Spring is Sprung

The itchy dog or cat- one of our most common complaints at this time of year. Unfortunately for owners, there often isn't a quick fix. 

Most of the time, there are three big categories of what the underlying cause of the allergy may be:

a) Environmental (grasses, pollens, dust mites...)

b) Food ( proteins like chicken, beef and lamb are some of the biggest culprits)

c) Parasites (fleas, mites, ticks...)

Sound straightforward? Unfortunately, diagnosing the cause of your pet's itch usually involves trial and error- eliminating access to allergens one by one.

Usually we'll do some testing in the initial consult- swabbing your pet's itchy ears or getting samples of skin cells to look at under the microscope. What we're doing here is looking for INFECTION- as this needs to be treated separately if present.

We can also refer you to a dermatology specialist who can perform skin testing to identify the exact cause- and even develop allergy vaccines to desensitise them to whatever they're reacting to (just like people!)

Treatment of allergies is multifaceted and involves: addressing the itching, treating any infections that may be present, and also trying to improve the skin barrier quality in the long term. This may involve a combination of oral medication and topical products- and definitely requires a commitment from owners!