Dog Allergy Testing - Tips on the Methods and Preparation

Dog allergy testing is performed as standard procedure before immunotherapy, or allergy shots are normally given. Being part of the diagnosis, the data gained from a canine blood test and skin scratch test will provide the basic information necessary to correctly diagnose that a condition of hypersensitivity does exists and will determine exactly which allergens are responsible. Thus, this testing makes it possible to conduct immunotherapy.

Dog allergy shots are given in order to inject a carefully created vaccine, each one is individually designed to bring about the desensitization of specific allergies that have been shown in testing to be the cause of the physical reactions to allergens.

Preparations

Before beginning any procedure, two things must be done.

First, all lingering skin infections must be cleared-up. These include flea, mite, yeast, fungal, and bacterial infections. At times this may take several weeks to completely cure these conditions. Still, this is necessary to ensure that your pet's allergies are the problem-- and not the infections.

Secondly, if it has not occurred earlier, your pet will be placed on a diet of hypoallergenic food for a period of about three months prior to proceeding. This will be done in order to ensure your pet is not reacting to a food allergy, which is usually treated by identifying the problem food in question and eliminating it from the diet. Desensitization of a food allergen is usually not attempted except in cases of very special circumstances because of especially poor success rates.

The IDST

When all is ready, an Intradermal Skin Test (IDST), or allergy skin testing, is performed in order to confirm that: 1) the physical reactions are indeed caused by an allergen, and 2) to determine specifically which allergens are responsible.

In theory, the IDST is a very straight-forward procedure, yet at times it may become somewhat complex due to the incredibly huge range of possible allergens. Re-testing is sometimes performed to further understand the scope of the problem.

Whom to Select

At times a family veterinarian will conduct the canine blood test and skin test leading to desensitization therapy (dog allergy shots), and then the family vet may even provide the shots based him or herself. Let me say that there are some family vets that are competent in doing this, although most are not-- primarily because they lack the proper training and do not have enough experience, except for very simple cases.

That is why it is recommended that an animal with more than simple inhalant allergies be taken to a veterinary dermatologist. They are highly-trained specialist in the field of diseases of the skin. Going to a vet dermatologist from the beginning will often avoid wasted time and money. You will find most veterinary dermatologists will want to do their own dog allergy testing according to their own standards and specifications; and these will likely be different from those of the family vet. The simple fact is that veterinary dermatologists are far better suited to understanding and applying the fine art of specialty diagnosis.

One Last Thought

It should be kept in mind that dog allergy testing works best in the season when your pet's allergy symptoms are not present, in the non-itchy season. Though, inhalant allergies often begin as a seasonal hypersensitivity that will eventually progress to a year-round problem, so this may not be possible.