your dog (in their digestive system), as well as on the outside (on their skin), and can be supported by nutrition.
Fiber plays an important role in overall health and microbiome support, as it can help with healthy digestive motility, and provide food for the good organisms in the gut microbiome. Healthy ingredients like sweet potato, spinach, carrots, oats, barley, squash, brown rice, chicory root, and many more provide fiber which support your dog’s microbiome and can help maintain the balance so that yeast doesn’t get the chance to overgrow.
Facts: Maintain Healthy Body Condition
A healthy overall body is important for overall health and longevity – in fact dogs that remain lean live on average 2 years longer than dogs with excess body weight. However, for dogs with chronic yeast infections maintaining a healthy body condition can really have a positive impact.
Dogs that have excess adipose tissue (fatty tissue) have increased health risks, such as increased circulating inflammation which can alter the skin’s microbiome. Additionally, excess weight can create increased folds and higher moisture environments which can negatively impact the skin barrier but create a wonderful environment for yeast overgrowth. Keeping your dog a healthy weight by feeding a consistent healthy, complete and balanced diet to maintain a healthy body condition will help support a healthy skin barrier and prevent yeast overgrowth.
Signs Your Dog’s Food May Be Contributing
If your dog’s diet isn’t supporting their skin and gut health, you may start to notice signs.
Common signs can include persistent itching, licking, or scratching, ear infections that keep coming back, a strong odor (often described as “yeasty”), or redness and irritation on the skin, often noted on the flap of the ear (the pinna), on the feet typically between toe pads, along the legs, belly, or hind end.
Digestive issues can look like loose stools, bloating, or gas and can be a clue that something in their diet isn’t working well for them.
What to Look for Instead
Rather than focusing only on the worst dog food for yeast infection problems, it’s more helpful to focus on what supports balance.
Dogs with yeast issues can benefit from diets that are:
- Complete and balanced and made with high-quality ingredients
- Rich in a tolerated protein and essential fatty acids
- Easy to digest, supports the gut and a healthy microbiome
Whole-food based diets can help support the immune system and may reduce the potential for flare-ups.
Can Diet Alone Fix Yeast Infections?
Diet is an important piece of the puzzle, as nutrition is fundamental to health, but it’s not always the only solution. An important part of the puzzle is the managing the underlying cause of the yeast infection, particularly since yeast is a normal inhabitant of the skin.
If your dog has severe recurring yeast infections, it’s important to work with a vet to address underlying causes. This may include food allergies or food hypersensitivities, environmental allergies, or other health conditions. Your vet will likely need to evaluate your dog’s medical history and determine details like:
- When do the infections occur?
- Do you notice them at a certain time of year (seasonality) vs year-round, or do you notice them after eating certain foods or treats, or after using some types of topical products?
- Are there anatomical reasons for the infections?
- Dogs with some body types may be more prone to problematic infections. For example, dogs with floppy ears and narrow ear canals, or dogs with excessive weight or excessive skin folds can help create an environment where yeast can overgrow and lead to chronic yeast infections.
- Are there other signs that go along with the infections?
- Are there accompanying gastrointestinal signs, such as diarrhea or poor stool quality noted?
- Are there activities or habits that may be playing a role?
- Sometimes infections may be noticed after certain treatments, such as ear fur plucking or bathing done at a grooming facility, which may be weakening the surrounding tissue leading to opportunities for yeast to overgrow. Some dogs may also have the habit of licking areas of their body (perhaps due to irritation from inflammation or as a behavioral coping mechanism for stressful or anxiety producing situations), which can cause trauma to the skin barrier and increase the moisture in the area – leading to potential for yeast overgrowth.
- What organism(s) is(are) present at the affected site?
- Your veterinarian will likely need to take samples of the affected area and examine under the microscope what organisms are present. Sometimes bacteria overgrow, when previously yeast was present, and treatment of bacterial overgrowth is different from treatment of yeast overgrowth. While the affected area may smell and look the same as the last time there was a problem – it may not be, and treating a bacterial overgrowth with fungal medication will not be effective, just as treating a yeast overgrowth with antibiotics will not help the situation either (or may even cause harm).
How those questions are answered can help guide treatment protocol. Medical management of yeast overgrowth depends on addressing the underlying cause as well as the presenting yeast overgrowth problem. Management may include treatments such as cleaning the affected area with disinfectants, applying an antifungal medication, diet change, and possibly environmental allergy hyposensitization treatment (allergen-specific immunotherapy). Sometimes there may be both a bacterial and yeast overgrowth, which then requires both antifungal and antibiotic treatment to address, so appropriate examination (usually under a microscope) is necessary to determine what organisms are causing problems.
That said, improving your dog’s diet may reduce symptoms and help prevent future issues, particularly if there is an underlying food hypersensitivity or food allergy.
Final Thoughts
So, what is the worst dog food for yeast infection concerns?
That depends on your dog and the reason the infections are happening.
The good news is that small changes can sometimes make a big difference. Choosing high-quality food that supports healthy digestion and overall health can help your dog feel more comfortable and reduce the risk of recurring issues.
If you’re looking for a simple way to upgrade your dog’s diet, you can try The Pets Table with 50% off your first trial box and discover meals made with real ingredients, designed to support your dog’s skin, digestion, and overall wellbeing.