Partner with your veterinarian for better pet health
Many skin problems can look alike. It takes a real medical detective to investigate and determine the true underlying cause of your pet's condition.
Resist the temptation to try to solve your pet's skin problems on your own. Treatments based on your best guess may cause your pet more discomfort.
Instead, rely on your veterinarian. With years of education and experience, your veterinarian can help you determine exactly what's wrong with your pet and propose an effective treatment plan.
To solve the mystery, your veterinarian may use blood samples, skin scrapings, fungal tests, bacterial cultures, allergy testing and skin biopsies to rule out possible diagnoses and identify the root cause.
Consult your veterinarian early
The reason to see your veterinarian as early as possible is that skin diseases often become more complicated with time. For example, a pet may start with a simple flea problem. Then, not treated, the pet may continue to scratch. Once the skin is damaged, it becomes an entrance for infections such as bacteria and yeast. That infection can cause health problems that are more complicated and more difficult to treat.
Help your veterinarian with valuable information
Because your pet cannot speak, your veterinarian relies on you to provide information that will help him or her to determine the diagnosis and identify the root cause. Make sure you have the answers to the questions your veterinarian is most likely to ask. Here's a question checklist.