Allergies & Dermatology

Is your pet’s itchy skin frustrating you both?

There are many conditions that can affect a companion animal’s skin, and the symptoms can be unpleasant. You don’t want your best friend to suffer and neither do we!

The professional allergy and dermatology services at Westside Pet Hospital will help get your loved one as healthy on the outside as on the inside.

Diagnosing the Problem

At each appointment, we’ll examine your pet from nose to tail, looking for anything out of the ordinary. We’ll then create a customized preventative care strategy that will include vaccines, parasite control, nutrition and weight management, and anything else we deem relevant.

To help your companion feel better, we must identify precisely what’s causing the problem. We may be able to tell what’s wrong just by looking at your pet, or we may need to investigate further. Blood work, skin scrapings and biopsies provide us with the answers we need to move forward with a cure.

Some dermatological issues we assist with include:

• Allergies (food and/or environmental)
• Infections (acute or chronic)
• Parasites
• Dermatitis
• Hormonal disorders
• Autoimmune diseases
• Tumors
• Skin cancer

Developing a Treatment Plan

Finally, annual visits give all of us at Westside Pet Hospital the chance to truly get to know you and your pet. Developing a relationship with you and forging a bond with your animal friend is an integral part of the care we provide.

Once we’ve diagnosed the underlying problem, the next step is determining how to best treat it. Depending on the situation, we may prescribe something as simple as a topical cream. More complex conditions may call for a longer-term strategy or involve a combination of multiple treatment methods.

Signs of a possible skin problem include:

• Excessive scratching
• Scabbing or flaking of the skin
• Hot spots
• Shedding more than usual
• Biting, chewing or licking at the affected area
• Bumps or lumps on or under the skin

If you notice any of these signs, it’s time to schedule an appointment. Give us a call. We can help your four-legged friend live a more comfortable life.