Comment to 'paw yeast infection'
  • After a little research I found a wonderful article written by Dr. Karen Becker over at Healthy Pets.

    A portion of the article is below for your review but I recommend reading the entire thing on her site.

    Disinfecting Yeasty Paws

    Yeast thrives in a moist environment and in crevices – between your dog's foot pads, for example, in armpit and groin creases, and around the vulva and anus. So disinfecting those parts of a yeasty dog is really important.

    Since the only body parts that sweat on your dog are his nose and the pads of his feet, during hot humid months when yeast tends to thrive, you'll need to disinfect those paws.

    Depending on the size of your dog, you can use one of those Rubbermaid sweater boxes filled with water from a hose, or if your dog is small you can just pop him in the kitchen or bathroom sink. If you have a giant size breed, you can try a coffee can or cup filled with water. The goal is to dunk the feet, then pat them dry.

    Spraying or wiping down a dog's paws won't get the job done. Yeast lives under the nail beds and in all the creases you can't get to if the paws aren't submerged in a foot soak.

    I recommend a gallon of water, a cup of hydrogen peroxide, and 1-4 cups of white vinegar as a foot soak solution. You can use this solution as many times a day as necessary to keep your dog's feet clean. 'Clean and dry' needs to become your mantra.

    After you dip your dog's feet in the astringent solution of water/hydrogen peroxide/white vinegar, there's no need to rinse. Just pat the paws dry. Leaving the solution dried on your dog's paws serves as an antifungal and should also reduce licking and digging at the paws.

    Link to the full article