# Allergy Testing



## emric (Oct 24, 2011)

Anyone had allergy testing done on their dog? How much did it cost? Did you end up giving them allergy shots after?


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## Chocx2 (Nov 16, 2009)

Yes, I took my lab to an allergist after being treated with antibiotics for about a year. She had every test known to vetsainkiller: and she got worse. For the visit and test for allergies cost 375.00 but then I had to pay for the first vile which was about 150.00 so not to bad considering if I had taken her there in the first place it would have been way cheaper.

But before I took her there I put her on raw, which my vet told me nooooooooooooooooo. But I did it anyway, very frustrated I was....and she started to improve. And the allergist was very glad I had her on a raw diet. His comment was good we don't have to change her diet at all.

It took about six months and the raw and the shots worked there magic. :biggrin: 

Now all of my pets are on raw....have four dogs....my fish eat raw too...lol I think the bagged food is for the birds...All of my dogs do awesome on raw...

I am weening her off shots because she doesn't need them anymore. Vet said she recovered very quick....:becky:


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## twoisplenty (Nov 12, 2008)

So you can do blood tests for allergies or a scratch panel type test that is done by a dermatologist. Here in Canada, the blood tests are about $300 each. You need one for food testing and another one for environmental testing. The scratch panel testing is more accurate from what I have been told but costs about $1200. Then depending on tests results you can try the allergy shots to see if there is improvement or you can go on a couple different types of medications.


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## Chocx2 (Nov 16, 2009)

I had a scratch panel done, sorry forgot to say that, get excited when I tell people about how well the raw does. :becky:

The vet only tested environmental stuff, because of the raw feeding, and she had never had any ear problems he felt it wasn't food.

Turned out to be mites in the food, corn, wheat, grain mites ect....oh and cats? lol I don't have cats though.:wink:

wow Canada is a little more expensive...


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## frogdog (Aug 10, 2011)

We went through quite an ordeal with our dog this past spring regarding allergies. He hit a year old and *"bam"* allergies exploded. We had extensive test done and spent well over a $1000 when all said and done. The vet administered food and environmental allergy testing. Yogi's allergic to corn, potatoes, peas, yeast, kelp, venison and pork...don't even get me started on the environmental. We really had a tough time regarding his food...almost everything on the market had one or more of his allergens. Stella and Chewy's along with Honest Kitchen's Zeal was pretty much all we could find to try. Not only did Yogi hate the food and refuse to eat after one feeding...he had a full blown allergy reaction to the Zeal. So, after, spending $52 on Honest Kitchen and more than $60 for two bags of Stella and Chewy's we were back to square one. I, then, decided to do homemade food...well that lasted about a month and Yogi began refusing to eat again...trust me tough love did not matter. We didn't know what to do and started looking at raw. Can only say...*WOW*...wish I had found DFC and Prey Model Raw site long ago. It would have saved a lot of time, stress, money and most importantly a healthy happy dog. Yogi is on his fourth month of raw and has not had a single outbreak since the middle of his second month. This was after 6 months of straight hell.

I did not do allergy shots...I was adamant about finding a healthy alternative. The main recommendation by the vets were the shots but I refused. 

Yogi was at the vet nonstop until feeding raw and results have been remarkable...no more vet visits since starting raw.

Now...how great is that!


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## emric (Oct 24, 2011)

Thanks for the info, guys. 

My dog has been scratching his body, face, paws, etc for almost a year. I've been to numerous vets, switched food countless times, tried all sorts of antihistimines, shampoos, etc. Nothing has helped. He has been on the raw diet for almost a month. 

I feel my only option left to do is allergy testing, I think it is most likely environmental. 

I do not want to do allergy shots, but I also can't let him scratch all his life either. 

Are there any negative health concerns for dogs who are on allergy shots?

This has been very frustrating, but I need to do something about it to make him fees better.


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## Khan (Jan 17, 2010)

Well, like some of the above posters, Khan was scratching and itching like crazy. I checked into allergy testing and for a blood test that covers both food and environmental it was about 320'ish. Before doing this however, I found DFC and switched Khan to raw. Most of the problems went away. He still has environmental allergies during the spring/summer; but those are actually treatable with an OTC allergy pill like zyrtec or benedryl. 
I would give the raw diet a little longer to take effect. You may be surprised that alot of his troubles will go away once his system is completely clear from his previous diet.
Maybe with the food switch, you too will find that the environmental problems are manageable with the antihistimines you have previously tried. 

In our case, some of the food items that Khan is allergic/sensitive to probably would not have even showed up in the testing. (he's allergic to some of the omega 3 items Flax and Salmon) 

good luck. I know how frustrating it can be to see how uncomfortable they are, and not be able to help!


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## Jack Monzon (Jul 25, 2010)

I've been to two animal dermatologists who advise against the blood test due to inaccurate results. They both said that skin testing is the way to go, and that for food allergies, a food trial is the way to go.

I was scheduled to have my dog tested this past week but held off because I might move across the country. The vet told me that my dog might be currently allergic to something NYC-specific, and I might move and not have any issues at all in California. Or, they might be worse there. The test and visit is damn near $1,000, so I was happy to hold off.

As for the serums -- shots take up to six months to start working and are effective in 70% of dogs. There's also a new sublingual variety of the serums -- a tiny bottle that you use to put fluid under the dog's tongue. This is for people who don't want to fuss around with needles. The drawbacks of sublingual are: There's not as much data on effectiveness as there is on shots, it can take up to a YEAR to see results, and you have to do it twice daily, forever. Shots are far less frequent.

Emric: Have you been to a vet that specializes in skin issues? I highly recommend it. Regular vets are too quick to prescribe steroids. Serums are developed to desensitize your dog to the allergens, not drugs to combat symptoms.


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