Jack is a delightful cockapoo. He came to see me as an emergency one Sunday when he had hurt his leg jumping something a little too high for him. By the time he arrived at the practice his leg had magically improved (sometimes the adrenaline of a trip to the vets can disguise any discomfort that our four-legged friends are in). However, we did discover that one of his ears was in fact quite sore and infected.

Jack has had problems with his ears and skin since he was a puppy. Skin and ear problems are some of the most common conditions encountered in general practice, and at South Moor Vets we see such cases on a daily basis, mostly affecting dogs. These conditions can be incredibly debilitating for our patients – you will know if you have ever suffered from eczema how uncomfortable it is. The good news is that we have many ways in which we can help them.

There are many possible causes of skin and ear problems in dogs, and it is important for us to try to diagnose the cause in order to give appropriate treatment. Primary causes can include parasites, infections and allergies. It is not always possible to find the underlying cause and these cases can therefore be frustrating for both owners and vets, and often require lifelong treatment. We see many dogs with allergic skin conditions, and they can be allergic to something in their environment, or, less frequently, to their food. We will often recommend doing a diet trial with a prescription diet in order to rule in or out a food allergy.

We took a swab of Jack’s ear whilst he was in the consult and had a look under the microscope. I could directly see lots of yeast cells, known as malassezia, as well as skin cells. Dogs commonly suffer from yeast infestations in their ears as they are a perfect environment being warm and moist. This allowed me to treat Jack in the most appropriate way with a specific type of ear cleaner as well as steroid spray to help reduce the irritation. Jack also required oral medication to help stop him itching.

Treatment for skin and ear problems is often multi-model, meaning that we use a number of medications via various routes to help treat them. The reason for this is that we often need to use both topical treatments, such as anti-bacterial shampoos and ear cleaners, steroids, as well as systemic treatments such as steroids, monoclonal antibodies, JAK inhibitors to help reduce inflammation and itchiness. It is also essential that any dogs or cats with skin disease receive veterinary parasite prevention, as flea allergies are a major contributor to allergic skin problems.

We are lucky enough to have a dermatologist vet at our Dartington branch. This means that our more complex patients can receive the best care and ongoing advice to help keep their skin as normal as possible. For Jack, whilst we are aware that he will require life-long treatment, and will almost certainly suffer from further ear infections in the future, his skin and ears are currently stable and much less itchy.