I have two pugs one fawn female 7 yrs & black male 1yr old. The male has mouth pimples and continuous fungus and yeast infections I have him at the vets for antibiotics, lotions, meds nothing has helped to get rid of long term as soon as he is off meds allergies come back acne stays. I read it can be treated with 2% peroxide. Do you have any suggestions? Thank You BD, South Carolina
Dear BD,
Okay, let’s start with your mention of allergies. Have you had a veterinary dermatologist perform intradermal skin testing (IDST) so you know what he’s allergic to? That will be a HUGE help because if you can eliminate or at least reduce the number of allergens that cause his skin to react, he might not develop what sounds like secondary skin infections, the pimples and fungus/yeast. So identify the underlying cause of the skin problems first and your treatments for the infections should work better.
If allergies are the culprit, they’re more than likely due to one or more of these three allergens
• Fleas, the number one cause of allergies in dogs. Be sure you’re using your flea preventative correctly and that it’s still working.
• Atopy, or a genetic predisposition to develop allergies against things in the environment that are inhaled, higher on the list for a young dog like this
• Food, best determined through an elimination trial where only one protein source is fed for up to 12 weeks to see if symptoms go away.
Don’t be frustrated that a skin specialist will probably start all over taking a thorough history from you, performing a complete physical examination on your dog, and perhaps even repeating some diagnostic tests such as culture, scrapings and biopsy. It will be easier and cheaper in the long run to get to the bottom of this now than to experiment with treatments (both prescribed and home-made) for years.