Multimodal Approach – A new way of managing and treating dog skin issues.
This is the first of a series of pet care columns dedicated to … well, pet care. Follow the Rockaway Times for more science-based write-ups to follow on pet care.
The Pawlacio Pets’ team recently attended the 2025 Veterinary Meeting Expo (VMX) conference in Florida as a part of our annual continuing education. It is a conference my colleague, Dr. Jody Blanco (retired OB/GYN surgeon), and I have attended for several years now. Together, we own the only indoor doggie daycare, grooming and skincare salon in Rockaway. Jody manages the doggie daycare and I the grooming and skincare. Continuing education is a part of our professional development. I am a Certified Pet Aesthetician & Certified Pet Groomer; at our salon we offer grooming services that are beyond the haircut. We help restore dog skin health and coat integrity. Our customers enjoy skin and coat care benefits through us using only certified pet safe products and science-based techniques during their regular visits with us.
Pawlacio Pets is located at 11406 Rockaway Beach Boulevard
By Florence Chong
At the 2025 VMX, there was a new buzz about multimodal approaches to pet skin care that involve applying a combination of treatments to help various skin conditions effectively. The new approach of treating and managing chronic issues like allergies, infections and parasites in dog skin care is now recommended by veterinarians. Here are some key treatments of a multimodal approach.
Many pet owners are familiar with oral medications when they visit their veterinary service for their dog’s skin issue. Depending on the dog’s skin condition, oral antibiotics, antifungals or anti-inflammatory drugs may be prescribed. Understanding the primary causes associated with the skin issue is important in the treatment of a skin condition. Your veterinarian would recommend systemic medications for the underlying cause of any atopic dermatitis (chronic skin condition linked to allergies and an overactive immune system) and pyoderma is a bacterial skin infection. Frequent checkups with a veterinarian are necessary to monitor the pet’s skin conditions and manage necessary treatments.
Dietary management may be recommended for dogs with food allergies. If you put your dog through a diet trial, it is important to understand that they are difficult to implement correctly, and it should be tailored to your pet.
Parasite control by regular use of flea, tick and mote preventative treatments to prevent infestations that can exacerbate skin conditions.
Topical treatments including anti-bacterial and anti-fungal shampoos, hydrating conditioners, ointments and sprays that can help soothe skin and reduce inflammation and treat infections. Do you know that topical therapy is the treatment of choice for superficial bacterial folliculitis (pyoderma)? This assumes that topical therapies are lower in cost and don’t have to be medicated daily. When using a shampoo as a therapy, a hydrating conditioner is recommended to hydrate and replace the moisture stripped by the shampoo.
A multifaceted approach in managing and treating dog skin issue ensures that all aspects of the pet’s skin heath are addressed and can have longer lasting outcomes to improving the quality of life for the dog. Of course, the more compliant the pet owner, the better the outcome. Caregivers should consider adhering to a recommended process as the long-term benefits of better compliance is a happier and healthier dog and helps to avoid high veterinary bills.
In our next column, we will discuss why some skin infections just won’t go away.
