Comprehensive Pet Skin Care
& Allergy Testing
Your pet’s skin has a very important function. Just like his or her liver or kidneys, your companion animal’s skin is an organ and its purpose is to protect the underlying muscles, bones, ligaments, and internal organs. Dogs and cats suffer from many problems that affect their skin. Pet skin disorders fall under three general categories: parasites, allergies, and infections.
Determining the cause of your dog or cat’s dermatology problem requires a methodical approach. At Odyssey Veterinary Care, we use a variety of diagnostic tools including skin scrapings, fungal and bacterial cultures, cytology, biopsy, and allergy testing to get to the root cause of your pet’s skin problem. Additional blood testing to look for disorders such as hypothyroidism and Cushing’s disease (hyperadrenocorticism) may also be recommended.
Symptoms of Skin Problems in Pets
- Scratching, licking, or chewing at skin (especially the face, feet, and ears)
- Scabs (especially in groin or armpit area)
- Redness or inflammation
- Dark, black, thickened, or wrinkled skin
- Hot spots (area of skin that is moist, red, tender, and thickened)
- Round, scaly patches on the face and paws
- Dry, flaky, or otherwise irritated skin
- Hair loss, bald patches, thin undercoat
- Rashes
- Swellings, lumps, or skin discoloration
Treating skin conditions (once a proper diagnosis has been reached) can involve the use of oral, injectable, or topical medications or possibly the use of a prescription shampoo. Some skin diseases can be frustrating for owners to deal with because they can only be managed and not resolved. In these more complicated cases, we may request to see your pet on a more regular basis for continued treatments.
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Online RX & StoreOdyssey goes above and beyond my expectations, and truly cares about my dog. We will always come back to Odyssey and highly recommend it to anyone who asks!
— Meagan
Dr. Bruss is great—he is very kind and caring. He called us several times to explain our options and didn’t pressure us to make a particular decision.
— Anne
My dog sees Dr. Stokes for his vet care and she is the best vet ever. She understands my dog’s unique needs and I highly recommend them!
— Debra
No matter which vet we've seen, they’ve always been loving and compassionate whether we were there just for yearly vaccinations or for something a bit more serious.
— Melanie
I am in love with all of the staff at this facility. If I could, I would want to be treated there, but sadly, they only take the four legged types...
— Terri
Wouldn’t go anywhere else! I feel surrounded by people that love animals as much as I do. Wouldn’t change a thing.
— Powder78
Services are very reasonably priced and we've never felt like we had any unnecessary procedures or products pushed on us. we really feel that we can trust Dr. Bruss and Odyssey Veterinary Care with our cats’ health.
— Onion Girl
Dr. stokes has seen our family through kitten to senior cat, puppy and loss of dog, new puppy and everything in the middle! We think the care our animals get here is top notch!
— Courtney
Great people, great care! You've all made such a difference in my life and Abby's too. Thanks Odyssey Staff!
— June
When they prescribed my dog eye drops for an infection, they gave me the instructions and then called me within a 48 hour period to ask me how the medication was going and if I had any questions.
— Debra
They are very friendly and very thorough. The dog loves them, and she’s shy, so that’s a good thing. We have always had a lot of confidence in what they have told us.
— Sandra
They happily accommodate our special request to see our big dogs in their fenced back yard, since our 100-pound German Shepherd gets nervous in a small examination room.
— Peter
We bring our dog to Odyssey Vet Clinic and will continue to do so as long as we live in this area. They are the best vets we’ve ever had.
— David
They are very friendly, and they always remind you of when your appointments are. They are the top veterinary hospital in Madison. They are very good.
— Sandy
