The chronically itchy dog owned by the financially challenged client – what are the options?

About one in five small animal consultations deal with skin disease and of these, pruritus is the most common presenting problem in dogs. At which point and severity chronic pruritus impacts on the dog’s (or owner’s) quality of life and thus requires treatment, is a difficult question. Advances in veterinary dermatology have not only increased the diagnostic and therapeutic options, but have also increased cost. Cost cannot be ignored in clinical decision making. The aim of this session is to suggest ways of keeping cost to a minimum without sacrificing good clinical practice. Whatever the budget, chronic pruritus requires a diagnosis for successful treatment. Repeated treatment attempts in the absence of a diagnosis may end up more expensive. Financial savings can however be made by avoiding an extensive and expensive array of diagnostic procedures, expensive treatment options and very frequent re-examinations.