Healthy skin is in! Protect the skin your pet is in.

In human medicine, patients see their family doctors for routine wellness checks and general health concerns. But often, the primary care doctor recommends a specialist. The same is now true of veterinary medicine. Get to know our Veterinary Specialist in Dermatology, Dr. Melanie Hnot [NOT].

Does my dog need a manicure?

Symmetric Lupoid Onychitis in dogs
Do you have a dog whose nails are brittle or where the nails have started to fall off? Symmetric lupoid onychitis (SLO), an immune-mediated condition that affects your dog’s nails and paws. I’ve seen this recently in some patients so I wanted to give an update on this dermatologic disease. 
Luckily, this disease isn’t that common, but if it’s your dog, you want to bring them to your veterinarian right away. 

What is it?
SLO has been reported in many dog breeds. I’ve seen it in Vizslas, Greyhounds, German Shepherds, Giant Schnauzer and mixed breed dogs. Commonly occurring in middle age, dogs can present with brittle nails or with nails falling off on multiple paws. Understandably, this can be painful and discourage your pup from walking or playing. This disease usually only affects the feet so dogs are typically still eating and drinking normally.

What can I do?
The best way to diagnose this disease is to biopsy an affected nail. The biopsy is helpful because it can differentiate SLO from other diseases.
Treatments for SLO varies as does the response of from each dog. Often a combination of treatments are used. Some dogs respond to strict diet trials, whereby a food allergy causes this disease. Other dogs respond to omega-3 and -6 fatty acids, doxycycline (an antibiotic) along with niacinamide (a B-vitamin) and some need stronger medications like prednisone. Nails grow slowly so treatment can take time. Most patients need to be treated for at least 8 weeks before seeing improvement and dogs may need treatment lifelong. Even with treatment, the nails can grow in abnormally. We also want to make sure our patients are comfortable so pain management is part of the initial plan. 

The good news, most patients respond well to treatment of SLO.

Itchy Cats

Itchy Cats
Ever had a cat that is licking excessively or scratching so much the skin bleeds?  Hopefully not, but if you have an itchy cat, you know heartbreaking it can be to watch.  If you’ve been reading up on the multitude of causes of itching in cats online, you might get discouraged.  We’re here to help guide you through the process of figuring out what’s making your cat itch!!

What causes this?
There are many causes of itching in cats. They can include parasites, infectious diseases, allergies, and behavioral issues, among other diseases. Your veterinarian will take a detailed history to learn more about your cat and will then perform their exam. Looking for parasites is one of first things we want to do. We see a lot of flea allergy dermatitis (inflammation of the skin) so we will want to perform a combing to check for fleas. Some cats are fastidious groomers and can lick fleas off of their hair coat before we even find them so we often recommend a flea prevention. Looking for other parasites is important too. Superficial and deep skin scrapings can be taken to look for certain types of mites. Skin cytology can be helpful to look for bacteria and yeast infections and testing for ringworm can be performed.

Could it be allergies?
Once parasites and infectious diseases are ruled out, the next step is determining if your cat has allergies. Allergies can be caused by fleas, foods or even pollens, dust mites and molds in their environment. 

What can I do?
A strict, prescription 2-3 month diet trial may be recommended to see if your cat has a food allergy.  We know that cats can be picky eaters, which is why we have multiple dry and canned foods to try.  If environmental allergies are suspected, allergy testing can be performed.
With all of these possible causes, we recommend taking your cat to their veterinarian so they can help you determine the cause of itching and help treat it.

*New product update in cats: Revolution Plus is a new topical preventative for cats. It helps to provide protection against fleas, some ticks, heartworm, roundworms, hookworms and ear mites. It requires a prescription so you will need to talk with your veterinarian to see if it is an option for your cat.

A veterinary dermatologist is an expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of animal skin, ear, hair, nail, hoof and mouth disorders. Our specialty teams work closely with your pet’s primary care veterinarians to develop the best possible treatment plan for your patient.  If you have questions about our dermatology services or any of our other specialized services in Surgery, Cardiology, Internal Medicine or Emergency & Critical Care, please contact us via our website at vcahollywood.com, by phone at 954-920-3556 or by email at au1000@vca.com.