Is your dog scratching, biting, chewing and keeping you up all night?  Does your cat have little bumps and “scabby wabbys” all around her neck?  Are they losing their beautiful coat, smelling bad, and shedding a lot?  If the answer is “Yes!’, the Folly Road Animal Hospital may be able to help.  Call for an appointment and fill out the history form below and take it with you to your next pet’s next visit.

Skin History Form

Testing for Infectious Disease:

We can have your pet tested for mites, ringworm, bacteria and yeast.  All can be infectious causes of dermatitis in dogs and cats.  A wide range of treatments are available for these diseases and can be discussed at the time of diagnosis.

Food Intolerance and Hypo-allergenic diets:

Often, dogs and cats might have itchy skin and dermatitis because they are allergic to what they are eating. It is important to eat a healthy diet, but unfortunately the foods that usually look the most appealing to us are often the most likely to cause problems for our pets. Colorful, crunchy and chewy kibble looks like it would be fun to eat, but let’s face it: dogs are colorblind! Not only that, but the dyes, preservatives, and chemicals contained in these types of foods are hyper-allergenic (the opposite of hypoallergenic). The best types of food are plain, brown kibble that contain a meat based protein as the main ingredient instead of a carbohydrate (such as corn and wheat).  Some theorize that a gluten-free diet might also be better for some food allergic dogs.

Atopy (or Inhaled Allergy) Testing:

Much like allergies in people, inhaled pollens, molds, and insect parts may cause problems in pets. Usually, animals do not sneeze when they are allergic to something – instead they itch. We can arrange to have a blood test performed on your pet to discover the exact cause of the problem.

Through a specialized lab, serum from your pet is measured for circulating antibodies to common allergens in our area.  Based on the results of this test, a customized vaccine is formulated, and it can be administered at home to help relieve the itching.  More recently, new evidence suggests that one might be able to skip the blood test and simply use a standardized skin vaccine only formulated based on where the pet lives.  Since this approach has not been extensively utilized in the pet industry to date, we are offering both techniques, currently.