What allergy tests should I ask the vet for?
 

Hi everyone! Holly can't stop scratching herself, the poor thing. She's going to the vet on Monday, but I don't know what type of tests I should ask for. Can anyone tell me what type of allergy related tests I can get? I've been looking for fleas and ticks, but she doesn't have any. Plus, she sleeps with me so if she had fleas I would too.

We've been using the same shampoo, conditioner, and food so nothing new has changed. She's been eating Blue Buffalo, and we wash her with Biogroom oatmeal shampoo and conditioner.

Recently she started to make a wired noise that sounds like part wheezing and sneezing as if she was trying to blow something out of her nose, and last night she was rubbing her face on the bed as if she was trying to rub something off the tip of her nose as well. I think it's allergy related, but any suggestions you guys have would be appreciated. Thank you!

Don't waste your money on food allergy testing like I did because the results are not reliable. Mine showed that my dog was allegic to some things and when the tests were repeated her "allergies" disappeared. Total waste of time and money! You can test for environmental allergies at least the testing is somewhat more reliable. My dog has environmental allergies in addition to a whole long list of other issues and has done excellently on atopica and most recently no medication and just a special diet.

Good luck keep us posted

Thank you, good to know! Is the test for environmental allergies worth it too, if they're just going to tell me that she's allergic to pollen and grass, and things like that? I've heard of atopica, I'll ask my vet if it will help. Can I ask what kind of special diet you put her on?

As Cathy said, food allergy testing = waste.

Is she just rubbing her face or scratching other areas?
So many causes of itching...
Environmental allergy testing is fine, but then the question is, how are you going to avoid grass and pollen when they tel you she is allergic? So if you aren't going to get the allergy shots after, it probably isn't worth it.

If the vet thinks it's environmental, they will probably start with antihistamines and go to Atopica.

But in their head this whole time they will likely be trying to rule out the other 400+ causes of itching... A big clue is where she is scratching and how her skin looks to them.

That's exactly what I was thinking too. The environmental tests sound like it wouldn't help either, because there's no way we can avoid pollen and grass. She is an indoor dog, but when we take her out she runs at the first sign of grass.

She mostly scratches her face, ears, and her sides. She even rubs herself against the wall to scratch her sides. I'm always looking for fleas, so I see her skin alot and it looks nice and pink under her coat, nothing unusual like scabs or dry skin. The nurse said to give her Benadryl until Monday, so that's what we're doing. It seemed to have helped last night, so I'll just have to give it to her a few times a day.

here is some info on allergies as I have been dealing with it for 5 1/2 years now with Dee Dee so I wrote up this info to help others.

If you do allergy testing then do it with either VARL,HESKA OR GREER LABS per our dermatologist

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...ml#post3147954

from what I have read the oatmeal shampoo can be a problem as well as blue buffalo food as too many ingredients for an allergy dog and oatmeal is a grain and allergy dogs can be allergic to oatmeal shampoo for that reason

zyrtec actually works better for dogs than benedryl

If you are not going to do hyposensitization shots the allergy testing really is a waste of money

If your dog has allergies I would definitely be dealing with a dermatologist as it is a life long thing and very frustrating and you want to be dealing with the best to handle the situation and keep your baby comfortable.

If I had to do it over again I would do the hyposensitization as if your dog is in the 85% that it works for it is better than atopica or steroids as 90% of the time it is environmental but you have to rule out food first.

You cannot determine food allergy with blood testing only environmental

I see you are in california too :( worst state for allergies as blooming all year round :(

I think animaldermatology.com is near you and that is where we go and highly recommend them

Wow, thanks for all the info. California is the worst, I have the WORST allergies ever. I can't believe I ended up with a dog that has allergies as bad as I do. What food and shampoo do you recommend?

lol that is probably why you got this dog with allergies as many times we get them for a reason I believe:)

I use hypoallergenic blue and i use dr bronners mild unscented baby shampoo as well - both she does not react to like the others. I think I posted that on link at least i hope I did

We went to the vet and she gave Holly Temaril. I'm supposed to give her 1/4 of a tablet twice a day for 4 days, then once a day for 4 days, and finally every other day after that. There's only four pills total, and she said it should last a few weeks. She didn't mention allergy testing, just that she's seen alot of allergies in dogs lately. Hopefully it will help!

I would go to dermatologist as if you can do naturally much better in the long run. Steroids should be the last option when nothing else works. Many vets go straight to steroids but you have to rule things out and steroids just mask the problem :(

The dermatologist from animaldermatology.com only comes here to Northern Cali 4 times a year, and I'm worried a little about the cost. I'll have to call and see how much a consultation is. I've seen Dr. Bronners shampoo at Target, I'll try switching her to that. I've found a tea tree oil dog shampoo too, do you think that can sooth her skin as well? I can't find hypoallergenic blue food, but what about Orijen?

NO TEA TREE - dogs with allergies are allergic to meleuca tree where tea tree is from per dermatologist

Hypoallergenic blue is a shampoo not food but I do not think they make it anymore :(

Earthbath hypoallergenic is also good

You need to have limited ingredient food as well.

Do 12 week food trial of venison and sweet potato natural balance food but slowly transition and NO TREATS NOTHING ELSE. This will rule out food. You need to do that first

Dermatology appt will be $160 for first appt and $80 for follow ups so I do not let a year lapse or back to $160 so we go about twice a year unless dd has a flair up. If too costly then I can help you so first you have to rule out food so we need to make sure tht is not the problem.

Don't worry about it. If a general vet can't treat allergies, there's a problem somewhere! You're not really going to rule out food allergies while the pup is on steroids. And some vets will just have you try drugs for a few weeks to see if they get their bodies over the "hump." Some of them will consider waiting til winter to see if allergies go away (in very mild cases). If they don't go away, then food becomes more likely. An elimination diet is good to do, but for a lot of dogs it isn't going to work while using steroids.

actually most vets do exactly what her vet is doing so I disagree - most just throw the dog on steroids without trying to find the root cause and the first step is food allergy has to be ruled out. California is different then a state like where you live as we have NO SNOW. We bloom all year round so DD issue is year round never lets up in the winter ever. This is why cali is the worst state for allergies as we never get a break with an allergy dog.

Dogs with allergies need to be on a limited ingredient diet and while i agree steroids will not stop a food allergy in most cases but this does need to ruled out. Even if not food allergy dog needs to be on limited ingredient diet as to not over tax system with potential allergents.

I went to vets for 1 year prior to dermatologist - I went to holistic and I went to a regular vet before going to a dermatologist and there is a HUGE difference in how they approach an allergy dog. Vets throw the dog on steroids to mask the problem and dermatologist try to do it more naturally and use the least amount of drugs steroids being the very last drug of choice. I understand the cost aspect but sometimes a little more money upfront saves you a ton in the long run. I spent thousands before I got to the dermatologist and the vet gave wrong doseages of atopica etc it was a nightmare actually until i got to the dermatologist - the wrong doseage of atopica was when i said I am done with vets and going to dermatologist as that over dose of atopica would have made her sick. This was back when atopica was pretty new too and I had done my homework on it prior to asking about it as i learned about it from a lady at the pet store

also in regards to food usually if a dog is on steroids and they still are itching it is a food allergy but allergy dogs usually have all three allergies going on anway. Food, Flea and Environmental. If it is just food you are really lucky and why this is the first thing to rule out.

OP how old is your dog? Usually allergies present themselves from the age of 6mos (ironically after vaccinations like my dog :( ) until the age of 3 years

also for environmental antihistamines like zyrtec are much safer than steroids and antihistamine trials should be done before trying steroids too which is what derm did as we did 3 3 week antihistamine trials to see if this would help and not have to use steroids. Usually antihistamines work best when combined with omega 3

Oops, forgot that you don't get snow there.:rolleyes:

When allergies progress, a derm may be needed. I think it's fine to manage allergies with a general vet. If we went to an internist or dermatologist or board certified dentist as much as it is recommended on YT, we would not be in an okay place financially. They are needed sometimes and it's fine if you have the money to constantly pour into that type of thing. But a general vet is good for something and they are capable of treating most allergies. :)

About vets giving out steroids and covering the problem up...I don't know b/c that's not what Ellie's vet does. And if something has to be used long term and antihistamines aren't working, she is likely to grab the Atopica instead of steroids.

However, in our case, the majority of Ellie's problem is food allergies. May some some environmental, but not a huge issue as far as we know. We try to keep her diet allergen free, but that doesn't always work b/c elimination diets aren't always successful with her (i.e. she'll get something off the floor in the middle of it and throw everything off or she is still somewhat itchy at the end...probably environmental). So we do the best we can. She got into something last weekend that she shouldn't have (food) and the only way to control her itching until for the next few weeks is steroids. So back on Temaril-P she goes. Not something we wanted to do b/c of her pancreas, but we don't have a choice. That said, elimination diets aren't always accurate while pup is on steroids. So they may have to be stopped first.

That is the beauty of this group as some of us have paid to get that information by these specialists and can help others on what to do so they can save on cost ;)

Vet should have tried zyrtec first before steroids but most vets do not know about zyrtec working in dogs. Most vets just go straight to steroids just like her vet did.

She can still get her dog on elimination diet while on steroids and do this for 12 weeks as even on steroids if food is working the itching will get better and the food elimination diet and antihistamines are the first thing a derm goes to. If those do not work then they keep them on the limited ingredient diet and your choice is then hyposensitization, atopica or steroids. Going back in time I should have done the hyposensitization but I went the drug route atopica and she is so bad had to do atopica and temarilp and after a year on atopica she was vomitting so we had to do just temarilp as one drug is better than two but hyposensitization is the safest as it is natural and being in california it is worth a shot as your dog may be in the 85% of dogs it works for. 90% of the time it is environmental but if you are in that 10% where limited food works you are also very lucky

I recommend joining this group as it is all pet owners with allergy dogs as sadly allergies is a life long thing - no real cure - very frustrating and all you can do is try to keep your dog as comfortable as you can with least amount of drugs

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ALLERDOG/

atopica is not cheap either can be $100 a month

But I want the OP to understand that steroids work extremely well for some dogs with food allergies even if not everyone agrees with that. So by doing an elim. diet at the same time as steroids, if she stops itching, you won't know which one helped. If she is on steroids for awhile and doesn't get much better and then you start the elim. diet and she does get better, then you know it was food. Would not be surprised if it is environmental though.

Probably environmental BUT if she does not get her dog on a limited ingredient food NOW as she obviously has allergies then she is furthering the dogs suffering as when the steroids stop she will have to then do food elimination diet thus the dog suffering longer. Better to do limited food ingredient diet with novel protein and carb now to get dog relief then wean back steroids and see if food as dog will already be on diet - no matter what dog needs to be on limited ingredient diet with allergies.

And that sounds fine. It just didn't look like what what said above...

Wow, you guys are so full of knowledge! Holly is 6 months old and these allergies started in the past month. Zyrtec is actually what I use, and its the only thing that works for me. How much of a teblet should I give her? I'll try to start her on Natural Balance right away, but the no treat thing is going to be hard. We give her a treat every time she goes potty on her pad as we are still potty training her, and she hasn't gotten the concept down 100% yet. Can I give her veggies as a treat or Natural Balance treats?

give her the kibble as a treat as you have to be really strict and mine only get their kibble as treat and they get just as excited as the fact that it is coming from your hand many times is how they recognize it is a treat.

Call vet and ask for doseage on zyrtec as that would be best

6 mos is when my girl started too :( and she will be 6 on july 3rd. It all happened after her puppy shots :( She was perfectly fine prior to that sadly.

No on the NB treats.
Vegetables are more than likely not going to hurt, but it wouldn't be a true elimination diet if you gave them.

OK, I'll put the kibble in her treat jar. I would hate to take that away, she knows the sound of her jar opening and gets very excited. Also, I started the meds a few days ago when I got them, but should I stop them? They make her feel really groggy, and she's regressing on her potty training. It's almost as if she can't hold it anymore and goes where ever she is standing. I don't know if it's the meds, but even before we were training her she had favorite spots to potty on, but now she goes in the most random places and not on her pad at all.

steroids increase urine production so it will affect your potty training as she cannot help it. You cannot just start and stop steroids so call vet and they can tell you how to taper it down as steroids affect the adrenal glands and stopping and starting quickly throws them off so call vet ask about zyrtec and the steroids

Is it prednisone he gave you or temarilp as prednisone is stronger than temarilp

You guys are allergy experts!!!

I was going to suggest possibly giving Benadryll. Is Zyrtec better?

you can try benedryl first but I have been hearing on my allergy group zyrtec is working better for dogs. Benedryl amps up some dogs like mine she cannot take benedryl. Some dogs it sedates some it amps.

oh and temarilp should not make her groggy so did vet give you another med as well?