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Do dog food protein or carbs cause recurring skin yeast infections?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Chihuahua | Female | spayed | 4 years and 3 months old

Can a diet too high in protein contribute to reoccurring skin yeast infections? I ask because I heard it's best to stay away from dog foods with high carbs since they turn into sugar and feed the yeast.

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By C. Rathjens, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on April 26th, 2017

This is a great question. Dogs can have food allergies that cause skin infections (or environmental allergies that cause infection), so the TYPE of protein in the diet could be a problem, but not the AMOUNT. I do not worry about the carbs in dog food. As a rule, I recommend a high quality food such as Purina ProPlan, Hill's Science Diet, or Royal Canin for food. There are special prescription diets that are hypoallergenic and can be used to rule out a food allergy. Your veterinarian should be able to get you information about this if you give them a call.

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    Answered By Joy Fuhrman, DVM, MBA, CPA

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    The quantity of either protein or carbohydrates is not what contributes to recurring skin yeast infections. Rather, it is the underlying allergies or immune issues that cause recurring skin infections. A high quality commercial diet regardless of brand has balanced nutrition appropriate for most dogs. If your pet is having recurring skin infections it is more likely due to the type of protein and carbohydrate that is in the food, rather than the quantity.

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