Allergy Testing
 

Johnny got another steroid shot yesterday. It seems like the shot keeps his itching/scratching/biting under control for at least 3-4 weeks but that's no way to live so the next option is allergy testing.

Can anyone share their experiences with this process?
thank you

Where is he scratching?
What food is he on?
Have you tried changing it?

In my opinion, allergy testing for food is just about a waste of money.
The only way to see what foods an animal is allergic to is with an elimination diet, so you don't get false positives and false negatives. Or is it environmental?

Lid
 

He's on no grain, limited ingredient, fish and sweet potato from Natural Balance right now and has been for 6 months.
The previous 6 months, he was on a vet's prescription diet, rabbit/potato.
There were no changes with diet.
We've tried Atopica with good results except for the vomiting so that's not an acceptable alternative.
Temaril-P is helpful also but brings loss of bladder control.
Hydroxyzine helped in the beginning/July but seems to have lost it effectiveness now.
Any thoughts?

It doesn't sound like food since you've tried switching. Could you post the ingredients to both of those though? Is is mainly his face, ears and paws or is he itchy everywhere? Does he have humps, rashes or spots? Everything else been ruled out?

He had red blotches yesterday, mostly on his back. Other times, the red blotches are in "arm pits." Skin scraping was done about a year ago with negative results. He's also taking Canine Whole Body Support and Inflam-Ease.
Itching is mostly front half of body including head and biting of feet.



Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance® L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets™ Sweet Potato & Fish Dry Dog Food is made with:
Fresh Salmon Single premium quality protein source not commonly used in pet foods.
Fresh Sweet Potatoes Single premium quality carbohydrates, rich in potassium and a highly digestible energy source.
Canola Oil Low in saturated fat and high in monounsaturated fat. Excellent Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acid profile.
Salmon Oil High in Omega-3, source of DHA
Flaxseed An excellent source of Omega-3 fatty acids. No Artificial Preservatives, Flavors, Colors or Bleached Ingredients.

i have been dealing with this for 4 years and sounds like environmental because if steroids and atopica stop the itching then not food as they only work for environmental -- join our allergy group as you will learn a ton -- go to yahoogroups.com and search allerdog and join as allergies can only be managed not usually cured :( you need to do weekly baths with hypoallergenic shampoo to keep allergents down and tshirts help alot -- the best allergy testing is VARL - my private email is dwert35@aol.com if you want more info but 10% of time it is food allergy and 90% environmental which is the worst and most frustrating but the food you are on is good so stick with it but your situation is more environmental

I just went through intradermal allergy testing with Doogan and am pursuing Allergen Specific Immunotherapy for him. Luckily, he does not have any food allergies combined with the enviromental allergies so we should have positive results within a year.
The testing was quite interesting. If you would like to know more, just let me know.

Cali has bad allergies and I did the food and environement testing which showed nothing. We have tried everything and besides steroids the only thing that has worked is Atopica. It is pricey. It runs 60.00 for a month and she still scratches a bit. We did have trouble in the beginning with vomiting but the vet had her take a very small dose of steroids the first 2 weeks and that got her over it.

Is a Generic Available???
 

It sure is expensive, especially when you don't know if it's started working before it gets vomited.
My vet has a generic of it which is a bit less expensive unless you're not comfortable using generics.

Definitely, please share anything you've learned, either through this thread or by email.

Thank you!

I agree as does the vet as it's not his foods but will keep him on the grain-free limited ingredient as it's good for him.
I was doing weekly baths with an antihistamine shampoo-Histacalm-that gets massaged in for about 10 minutes but didn't see much of a change. He hair gets oily too so I have another shampoo to control the oiliness-Sebolux. Vet suggested decreasing bathing to about once a month to help with oiliness. That has helped.
Thanks for sharing the yahoo group...will be joining!
Is the VARL allergy testing a blood test or skin test?
I'm posting here, not emailing you personally, only because the info will get out to more people. You can email me if you want.

What are the triggers for environmental allergies? Mine also has excessive scratching and licking, mainly of head and paws. I was going to bring it up to the vet at our next visit.

:(OMG It's been some time since we talked and My little one has started up again really bad:( I know it's not food she has been on Wellness core ocean which she loves and we don't give her many treats. I have not done the allergy testing either I wasn't sure it would help since the only thing we can do is treat her not cure her.( and thats what I've been doing) Trixie out of no where got so red and she scratched the back shoulder area so bad it was raw ... I have A&D ointment on it that seems to help heal it without getting a big scab on it.. I'm thinking maybe mold spores since it's been so wet this past week... I'm going out of my mind.. I still keep her shirt on her or else she bites herself too:(..greasy too just like Johnny... How old is Johnny??? I'm just curious as to when he became so bad with the itching. So far everything I do is short term and every day is different.. She does seem happy most of the time... Very playful and she eats well...It's just this crazy skin thing????? Let me know how you make out...
Warm Regards:)

It's Hard to Tell
 

Right now, we don't really know what in our environment causes to the itching and scratching. Allergy testing would show that.
We looked back into his med history and found he started when he was about 4-5 months old and by the time he was 6-7 months old, he was itching and scratching so much, he got some infections.
How old is your pup?
Definitely bring it up at your vet's appt before it gets infected.

I see you're in NY too. We're in Rockland County and wonder if you're nearby? It could be similar issue if we are.

A Long Time
 

We looked back into his med history and found he started when he was about 4-5 months old and by the time he was 6-7 months old, he was itching and scratching so much, he got some infections.
Johnny's oiliness is controlled super-well by a shampoo the vet gave called Sebolux. Weren't you trying something from Equinat or Skin-eze?
I'm thinking about mold/mildew just like you. There were hardly any days last week when it didn't rain so mold and mildew counts must be high. I hope this cold weather will help some.

Like Trixie, Johnny eats well-Natural Balance-Sweet Potato and Fish-Limited Ingredient Diet, is playful, LOVES his walks, and doesn't have vomiting unless I give Atopica (he's off that now).

Johnny just doesn't have a beautiful swimming pool to relax next to!:D

Do you know what it is called, I would definatly try it. Thanks

We have a lab with extensive allergies. We did allergy testing (blood test, sent to BioMedical Services. We had him on Natural Balance Duck and Potato, thinking it would be the best for food allergies. Well, he is allergic to EVERYTHING, which is not good. We finally found a food that only has a few ingredients that he's allergic to, but after 5-6 months of feeding it to him, he started throwing it up. Now he's on NV raw organic chicken. Still not doing great.

Don't count out the allergy testing. It is extremely accurate now days and not as invasive as skin tests. We also know ours isn't environmental as he has severe allergies year round, even when it is frozen for several months.

CycloSPORINE
 

The generic version of Atopica is CycloSPORINE, produced by the company, Pliva. Thirty 25 mg caps cost around $52 vs $73 for the Atopica here in this area.

Hope you can get the generic.

Good to Know
 

Thanks, Amandawash, for pointing out the accuracy of the tests.
I'm sorry to hear your Lab is having problems with so many foods.
Couldn't environmental/inhalant-type allergies still occur year-round? I'm thinking about the mold/mildew/dust types?

Yes, it could be those things, however, we did not test for those as the results really would have been irrelevant as we can't take away those things from his environment. It's pretty sad for him- he itches all the time, chews his feet, and has started throwing up. Steroids are so bad for them but we have had to go that route. Can't afford the nearly $300/mo for Atopica. He costs $120 a month to feed the raw!!

I hope you have better results that we have!! Yorkies are sooo much easier because the treatments don't cost nearly as much as they do for a large dog.

Chase is almost 6 months old. He never scratches hard enough to cause it to get pink or raw, but it's a lot of scratching! I definitely want to get the allergy testing done and try an elimination diet. The vet appointment is a couple of weeks away.

Maybe it is something in the enviornment? Rockland County is a beautiful area :).

I got prescription meds from a compounding pharmacy for Baby Chloe's itching. It didn't help any better than children's benadryl. I do think the shampoo I got from my vet worked great. It is called Douxo calm. It is not prescription. Got rid of flakey dry skin immediatly. I even used it on myself for dandruff. A little pricey, but worth it! Saw it on Ebay too.

I hope this comes up:
PetDiets

This is from Ellie's nutritionist's site. I had read something about this there before also. The only way to know for sure it to feed the food. Ellie has a hypersensitivity issue also and she never recommended testing. Trying the things you think might be allergens is really the only way.

Do you mean feeding the allergen or eliminating it? Also, I clicked on the link to the site your provided, but don't really understand :confused: what am I supposed to look at? It brought up a bunch of questions and answers. The one I clicked on was less than impressive as the vet spelled "awful," as "offal."

That's what I was hoping it wouldn't do.:rolleyes:
It doens't work right when cutting and pasting.
Anyway, she is I think the vice president of the American College of Veterinary Nutritionists and the head of nutrition at Angell. Her FAQ are intesting but some people don't like her because she is very anti-raw and pro pet food. She is very knowledgeable though.

Question
I have a Boston terrier that was eating Innova adult, and vomited all the time. We put her on the hills z/d food to see if a food allergy was the culprit, and it was. I don't want to keep her on z/d and was wondering what other natural dog foods you recommend? Does California natural compare at all to a homemade diet if we don't have the time to prepare the food ourselves? I want to feed her the best I can, and know that the protein source isn't coming from deceased animals. Help!
Answer
Sorry .... you have a major confusion on terminology here.
z/d is a hydrolyzed protein diet and very difficult do replicate. The product serves a purpose well, i.e., so now you know the dog has an allergic reaction to some dietary proteins. You now need to figure out which protein sources. Then you may find a commercial food that contains only those proteins she can tolerate. If not, then a homemade diet will be necessary. We can help you do that.

There is no universally accepted understanding of "natural" or "holistic". They are frankly marketing gimmicks that do not actually relate to the nutritional profile or quality of the food. Despite what self proclaimed pundits may say, one cannot and should not attempt to assess the quality of a pet food product from the ingredient list. It simply cannot be done.

It is highly unlikely that the Calf Natural product will be acceptable to your dog; however, there is no reliable food test other than actually feeding it.


Rebecca Remillard, Ph.D., D.V.M., DACVN
PetDiets


I just hate to see people spend money on allergy testing when they will get false positives and avoid them for no reason and they will get false negatives and not avoid them just because a test said so that may be far from accurate.

I meant all likely allergens should be avoided (might have to go to a hydrolyzed protein for this...yuck) and then ingredients should be added back in one at a time. So an elimination diet.

I can understand that, the problem is how on earth do you do it? I can forward you his allergy test- if you can find a food to feed him with ingredients he isn't allergic to, I would be forever greatful ;) I have spent hundreds of hours researching foods, diets, etc. I understand the way the proteins are formulated makes a big difference, but the other ingredients are still a huge problem.

We consulted with a nutritionist and had a home cooked diet formulated for him, however, it is just not practical for an 80lb dog. Don't get me wrong, I love him, but we just can't do it right now. It's really hard because I do love him, but not like my yorkies, I am constantly tormented by that fact and feel awful. We adopted him from the pound and realized afterward why he was dumped there.

He has been on the NV organic chicken raw food for about two weeks now. His itching has subsided dramatically, and he hasn't thrown up his food yet. We purchased 6 weeks of the food at our little local petstore at a discounted price (thank GOD) and are going to give it some time. Our concern is that he will develop an allergy to chicken.

SO SORRY to the OP for hijacking this thread, I am at my wits end with this guy. :(

Well, there is no way if I got a big dog that I would be as attached to it as Ellie if that makes you feel any better. :) Yorkies are incredibly special. I also wouldn't be homecooking for an 80 pound dog. I do not recommend raw but if that is the only thing that is helping, I guess that is your only choice. There wouldn't be a way to find a food he could tolerate by looking at results just because they probably aren't 100'5 accurate. If he truly is allergic to everything (which I highly doubt unless he has had access to all of those protein and grain sources before), he would need hydrolyzed protein but that will do no good for the grain aspect. In that case, what about sweet potato?

The protein sources aren't much of a problem- he's borderline to beef and allergic to duck. Good thing he's not a hunting dog like he's supposed to be :) And I am being dramatic, he's not allergic to everything, just most grains.

He's allergic to potato, not sweet potato, but I can't find a food that has sweet potato but no potato. He is also allergic to rice. He is allergic to numerous vegetables. We had him on a chicken and millet food, which he did ok on for six months. He then started throwing it up. I think the homecooked diet had barley as a grain, which wasn't a problem on his tests.

And it does make me feel better knowing that you understand my attatchment issues :p It really does make me feel better. Thank you.

I was using that cream and it worked well in healing Trixie and getting her hair to grow back however the FDA has stopped the import of it so I'm concerned with whats in it. It can't be any worse then oral steroids. With that being said I have taken a step back from it. We were doing pretty good until a few days back. I can't say that if I don't have a shirt on her that she won't scratch and bite because she does, but we had her in control. I then tried to deal with the grease. She stinks in a matter of two days. She smells like a dirty door mat.:p I can't explain it. the vet treated her for yeast a while back and ruled it out but I'm also wondering if we didn't give that enough time. Yeast can give all the symptoms of allergies including the grease and smell. I think I'm going to try another NEW vet and see what their take is on in. Maybe I haven't found the right one yet. Good luck Keep me in touch with what you find out. It seems we have the same thing going on with our pups. I also joined the allerdog group to get some feed back but it seems to be repetitive to what I've learned on this site. It was nice speaking to you again;)
Warm Regards,
Missy