[sierrasmom97]

I noticed that my 3 yr old pup had been itching his ears, shaking his head, and crying when he itched his ears. I got him into the vet and they did a swab of his ears and said that he had a yeast infection in his ears due to a food allergy and he suggested that I switch Shelby's food to a lamb & rice formula or a chicken based food. He suggested Purina Pro Plan Natural Lamb & Rice Formula...any suggestions/thoughts on this?? Has anyone else ever had this issue.

[briteday]

I don't think you'll find a lot of support for Purina on this site, other than their good works supporting shelters and rescues. However, search the food forum and you'll find some excellent threads on figuring out how to evaluate different foods.
Yeast thrives on sugars. So since sugars are the by-product of carbohydrates, you want to find a lower carbohydrate food. I.E., more proteins (meats, fish, etc) and lower on grains (corn, wheat, etc). Also look for higher quality grains when they are present. Corn is not a highly digestible grain for dogs.

[Ginny01OT]

You need to get him off corn and wheat--I also wouldn't feed the dog anything with Brewer's Yeast or Beet or Beet Pulp in it. Pick up all rawhide and throw it out. My dog had horrible ear infections. I switched to a dog food that did not contain any corn, wheat, brewer's yeast and beet pulp--actually it is a BARF mixer and I now do raw--no more ear infections!! Not everyone is willing to do raw so you need to look for a dog food (kibble) that is a better quality sans grains:

Innova
Solid Gold
Timberwolf Organics
Canidae
Nature's Variety
www.dogfoodanalysis.com

[luvntzus]

The ingredients I would avoid are wheat, corn, soy, brewer's yeast, and barley.

I'd suggest starting with a really simple food with only one protein and carb source- like California Natural or Natural Balance allergy formulas.

[Renoman]

You didn't mention what breed of dog you have.

I agree that NB is a much better brand than the one you mentioned. The Fish and Sweet Potato formula is a great place to start. I also have to mention Timberwolf Organics Ocean Blue as a great food although I think that NB is much more mainstream and easier to come by than Timberwolf.

[Ginny01OT]

Originally Posted by Renoman

You didn't mention what breed of dog you have.

I agree that NB is a much better brand than the one you mentioned. The Fish and Sweet Potato formula is a great place to start. I also have to mention Timberwolf Organics Ocean Blue as a great food although I think that NB is much more mainstream and easier to come by than Timberwolf.

Timberwolf Organic's website will tell you a dealer close to you; however, you can always order it thru their website (no shipping charge over a certain amount) which is what I have been doing.

[Renoman]

I too ordered Timberwolf directly from the website until I found a distributor in my state who would sell to individuals as well as retailers. I also have found several retailers in my area who have always carried NB but are just now starting to stock Timberwolf which is very exciting. That's all I meant by NB being more mainstream.