For those of you who have pets with allergies

[noodlerubyallie]

Did you get the blood test or the skin test?

My regular vet is a "wait and see what happens" kind of guy. I think he's been doing this so long that he's gotten complacent, because he sees so many dogs. At the beginning of spring, I took Allie in twice in one month for horrible hot spots and hair loss. We walked out with a steroid shot each time. He mentioned that she shouldn't get these shots very often, so his suggestion was allergy testing her to see exactly what she's allergic to. Unfortunately, he only wanted to refer me to a university vet - that was his only solution. No support, just "here's a shot she can't have very often, go get tested."

I went to get a second opinion at a clinic where a friend works. They actually drew her blood, gave her a steroid shot (that she's allergic to), and sent me home with enough cephalexin and prednisone to last until they got the results back.

Results:
Positive Reacting Allergens

Grasses:
Orchard
Timothy
Rye

Weeds:
Lamb's quarters
Marsh elder
English Plantain
Russian thistle

Trees:
Mulberry
Oak
Hazelnut

Fungi:
Aspergillus
Cladosporium
Rhizopus
Nigrospora
Saccharomyces

Housedust:
Dust Mites

Foods:
Pork
Corn
Rice
Brewers Yeast
Kelp
Carrots
Green Peas

Indoor:
Tobacco smoke

Insect:
Cockroaches
Mosquitoes

Borderline Positive Reactive Allergens:
Grasses:
Bermuda

Weeds:
Sage

Trees:
Sycamore

Food:
Poultry Mix (chicken/turkey)

Indoor:
Kapok (I have no clue what this is)

Staph:
Staph

Needless to say, I'm pretty sure my dog is almost allergic to life. I'm glad she's not allergic to what I was fearing - dogs, cats, and humans.

The nice part about this test is that they actually provide food recommendations - canned, treats, and dry. And it's not just the prescription stuff either, it's some of the brands not necessarily found in the main chain stores, like Pinnacle, Honest Kitchen, etc.

What has your experience been? New vet's recommendation is a series of shots she'll need to get year round, plus avoidance. Apparently I need to become a better housekeeper too.

[JessLough]

Umm.... I did no test LOL. Now I feel horrible I just sort of... knew there were food allergies (for Renegade), and figured them out via process of elimination.

However, I know he has environmental allergies, as well, and would like to know what they are...

[SizzleDog]

Holy moly! Are you going to switch her food?

PS - kapok is apparently a tree.... a tropical tree. Huh... bizarre!

[noodlerubyallie]

Originally Posted by JessLough

Umm.... I did no test LOL. Now I feel horrible I just sort of... knew there were food allergies (for Renegade), and figured them out via process of elimination.

However, I know he has environmental allergies, as well, and would like to know what they are...

We figured out right away to not give her anything with feathers or corn, and assumed it was also something environmental because she's only really bad in the spring and summer.

But the allergy test is a real eye opener. I couldn't believe the number of positive/borderline allergens in her report....27. Crazy.

[SizzleDog]

Did they say anything about bathing her with a special shampoo, since she's allergic to yeast? I bet she produces her own yeast, so she's probably somewhat allergic to herself... if that makes sense. Poor Alfredo!

[noodlerubyallie]

Originally Posted by SizzleDog

Holy moly! Are you going to switch her food?

PS - kapok is apparently a tree.... a tropical tree. Huh... bizarre!

Oh buddy. Apparently TOTW Pacific is safe...but the last bag I bought of that was burnt.

Cal Nat/Evo, Pinnacle, Natural Balance, Nature's Recipe - got a few different ones to try. Sad, though, that most of those formulas are potato based. Just doesn't seem like real dog food when it's main ingredient is a potato.

The report was based specifically on the Midwest - I'll have to make sure I don't put any "tropical" plants in my house. LOL.

[SizzleDog]

Yep... sad to say, you will have to get rid of that tropical rainforest you have in your basement. I know you're disappointed.

[Bigpoodleperson]

My dog has bad enviornmental allergies. I never bothered to do the test though. My thoughts are that if its grass, trees, dust, etc then there is nothing I can do about it. I cant keep him in a bubble, so Ill just save that money and put it towards pills. My dog isnt allergic to food, and ive heard that the food allergy test is pretty worthless. I unfortunatly havnt seen much luck with the allergy shots either. If I did then I would do the test and get the shots.
My dog had two life threatening reactions to the steroid injections (that btw cleared him up Great, and gave him such relief!). No oral meds really did a dent. The benadryl at a very high level worked in that it knocked him out to where he didnt lick. Baths, antibiotics, benadryl, and an e-collar (cone) worked the best.

My dog is actually on a very low daily dose of steroids for a different reason, but they do help his allergies alot!! Last year and so far this year he hasnt had an allergy outbreak!! I am thrilled at this positive "side effect" of the pred!

[MafiaPrincess]

Originally Posted by noodlerubyallie

Needless to say, I'm pretty sure my dog is almost allergic to life. I'm glad she's not allergic to what I was fearing - dogs, cats, and humans.

I know someone in your boat. Her dog was allergic to human dander and cats though.. Had a $400 panel done and then had them mix up custom allergy shots to correlate with his allergens for a few years, switched to raw..

The shots should have desensitized him to his list of allergies and there was never an obvious difference. She gave up on shots.. gave up on raw sadly eventually as her vet freaked out that raw is bad...

We don't talk much these days but she did find a kibble he was doing okay on, took years of trying though.

I have no helpful words of wisdom sadly, just she could be allergic to you Thankfully she is not.

[kady05]

My parents Lab had a similar list of allergies.. basically allergic to the world. Our old vet put him on this $75 a bag crap food which didn't help at all. He lived on steroids and cephalexin. We DID do allergy shots for eh.. maybe a few months, but never noticed any differences.

So I finally started researching foods (I was about 16 at the time).. switched him to Merrick Turducken (I know, it's not even grain free!) and he's been on it ever since with no issues. This was a dog with constant yeast infections, constant scratching, etc. His paws are actually still stained from all the licking he used to do. But he's 11 now, still eating the Merrick, still having no allergy issues.. oh and he still goes outside, despite being "allergic" to everything in the yard