How to Do a 5-Minute Skin Check on Your Dog

A simple monthly routine that catches skin problems while they're still small.

Most skin problems are cheap and easy to handle early and expensive and miserable to handle late. A short monthly check — ideally during a calm cuddle or grooming session — catches the majority of them at the easy stage. 1

The route to follow

Work in one pass so you don't skip areas: start at the muzzle and lips, lift the ears and look (and smell) inside, part the fur at the neck and along the spine, check armpits and belly, run your hands down each leg, spread the toes to inspect between the paw pads, and finish under the tail. You're looking for redness, flakes, scabs, bald patches, lumps, dark greasy buildup in ears, and any spot your dog flinches away from. 2

Write down what you find

A two-line note on your phone — "small pink spot, left armpit, Sept 5" — turns a vague memory into a timeline. Whether a spot is new, growing, or unchanged for six months completely changes what it means to your vet. 1

Five minutes a month is the whole commitment. The dogs who benefit most are the stoic ones — the ones who'd never tell you anything was wrong. 2