The short answer to this very common question is “WRONG!”  Unfortunately, grains have gotten a bad rap in the last few years, and although they can cause food allergies, they are lower on the list of likely suspects.  Food allergy is often a very frustrating diagnosis to make as veterinarians ask their owners to please stop feeding their pet’s current diet and all their treats.  As veterinarians, no, we are not trying to make your life challenging or interfere with your bond with “Buddy” by denying him his favorite treat. In order to perform a good food trial to rule in or out a food allergy, the trial must be strict.  Although the more common offending ingredients in your pet’s diet are animal protein-based (beef, chicken or dairy), the possibilities of other ingredients are likely as well due to the varied nature of our pets’ foods and treats, and there is no way of knowing which ingredient might be the one contributing to a food allergy. Read more »

It is commonly said “ you will never fully understand a person unless you’ve walked a mile in their shoes” or in our patient’s case, spent a day with itchy skin.  I have not only spent a day, I’ve spent many years with skin allergies of my own.  Not only do I understand what it feels like to constantly be uncomfortable in your own skin, I understand the frustrations of trying to pinpoint the cause and get a treatment plan that works. Although no one wishes to be itchy all the time, this experience has given me great empathy and understanding for not only the suffering of my patients, but the frustration that owners go through during the work up phase.

Tired of lying awake at night scratching my arms and legs until they would bleed and listening to my co-workers threatening to wrap my hands in oven mitts (the human version of an e-collar), I finally broke down and went to see my own dermatologist. Similar to my appointments with my own patients, I was grilled about my diet, my exposure to chemicals, seasonality of symptoms, etc.  After several tests, it eventually took 2 skin biopsies to get a final answer. After weeks of trial and error, drawers full of creams and medications which were unsuccessful and years of discomfort I was finally diagnosed with a contact dermatitis (I was allergic to something I was coming in contact with on a regular basis). Although I was excited to have an answer, I knew this was likely the beginning of another battle, finding what was causing my reaction. I was told to switch all my detergents, soaps, lotions, etc. to hypoallergenic fragrance free products and keep a list of thing that came in contact with my skin at work.  This meant no scent lotions or soaps, no fabric softeners or scented laundry detergents and on and on. As I boxed away my beloved Khiel’s skin care collection, I thought to myself this better work….and guess what? It worked! I am now itch free and my skin is no longer scratched and scarred.  The only regret I have is that I didn’t go sooner! Read more »

Spring 2006

Case Study: Rusty, a 3 year old Golden retriever, was referred for a history of chronic ringworm which was unresponsive to topical miconazole cream and oral griseofulvin. The lesions were moderately pruritic. On physical examination, Rusty had numerous round scaly lesions on the ventral inguinal area, as well as interdigital and outer ear erythema. Skin scrapings of the lesions for mites were negative, and skin cytology revealed neutrophils with intra and extracellular coccoid bacteria.  Read more »

Summer 2007

Canine solar dermatitis or chronic sun damage to the skin is a common dermatologic disorder in hot sunny climates. However solar dermatitis can sometimes mimic other skin diseases such as allergies or pyoderma, and be unrecognized and so go untreated until irreversible damage or sun induced skin cancers have developed. This article will review the clinical signs, diagnostics and treatment options for solar dermatitis. Read more »

Signalment and History

“Buffy”, a 10 year old spayed female Shih Tzu, presented for a 6 month history of mildly pruritic patchy alopecia and scaling of the face, legs and truncal regions which had failed to respond to several courses of antibiotics or steroid injections. She had also become lethargic the last few months. Read more »

Fall 2004

One of the most frequent questions we receive from referring veterinarians and clients at our office is “what do you think of cyclosporin, and does it work for the treatment of atopy?” We have been using cyclosporin for the treatment of refractory atopic cases since 1996. Like all of our therapeutic options for atopy, it has both pros and cons. Read more »

April 2004

Fall 2003

Sam, a 1.5 year old SF pitbull mix dog was presented for evaluation for total ear canal ablation surgery. She had a history of chronic bilateral otitis since the owner obtained her 3 months previously. Topical ear medications had been tried with no improvement. Additionally, the owner reported that Sam was pruritic, especially on her face, feet, axillary areas and inguinal areas. Sam was fed a commercial diet and fipronil was used for flea control. Read more »