Archie’s Itchy Toe
Archie is a very handsome two year old Golden Retriever. He has been licking at one of his toes for a few weeks. To see more clearly the hair was clipped. There is no evidence of an injury or penetrating wound, but the skin is very red.
A sticky tape prep of the skin was performed during the consultation and it revealed an extraordinary amount of yeast living on the skin.
These little peanut shaped organisms are called Malassezia. They love warm, moist skin such as between the toes and around the mouth. When Malassezia are growing on the skin it makes it itchy so the dog licks more. The skin is then warmer and wetter and a better place for the Malassezia to grow. A vicious cycle.
What to do?
Archie is going to be washed one to two times weekly with an antifungal, medicated shampoo which will decrease the numbers of surface organisms. He will also be given antifungal capsules to try to kill the yeast.
Without the microscopic examination this could have been misdiagnosed as a bacterial infection and treated inappropriately. Hopefully, with this clear diagnosis and intensive treatment, Archie will be improving in the next few weeks. Without proper care the yeast infection may have spread to all of his toes. 
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