Animal Dermatology Clinic

First time with Dr. Nichols to help with a reoccurring skin issue on my 3 year old pit bull Alley - Dr. Nichols performed a very detailed exam and explained his plan in great detail. Staff was amazing and Alley is already doing much better, just after a few days.Read Less

I have so much to say...we came to AADC after working with another animal dermatologist in Round Rock that after a LOT of money had only duplicated our regular vet's efforts and done absolutely nothing to help our dog.  They didn't return calls, they prescribed multiple expensive medications, and refused to allergy test our dog for one year after moving from Denver to Austin--leaving him to suffer unnecessarily.  We had something like 8 (or more?) medications and treatments that were almost a full-time job to keep up with that could also supposedly damage his liver, and I felt so guilty that our dog was suffering and there was nothing we could do to help.  At one time we wondered if we should have him put down, which was a thought that broke my heart.  I felt pretty hopeless, and guilty, but we just assumed they knew what they were doing and hoped that "soon" he might start to feel better.  They even tried to tell us that our dog's problems were because we had missed an appointment that we never knew about.  It felt like their only goal was to sell us a whole bunch of expensive medications, which might have been fine if our dog was feeling better.  But he was in obvious pain.  See the images below.I called Lisa at AADC when we started having doubts about the other vet for a second opinion.  We were well into our "treatment" plan (if you want to call it that), and it was a difficult decision--and expensive--to walk away and start over with a new vet.  But after talking with AADC, I felt like they were worth taking that chance.  Dr. Nichols is amazingly kind, and it's so obvious that he loves animals.  His staff is responsive and knowledgeable.  Occasionally you'll get their voicemail, but they do call back pretty promptly.  He gave us immediate hope for our little Beezle, and told us that it wasn't necessary to wait the ONE YEAR that the other allergy vet had told us.  He could see clearly that our dog was suffering, he was eager to help, and he worked as a partner with our other vet, Lake Travis Animal Hospital, instead of just duplicating their efforts.  After dumping the other allergist, we were able to get the Apoquel that we knew would help our dog from our regular vet, and within a few weeks we were able to test him for allergies, finding out that he was allergic to over 30 things out of the 40 or so they test.  It was a huge feeling of relief that we were able to move forward and find out exactly what was going on.  He's allergic to dust mites, our wool rug, every grass in our yard, and even US.  But AADC mixed up the allergy shots, and gave us a hands-on training on how to administer shots to the dog.  For me, that's HUGE.  I'm terrified of needles, but have been able to get over that fear in order to help our dog.  The staff was patient and kind.  Now we are almost a year into treatment, and Beezle is back to his old self.  He's playful, happy, and he looks amazing.  I am so thankful for AADC's amazing work.  If your dog is having these problems, there is hope.  It's not cheap, but I can tell you this option is less expensive than what we were paying at our regular vet to try and keep him comfortable...and the payoff in love and puppy kisses is well worth it.I would highly recommend Dr. Nichols and AADC. Read Less

My dog had a bald spot develop between his shoulder blades. I went to a local veterinarian who wanted to do a broadcast of tests. I referred myself to this office and was so happy I did. The doctor immediately new what it had caused it. ( a previous depomedrol shot) and did a quick biopsy to confirm it. They were so professional and sweet to both myself and my dog. I will go back again if I ever have allergy or dermatology problems. They did follow up about a month after they had given me the biopsy results to make sure things were progressing. Read Less

My dog Baby was the itchiest being on the planet when we first brought her home from the shelter as a foster dog. Of course we adopted her and quickly set about addressing her medical condition & allergies. Bathing and over-the-counter fixes didn't help at all so I went looking for an animal allergy specialist. Dr. Nichols and his team worked with us to do allergy testing and we found out she's allergic to about 14 different environmental allergens. Thanks to her allergy treatments she is a much happier dog and we haven't seen that itchiness return since she started her treatment with AADC. The staff there is pit bull-friendly and makes a big fuss over how adorable she is, which makes me love them even more! Read Less

This review is split. First off I want to say that the office is clean, attractive, organized; the staff is knowledgeable and efficient. All great stuff. My first visit with Frankie went well, and he was given some medication, shampoo and perhaps a shot (?) to deal with his itching. All fantastic, except the cost which was about $400. (Yowzer!)So why the mixed review? About a year later, the itching returned - seasonal allergies no doubt. I called for the same treatment as before. Unfortunately, I was told that the first treatment addressed the symptoms of the allergies and not the root. All future appointments would have to address the root of the problem, and that allergy testing was in order. But I didn't want to get my dog allergy tested. Most humans don't get allergy tested - they just treat the symptoms. Even my daughter's allergy and asthma doctor considers allergy testing to be something that is done when the symptoms cannot be controlled with medications. I thought that was excessive to require of a dog. So the bottom line is: Very knowledgeable, very organized, very expensive, a - to my mind - very ridgid to their treatment plan. Read Less

If I could give Dr. Nichols and his team 10 stars, I would. Our chocolate lab had terrible allergies. We tried treating his skin condition with our regular vet for a year and she finally suggested we go see Dr. Nichols, and we are so happy. Turns out our dog is allergic to pretty much everything (except cats, interestingly). Dr. Nichols and his team came up with an antigen that we give to our dog every week. Within a month our dog's skin issues completely disappeared and his coat was back to its normal, beautiful self within 2 months. After 2 years, he is still healthy and beautiful. Dr. Nichols has done a great job diagnosing our dogs issues, coming up with a treatment plan, and in ongoing maintenance and check ups. It is clear that Dr. Nichols loves animals and loves what he does. The staff is excellent as well - always friendly, personable and professional. I would recommend Dr. Nichols and Animal Allergy & Dermatology Center to anyone who's pet is suffering from allergies. Read Less

I would highly recommend Dr. Patrick Nichols for your pets allergy issues.  I took my elderly Boykin spaniel to him as she was suffering from itchy skin.  The recommendations he gave me and medicine he prescribed worked beautifully.  This was my first visit with the practice and I felt very well cared for and my dog benefited from the treatment immensely.  Don't hesitate to visit with this genuinely caring Veterinarian.  He spent extra time with me to not only ease my concerns but more importantly to help my sweet spaniel feel much better. Read Less

Being a helicopter parent to a miniature dachshund is a rough life, but Dr. Nichols and his staff made it easier. Our dog had a mysterious bald patch show up on his ear that our normal veterinarian told us that he could just live with. We were not happy with that and booked an appointment with Dr. Nichols. In the first appointment, Dr. Nichols was able to assess what was going on and offer a few different treatment options. The staff was also exceptionally helpful, particularly the office manager and the vet tech. While it wasn't cheap, I feel like we got a good value for our money. The issue cleared up and Dr. Nichols provided some great advice (in a written form!) that we were able to take back to our vet. Hopefully we don't have any issues in the future, but if we do I will not hesitate to return. Read Less

My dog Lola just turned 1 year old, and for about 2 months now she has had these unexplainable bumps/sores on her back that were clearly very uncomfortable for her. I was referred to Dr. Nichols by my vet - and the experience was fantastic. I was able to get an appointment quickly, and was seen promptly after arriving.Lola is still a puppy & is still semi-timid around new people, but Dr. Nichols was SO sensitive to that fact, feeding her treats, petting her, talking to her to make her feel comfortable. She was so well-behaved and was not scared at all. His vet-tech was also so gentle and always talking to lola and feeding her treats to make her feel at ease during the skin scrapings.She was prescribed a special shampoo to kill any bacteria, and also antibiotics. Within 2 days, she was a new dog! Her fur and skin were blemish free and she was SUPER HAPPY! The appointment was quite expensive, but I assumed it would be. Small price to pay for a happy, healthy dog! :) Read Less

I took my cat here a few years ago to see Dr. Nichols and the experience was so bad that it still leaves me with a bad feeling. After my cat received positive test results for allergies of a huge number of different things, including basic foods such as fish, chicken, beef, green peas, etc., Dr. Nichols prescribed a special food that was very expensive (over $30 for a small sized bag), which, to my surprise, contained fish as one of the top three ingredients. When I got home and realized this, I thought there had been some mistake. So, I called to clarify. The staff took voicemails but Dr. Nichols never called me back. After further research, I found another food at Tomlinson's that seemed to have more ingredients that she wasn't allergic to. I tried calling the office again to get some input. I just wanted to go through and compare ingredients to see if I could give her the less expensive food instead. He never responded. Finally, I sent a letter to the office outlining the exact ingredients that were in the Tomlinson's food that were not in the prescription version and asked if there were any that she could not have. I was still trying to get feedback. Rather than just calling me and taking 5 minutes to discuss it, I instead received a two page, single-spaced faxed letter from Dr. Nichols which told me that because I didn't trust his judgment basically he refused to allow my cat any further treatments. Unbelievable! Just because you have a medical degree does not mean that you have to be condescending to your customers and act like a total jerk. Furthermore, a simple returned phone call and polite explanation of some sort would have been appreciated. After this, I started taking my cat to Dr. Daigle and even after allergy shots did not work, I found some gluten-free foods suggested at the specialty pet store that actually worked better than anything. I would steer clear of this office if I were you. Read Less

I WOULD DEFINITELY NOT RECOMMEND THIS OFFICE FOR YOUR PET!!  Although I found Dr. Nichols himself to be caring, his office staff, FLOYD his vet tech in particular, is rude and condescending!!  I called to get a refill on my dog's allergy med this morning, and was told that they use their supply for their CURRENT clients.  After several visits to the office and a diet change trial allergy tests were recommended.  I had to cancel those because Max had used his allergy benefit on out pet insurance, and we couldn't do it on our own at this time.  I always thought it was a vet's job to alleviate suffering, just as a physician does for people, but apparently that philosophy does not hold true in this office!!!  DO NOT USE THIS PRACTICE FOR YOUR PET!  Find someone who actually cares, which is what I am going to do! Read Less

Dr. Nichols and his whole staff are so wonderful, knowledgeable, accommodating and friendly. My Labrador had recurring ear infections and skin issues and thanks to Dr. Nichols and staff, you would never know! We found out what she is allergic to and changed her diet as a precaution and she looks and feels better than ever. Always a pleasant experience when we visit and they are so sweet to my pup and make her feel comfortable. Read Less

My 19 month old Dogue De Bordeaux, Moose, and I recently had the most fantastic experience with Dr. Nichols and his staff!Upon recommendation, we made an appointment with Dr. Nichols to discuss Moose's ongoing skin issues.  Moose had been on antibiotics 10 TIMES since we took him home at 8 wks.  For the past 6 months, Moose had an ongoing staph infection that was untreatable by common antibiotics.  He been on antibiotics so many times, that he had grown immune to them (Cephalexin was primarily used).  When we went to see Dr. Nichols, we were at our wits end.  It didn't seem possible that we would find a solution.  Dr. Nichols immediately resolved Moose's current skin condition (staph infection) via a relatively uncommon antibiotic.  It only took two tries to find something that worked!  While we treated the secondary condition, we started Moose on a Rx food with a unique protein (rabbit).  It's been two months and 10 days since our initial visit with Dr. Nichols.  I am ELATED to report that his coat looks fantastic - better than it's ever looked.  I am EXTREMELY happy that Dr. Nichols took the approach of working with identifying it as a food allergy 1st before moving forward with very expensive allergy tests.Dr. Nichols is exceptional.  One of the most impressive things about Dr. Nichols is his ability to simplify the situation to the "layman".  He provides extensive notes after each appointment (we had 3 in total), so you leave knowing exactly what was done and what you need to do to provide the best possible treatment for your pet.His staff is friendly, professional and very knowledgeable.  They were able to help me with questions and provided great advice.Seeing a specialist can be very expensive.  If you're going to see a dermatologist, don't waste your time.  Go see THE best one in Austin. Read Less

Excellent care from Dr Nichols and his staff! We just moved here from the Houston area and used a dermatology vet there; Dr Nichols' treatment plan has done a much better job on our dog Lucy. We are very pleased with the care and highly recommend Dr Nichols and his staff! Read Less

Just took one of my pets to Dr. Nichols and so far have been pleased. As another reviewer mentioned, he was prepared - had read regular vet's records that were faxed over. Also, had a calm demeanor and took time to explain the various ailments my pet could be suffering from. His staff was courteous and professional, as well. It would be nice if the clinic stayed open til 6pm M-Th, so those who have to board their pets during the day (while they are being treated) have a bit more leeway to pick them up. Read Less

I took my cat Chelsea there last week and was very pleased with the professionalism, personal attention and thoroughness of the whole staff. Dr. Nichols had already looked over Chelsea's 40 plus pages of medical history that his office requested from her vet and was ready to discuss her fully when I arrived. He has a methodical and sensitive approach to pet care and he is a great listener too! He even produced a thorough report for us to take before we left which had all of the details about her health that I had mentioned in our meeting. I was extremely pleased with this vet. I wish all health care providers (for pets or people) were just as good as Dr. Nichols. His services can be a little pricey but are worth every cent! Highly recommended. Read Less

My dog had been suffering for months and months with skin infections and hair loss. Our regular vet tried multiple things, but nothing made the problem go away. Dr. Nichols was thorough, knowledgeable, nice, & obviously loves dogs (my dog actually wasn't afraid of him). After visiting him once, and following his advice, my dog's skin cleared up completely. He did not try to over sell anything. He went with a conservative approach (which was definitely more economical), as opposed to automatically suggesting a barrage of tests. Just keep in mind - he is a specialist. If you're dog is having so much trouble that they need one, even the conservative approach will be expensive. Read Less

My housemate and I brought her sweet pup (Tessa) to Dr. Nichols today in an effort to clear up her longstanding skin allergies.  Knowing that Tessa is extremely possessive/protective and does not typically do well with strangers or other animals, I was not sure what to expect.  We were quite pleased with Dr. Nichols' calming demeanor and the time he took allowing Tessa to get used to him prior to beginning his examination. Additionally, Dr. Nichols took time to explain his process, his findings, and what the possibilities are with regard to treatment.   The write-up he provided (and is sending to Tessa's regular vet) was detailed, thorough, and helpful.The facility was clean and cozy and fairly easy to get to.  Because the office was not particularly busy, parking was not a problem and neither was traffic on 5th Street.  Other staff members were friendly ... and it is always nice to see a smiling face when you walk into an office. :)We'll be curious to see if/when the treatments begin to take effect, and will definitely be back! Read Less

I was actually not referred to Dr. Nichols originally.  My vet had recommended Dr. Janice (sp.?) Daigle, who is the other veterinary dermatologist in the Austin area.  But because my pet's problems were so severe, and almost all of her office hours were at her Round Rock  (BFE) location, after a few visits with her, I opted to go with Dr. Nichols.  To shortcut my review, after getting no traction on my pet's problems, having a recommended treatment cause near-fatal side effects (while other safer options were available) and spending large amounts of time and money there with the aforementioned poor results, I returned to Dr. Daigle.As positives about his practice, it is in a central location near downtown, and in a very nicely renovated older house.  About him personally, he is very articulate, a good explainer, and very knowledgeable.  He is also a very thorough and detailed documenter.  After each appointment, I would leave with a minimum page or two writeup describing the current state of my pet's issues in detailed medical jargon.  As negatives: from a customer service standpoint, his appointments take forever (I think because of the documentation he writes up), and I found his assistants to be frequently cold and somewhat condescending whenever I asked questions or needed further assistance.  I could live with that, if not for the major issues we wound up having... The final straw was when, after months and months of slowly worsening skin problems and ongoing visits and prescriptions, he said the only way to get any traction on the problem would be to get a biopsy on the lesions, with some out-patient surgery to be done in his office, and then an outside lab doing the analysis.  Wanting to get traction, and being willing to basically spare no expense, I agreed to this.  It cost around $800, but the results came back as completely _inconclusive_ because the lesions were too old and not viable for biopsy, according to the lab.  So basically a very, very large waste of money there.Next, he prescribed a powerful drug to try to fix what had seemingly become an auto-immune problem, but after the first two doses, my pet suffered a near-fatal case of pancreatitis, requiring emergency hospitalization and about $1500 in additional vet bills, not to mention unbelievable stress not knowing if my pet would even survive.It happened that the emergency hospital in South Austin where we wound up was also where Dr. Daigle has office hours on occasion, and so we were able to reconnect with her there again.  The hard-to-diagnose problem that led to the biopsy was diagnosed from her visual inspection of the lesions, something I confirmed myself later by doing google image searches.  And she pointed out that while this powerful drug was one possible treatment, there were other options for this kind of disease, all of which were also effective and most importantly, safer.  It could be that he simply works in a way that is very methodical, cautious and detailed (and costly -- certainly it was in my case), but we received such great care (and results) both before and after with Dr. Daigle without any of the aforementioned problems, that I just cannot recommend this practice. Read Less

The Good:  :: dr nichols is very kind and approachable to his pet patients. he handles pets very carefully and gently and this puts them at ease. awesome!  :: the facility is small but clean, quiet and nice  :: his assistants are nice and helpful  :: you get very detailed, awesome notes written up from your visit. i love that b/c it helps me understand what is going on. very nice and very cool.  :: you get very detailed receipts. gold!  :: we brought in my westie, a breed that is known to have horrible skin allergies, out of desperation b/c he was chewing the hell out of his skin, tail, butt, etc. we needed a specialist who knew how to help him, and we got the help we needed. with lots of tests and treatment, our dog is now getting back to normal and is responding greatly to his shots. The Bad:  :: this is not cheap, folks. specialists of any kind, whether for people or for pets, are $$$$$$$$$. it's been really expensive to treat our dog for his allergy problems and any infections he's gotten from tearing into his own skin. be prepared in your pocketbooks. money is no object when it comes to our little westie but you have to be realistic about the expenses for sure.  :: dr nichols can be a little more "in and out" (aka slightly rushed) than i would like him to be.  :: the front parking spots are hell to get out of b/c you're backing onto 5th street, which is a super busy crazy street. do yourself a favor and try to park in one of the back spots.The Ugly:  :: noneWould I go back? Definitely. The fact that our little westie is doing LEAGUES better is testament to Dr Nichols's abilities as a pet allergy specialist. This place is IN. Read Less

My dog is fear aggressive, so I usually dread taking her to the vet.  From the beginning I was really impressed with the office.  It's so clean and quiet, and didn't have the usual pet smell.  This made an obvious difference in my dog's behavior.  Dr. Nichols is AWESOME!  He has a great calm energy, and my dog was immediately comfortable with him.  It is so rare for her to warm up to men so quickly.  Dr. Nichols was also great and patient with me, and really listened to what I believed the problem to be.  He and his staff were great and patient with my dog even when she got a little scared to do a staph culture.  It was a great visit, and I feel feel very confident with his diagnosis and treatment.  I wish Dr. Nichols would provide general veterinary medicine as well! Read Less