Skin, eyes & senses
Allergies & Skin
Itch, allergies and skin or ear problems: finding the cause and getting lasting relief.
4 topics · 29 guides from PetsLikeMine
Who can help near you
- Your vet1 kind
- Specialists2 kinds
Listed by distance from you. Nobody pays to be listed.
Atopic Dermatitis
7 guides from PetsLikeMine
Atopic dermatitis: when your pet is allergic to the worldAtopic dermatitis, often just called "allergies" in the consulting room, is one of the most common skin diseases in dogs, and it has a one-line summary worth getting…10 min read · on PetsLikeMine Calming the flare and controlling the itch: your treatment toolkitThere is no single product that fixes atopic dermatitis, and any plan built around one is already in trouble. What works is an ordered approach: get the itch down fast…11 min read · on PetsLikeMine Getting the diagnosis: why atopy is what is left when everything else is ruled outAtopic dermatitis is the one allergy diagnosis that no single test can confirm. There is nothing to find on a slide or in a blood tube. Instead, a vet arrives at it by…10 min read · on PetsLikeMine
All 7 guides on this topic
Food Allergy
4 guides from PetsLikeMine
The elimination diet, done properly: the only reliable test there isA food trial asks a lot. Weeks of policing every morsel, no treats, and a wary eye on the dog-walker. It is one of the more demanding things we ask of owners, so it…10 min read · on PetsLikeMine After the trial: the challenge, finding the trigger, and feeding for lifeEight strict weeks, no slips, and your pet is visibly more comfortable: less scratching, calmer ears, fewer flares. The hard part is behind you. What most owners do next…11 min read · on PetsLikeMine Food allergies in pets: what they are, and what they are notFew topics in pet health are sold to owners as hard as food allergy. Walk down any pet-shop aisle and the bags shout "grain-free", "hypoallergenic" and "limited…10 min read · on PetsLikeMine
All 4 guides on this topic
Fleas, Mites & Mange
4 guides from PetsLikeMine
Flea allergy: how one bite causes weeks of miseryThe pet least likely to have visible fleas is often the flea-allergic one, which is exactly why this gets missed. "But I never see any fleas" is the usual line from…10 min read · on PetsLikeMine The smaller culprits: ear mites, harvest mites and walking dandruffRuling out fleas does not finish the parasitic part of an itch work-up. Three smaller mites get overlooked again and again because they are easy to mistake for other…10 min read · on PetsLikeMine Winning the flea war: treating every pet and the home, all yearHalf-done flea control is the single commonest reason an itchy pet stays itchy. Owners treat, often faithfully, still see fleas and scratching, and quietly conclude the…12 min read · on PetsLikeMine
All 4 guides on this topic
Skin & Ear Infections
4 guides from PetsLikeMine
Recurrent ear infections: why they keep coming backThere is a pattern most owners of a flare-prone pet know by heart. The ear clears on the drops. A few weeks later your pet is shaking their head again, the ear smells…10 min read · on PetsLikeMine Hot spots: the angry patch that appears overnightA normal dog goes to bed, and by morning there's a raw, weeping, hairless patch the size of a coin, hot to the touch and clearly sore. It looks alarming, and it…10 min read · on PetsLikeMine The smell, the goo and the scratching: skin and ear infections explainedA dog that suddenly smells different, a strong sweetish slightly rancid odour that wasn't there last week. An ear weeping brown waxy gunk, and the head-shaking that goes…10 min read · on PetsLikeMine
All 4 guides on this topic
More guides
10 from PetsLikeMine
Allergy tests that work, and the ones that waste your moneyWhen a pet is itchy, "just get an allergy test" sounds like the sensible, scientific next step. You post a kit through the letterbox, or your vet draws a little blood…10 min read · on PetsLikeMine How to check your pet at home, and what to photographYou see your pet every day. Your vet sees them for about ten minutes, on a day that may not be the day the skin looks its worst. That gap is the whole problem with skin…10 min read · on PetsLikeMine Losing fur but not very itchy? When it is hormonal, not allergicMost of this part of the site speaks to an itchy pet, because itch is what sends owners looking up skin problems in the first place. This article is for the other owner…12 min read · on PetsLikeMine
All 10 guides here
- The treatments compared: Apoquel, Cytopoint, steroids, ciclosporin and immunotherapy 11 min
- Lumps, bumps and spots: which need the vet now, and which can wait 10 min
- Is this a skin emergency? Swelling, hives, collapse and the hot, painful patch 10 min
- Ringworm: the contagious one that is not a worm 11 min
- Dandruff, greasy coat and seborrhoea: when the skin barrier breaks down 11 min
- The itch threshold: why your pet copes with one allergy but not three 13 min
- Why is my pet so itchy? The five things it could be 10 min
Find care near you
Your allergies & skin care team
These are the practitioners this condition can call for, from your everyday vet to specialists and therapists. Enter your postcode to see who's near you at each step.
- Your vet (primary care)
Veterinary dermatologist ·Referral hospital
Understand the condition
Clinical background on vetcanon, the ConciergeVet reference library. Vetcanon is published by Concierge Vet LTD, which also operates PetCare Atlas.
With PetsLikeMine
Read the whole journey on PetsLikeMine
Every allergies & skin guide, in order, sits in its own space on PetsLikeMine, written by owners and vets who have been through it. We show the first few here and link to the rest.
Read every allergies & skin guide