The Allergic Dog (2025)

22/10/2025

Allergies are a chronic, relapsing condition. We should expected our patients to flare. But (and this is key!) we should utilize medical management and root cause work to reduce the severity and frequency of those flares!

What do flares look like?
INFECTION
ITCH
INFLAMMATION

Why are flares not great?
BECAUSE THEY GO ON MORE ANTIBIOTICS [and other concerns].

So, if you are seeing a patient again and again and again with the same flare of secondary pyoderma or otitis externa - you need to look at your plan! Your plan is likely not addressing their inflammation well enough.

I can teach you how to address inflammation well. And, I will start by saying it is not done by combining Apoquel and Cytopoint. That plan doubles down on *itch*, not inflammation. 🔥

Are you a veterinarian curious about this post? And what I have to teach? GREAT! Go to my website (linkinthebio!) and get on my mailing list. And, while you are there you can take my *free* course on ear infections. Literally free. Three hours of RACE approved CE. Over 700 veterinarians have signed up....it's no joke.

20/10/2025

Raise your hand if you have access to a veterinary dermatology service near you. 🙋‍♀️
If you can raise your hand, consider yourself lucky — because there are just not that many veterinary dermatologists in the world.

Board Certified Veterinary Dermatologists® are a unique bunch of clinicians who specialize in skin and ear diseases of all species aside from humans (no, we can’t help with your rash 😉).

Research shows that early referral can help with trust-building and outcomes. But it’s not always possible for a pet owner to see a dermatologist!

So, what do you do if you feel like maybe your dog needs more help than your primary care vet is giving?

1️⃣ Don’t start with Facebook.
To determine if food is causing your dog’s specific issues, you need to do a diagnostic diet trial. Switching from salmon to pork likely won’t cut it — and most commercial diets have enough cross-contamination to throw off the results anyway.

2️⃣ Ask your vet about inflammation and itch.
These are the two hallmark features of allergic dogs. Managing them well — and directly — is our job. Your dog may simply need a more precise or consistent plan.

3️⃣ Ask if the diagnosis still fits.
Sometimes this question alone prompts your vet to re-evaluate and make sure your dog’s issues are truly allergic in nature.

And if you’ve checked those boxes and still feel stuck? That’s when I’d start looking for ways to get a dermatology-informed plan — even if you can’t get to a dermatologist in person.

That’s exactly why I built The Allergic Dog™. To make specialist-level knowledge accessible to every pet owner, vet, and groomer who’s trying to help allergic dogs feel better. And...likely that is you! Share, follow, go to my website and get on my mailing list! Link in BIO! 🔥

17/10/2025

Allergies are a chronic, relapsing condition. Flares are expected. And, with that, there will not be a single medication that masks a patient's symptoms all the time perfectly well.

Usually when "Cytopoint stops working" it means that the patient is having a flare up. This is expected. What is not expected is for this to be happening several times a year, with poor overall response to medical management.

Cytopoint is a therapeutic that is just for itch. It blocks an itch cytokine called IL-31. So, if we are expecting this medication to mask symptoms like otitis externa (ear infections and inflammation), pyoderma (skin infections and inflammation), or more - we might be expecting too much from this nice little targeted injectable.

I have a lot more to say here, so if this caught your eye - get on my mailing list for more! Go to my website, and sign up!

When you get there, you can even take a *free* course on ear infections that is written for VETERINARIANS or PET OWNERS or GROOMERS! Yes, three separate versions of a *FREE* course on ear infections.

I love to teach this stuff, and am here for the long haul. Glad you are here!

15/10/2025

We don't do an allergy test to determine if a dog is allergic or not. 🧠⚡

This is a statement with little controversy in the field of veterinary allergy. These tests are non-diagnostic and are utilized to determine what to include in the allergen-specific immunotherapy prescription.

Here are the questions that you should ask before allergen testing a dog -

1) Is the owner open to doing allergy shots or drops for at least 12 months? Review costs, the experience, the plan, the purpose.

2) Does the patient have an accurate diagnosis of exclusion of canine atopic dermatitis? Negative diet trial? Partial diet trial response? Clear seasonal symptoms? Rule out ectoparasitic causes of pruritus? Doesn't have sebaceous adenitis or some other disease that can be mistaken as allergy?

If you are not sure of your diagnostic process, follow me for more. ⬇

I am currently building my course "Itch to Answer" for veterinarians and it is 🔥. In this course, veterinarians will learn how to make an accurate diagnosis of canine atopic dermatitis accurately and efficiently. And, let me promise you this - it won't be a course like every other you have seen. There are hidden easter eggs (just call me the TSwift) and gems mixed throughout! 💎

Follow. Share. Sign up on my mailing list. PLEASE.

13/10/2025

Another big term floating around - "yeast overgrowth".

I am sure you have seen this on your IG feed if you are at all targeted by D*g is H*man. When I see these ads I literally can't control myself from saying "no-no-no!" or "why are you telling people this?!" out loud.

Here are the facts as we understand them today:
- Canine allergy is an inflammatory condition that is genetically predisposed
- Allergic disease leads to microbiome shifts on the skin
- A yeast imbalance does not occur in the gut when dogs have allergies
- Sometimes a yeast imbalance, or dysbiosis, can occur on the skin when some dogs have allergic flares or poorly managed inflammation
- Managing our cases with an Inflammation First™ mindset helps reduce secondary infection and rebalance the normal flora of the skin

Please don't see these ads and wonder if you should spend $60+ a month on a chew that is going to fix a problem that they just made up in order to sell you a chew for $60+ a month. These companies are out to get your money, not to help your dog. Period.

Are there some dogs who might improve with a chew? Sure.
Is placebo effect real in veterinary patients? Also sure.
Can bots comment on their ads? You didn't hear that from me.
Do I recommend use of a single chew without any scientific evidence supporting its use as part of a multimodal tretament plan for allergic dogs? No.

I believe in managing Inflammation First™, preventing infection, reducing flare severity and frequency, and mapping each dog onto their specific Allergic Dog Blueprint™ in order to improve life quality, maintain safety expectations, and set realistic expectations. As a Board Certified Veterinary Dermatologist®, I want to thank you for your attention to this matter 😉

Follow me for more real-world guidance from an expert who cares. Share this post, too, will ya?

10/10/2025

Sure don't.

Medication is one option, and not a requirement, for allergic dogs.

Atopic dermatitis is a complex condition characertized by itch and inflammation in dogs. So, I treat the dog based on their particular blend of symptoms! Easier said than done, sometimes. Some of my special snowflakes really need a lot of planning and thought around their flares, diet, bathing, and medication plan. But, there's nothing I love more than coming up with a plan that works!

Oh, want to learn more about that? That's what I am here for! Follow me...........plz.

08/10/2025

Sure won't.

But, marketing budgets of giant allergy chew companies would love to convince you of otherwise. ⚡️

As a veterianry dermatologist who has been practicing for a decade, I have come to learn a thing or two about allergic dogs 😉 And, one thing is for sure - multimodal treatment is essential, the condition varies from dog to dog, not all dogs benefit from the same plan, and you shouldn't trust a bold claim of a cure for a complex condition.

We are innundated right now with ads about this. This post that I am writing is brought to you ad free, no marketing budget here. Just a Board Certified Veterinary Dermatologist® sitting in her living room on a sunny day trying to remind you that these products aren't going to solve every problem for every allergic dog.

Want to learn more about why? What really works? How to flip this script? How to handle these conversations? Of course you do! Follow me for more. This is my jam.🔥

06/10/2025

Replace the phrase "we could try a diet trial" with "I recommend that we use the diet trial to determine what percentage of your dog's allergic issues are from food".

Diet trials are something we do - not something we try.

This small shift in wording carries a lot forward. It reduces the confusion, reinforces the fact that this is a diagnostic test, and implies that you aren't just shooting from the hip with things to try.

I started "Itch to Answer" this week - a course that will be *FOUNDATIONAL* for all veterianrians who manage allergic disease in dogs. This course will teach you how to make an accurate diagnosis for any allergic dog in an efficient and methodical way. I cannnnnoooottttttt wait for this to be done and in your hands/brains! 🧠🙌💜

Follow for more on the journey of course creation, wisdom, protips, and all the things I have to share as a who is committed to making your day better in primary care medicine. xo 🥰

03/10/2025

"Can you do his glands?" 😅

I would love to never hear that question again. And, I bet you would too.

Here’s the deal—a**l gland problems are rarely just about a**l glands. They’re a window into a bigger picture: chronic inflammation, allergies, GI disease, and even the dog’s unique anatomy.

At NEVC, I shared how reframing a**l sac disease as a chronic inflammatory condition (not just a “maintenance-can-you-do-his-glands-problem”) changes everything:
👉 Fewer repeat visits for uncomfortable dogs.
👉 Less question marks for vets.
👉 More clarity when talking with owners.

Instead of “express every 30 days,” think this:
what’s the underlying trigger? Is it allergy? Is it GI? Is it both?

This is exactly why I built Beyond Expression™—to help GPs stop feeling stuck with these cases and start managing them with confidence. Check it out!

💬 What’s your gut reaction when an a**l gland case walks into your clinic? Relief that it’s straightforward—or dread that it’ll be back next month?

**lglands **lglands **lgland

01/10/2025

Is there a perfect allergy plan? Short answer: no.

Long answer: also no. 🤣

Every allergic dog is unique. Every client family has different resources, routines, and priorities. And every clinic has its own constraints.

At NEVC, I emphasized that chasing the “perfect plan” only leads to frustration—for us and our clients. That’s where I can help.

What actually works?
👉 Recognizing there’s no single “right way.”
👉 Building flexible, layered strategies that adapt over time.
👉 Using medical management strategically to meet your goals.

When we let go of perfection, we can finally focus on what matters most: the individual patient in front of us and their family. It might sound harder, but in the long run, it makes allergy care smoother, not more complicated.

This is what I love teaching—how to use the medications we already have (yes, Cytopoint vs. Apoquel is just the beginning!) to build the plan your patient actually needs.

Want more? Make sure you’re on my mailing list - link in the comments or bio!

In the meantime, I’d love to hear from you ⬇️ What’s the most frustrating part of building allergy plans in general practice?

29/09/2025

I just got back from lecturing at the New England Veterinary Conference in Portland, Maine. First off—what a conference. The people, the city, the food, the colleagues… it all filled my cup. 🥰

This year, they asked me for a grueling 6 hours of content (yep, 4 x 90-minute talks 🫠).

My first lecture was on the Health Belief Model—a framework that explains how all humans have beliefs about care that either help or hinder following through on their doctor’s recommendations.

And one of the biggest pieces? Barriers.
👉 Packed schedules.
👉 Cost limitations.
👉 Clients who just can’t always follow through.

This is real life. And yet, I see far too many vets blaming themselves—thinking “if I were a better communicator, more owners would follow through.”

Hold that thought. ✋

Barriers aren’t a reflection of your skill. They’re part of the human experience. When we normalize them, we can start finding practical strategies and solutions that actually work in busy practices.

I’ll be sharing more on this in the coming weeks—because allergy management gets so much easier when we shift the mindset first. 💡

⬇️ Comment below: what’s the biggest barrier you run into with allergy plans?

28/07/2025

My system is simple—
It starts with inflammation, and then considers the rest. 💡🔥

Before I treat a problem, I ask: “Why is this happening?”

That question shifts the story in a meaningful way.
It’s not just about itch, or redness, or paws that smell like Fritos.
It's not about ear drops.
It’s about identifying what’s driving the problem—and treating that before anything else.

✅ Is there an underlying allergy?
✅ Is the skin barrier damaged?
✅ Are we dealing with secondary infection—or dysbiosis?

The more we understand the root cause, the more we can make intentional choices:
• Avoid the trigger
• Desensitize through immunotherapy
• Support the immune system
• Repair the barrier
• Reduce inflammation from the inside out

This is the heart of Inflammation First™—my framework built on science, experience, and results. And, it is not ivory tower - just the opposite. This system helps prevent recurrence, to reduce resource spend. This system helps save owners money, not spend it. This system is what we all need in an age of antimicrobial resistance.

Last week, I released my signature course - Ear Infection Essentials. In this course, I introduce this concept so that I can help dogs *worldwide* achieve better health with a simple motto: Inflammation First™.

If you haven't signed up for this free course, what are you waiting for? Link in bio.

The Allergic Dog

22/10/2025

20/10/2025

17/10/2025

15/10/2025

13/10/2025

10/10/2025

08/10/2025

06/10/2025

03/10/2025

01/10/2025

29/09/2025

28/07/2025

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