Allergy testing

Jake, my Golden Retriever, is now 9 1/2 year old, and has had allergy problems from about 7 months. He had allergy testing at about 9 months, then every few years or when we have moved. He is allergic to pretty much everything. We started with weekly shots which helped tremendously. A few years ago, we started a restricted diet (rabbit and potato) which helped. He still occaissionally needs to go on antibiotics for the skin infections he gets (dogs with allergies tend to get these skin infections and folliculitis) but the frequency is much reduced. I try to avoid having him on steroids, and have found that none of the antihistamines do much. If he is really, really ithcy, I give him amitryptilline until we get it back under control--has antihistamine (anti-iitch) and is sedating, so he doesn't scratch so much. In general, the problem is manageable but you need to be vigalent.

Your vet may do both skin testing and blood tests. I would definately reccomend seeing a veterinary dermatologist if you can.

Good luck.

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Originally Posted by .sarah

No, we don't use plastic bowls. We use ceramic, and they are washed after every use. Thanks though. :)

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If they are older ceramic where the pores are getting course instead of like fired new, they are in the same category as plastic. I highly recommend you switch to stainless steel bowls because they never deteriorate and hold in bacteria. Non stainless bowls are like a very worn cutting board. They look clean but if you look under a microscope you would cringe even after washing it! :eek:

My Golden boy, Dusty, has allergies. He was blood tested and came back confirmed to be allergic to 48 different environmental things, including Sugar Maple and Ash trees. Both of those trees make up the majority of the trees in our 3/4 acre back yard! :( In order for blood tests to be more accurate, the dog should be off all prednisone or topical cortizone creams and sprays for at least 6 weeks. As a precaution, I had him off all meds for the most accurate test possible. Since he was never itch free and was miserable unless there was snow on the ground, it took me almost 10 months before I could have him tested once I decided to go through with testing. When the ground was covered in snow was the only time he would be 100% clear.

Over the years, I learned a lot to try to help him. First, I bought a standing booster bath so I wouldn't have to bend down all the time to bath him. That was more for me than him! :D Then I would rinse him off everytime he came in from outside. I use a Melaluca Anti Fungal shampoo the vet prescribed (it's wonderful and 100% better than oatmeal shampoos I tried) and would use that every other day on his paws and under belly. Basically it was the areas that were exposed the most to the ground. Every week or so he gets a complete bath! I can smell when he needs a bath as he got an odor about him from the reaction to the outside allergens. This helped some but not completely.

I also switched him to Innova Evo dog food which is grain free. While it was never determined he was allergic to specific foods, he did much better on a grain free food. Innova Evo is the closest thing you can feed your dog without actually going to a raw diet. Both of these things helped him immensely and I continue to do them to this day although it didn't help 100%.

Since January, he gets bi-weekly allergy shots of a serum that was developed especially for him based on his allergy test results. It costs me about $140.00 every two or three months for the serum. While it is costly, this is the first time in his life that he has been in coat and not all torn up during this time of year! It is working and he is absolutely stunning now!

I originally intended to show Dusty in conformation but never could because of his skin and coat. It was always unpredictable when he would flare up. One day he would be fine and the next he was a mess. Now I believe I could put him in a ring and show very positively. I've given that dream up though with him as I would never use him as a stud dog and risk passing on the allergies to his off spring.

Depending on the results of your allergy test, don't hesitate to get him on a allergy shot routine if the vet recommends it. It was the best thing I ever did for my boy! Best of Luck to you both! :D

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Originally Posted by Dixieland Dancer

If they are older ceramic where the pores are getting course instead of like fired new, they are in the same category as plastic. I highly recommend you switch to stainless steel bowls because they never deteriorate and hold in bacteria. Non stainless bowls are like a very worn cutting board. They look clean but if you look under a microscope you would cringe even after washing it! :eek:

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They are new, not even 6 months old, and some are brand new. And most of the time I don't use a bowl because I feed raw and just hand her the food. I only use a bowl when I need to feed organs, so I'll pick up a couple stainless for her soon.

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Originally Posted by Dixieland Dancer

My Golden boy, Dusty, has allergies. He was blood tested and came back confirmed to be allergic to 48 different environmental things, including Sugar Maple and Ash trees. Both of those trees make up the majority of the trees in our 3/4 acre back yard! :( In order for blood tests to be more accurate, the dog should be off all prednisone or topical cortizone creams and sprays for at least 6 weeks. As a precaution, I had him off all meds for the most accurate test possible. Since he was never itch free and was miserable unless there was snow on the ground, it took me almost 10 months before I could have him tested once I decided to go through with testing. When the ground was covered in snow was the only time he would be 100% clear.

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I wish I had known that before we did the testing today. She had cortisone spray prescribed about a month ago and was on it for about 2 weeks. We had the blood drawn this morning though.

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Originally Posted by Dixieland Dancer

Over the years, I learned a lot to try to help him. First, I bought a standing booster bath so I wouldn't have to bend down all the time to bath him. That was more for me than him! :D Then I would rinse him off everytime he came in from outside. I use a Melaluca Anti Fungal shampoo the vet prescribed (it's wonderful and 100% better than oatmeal shampoos I tried) and would use that every other day on his paws and under belly. Basically it was the areas that were exposed the most to the ground. Every week or so he gets a complete bath! I can smell when he needs a bath as he got an odor about him from the reaction to the outside allergens. This helped some but not completely.

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I have thought about bathing her more frequently too. She seems better after baths. We already have a booster bath ... isn't it wonderful?!?! :D

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Originally Posted by Dixieland Dancer

I also switched him to Innova Evo dog food which is grain free. While it was never determined he was allergic to specific foods, he did much better on a grain free food. Innova Evo is the closest thing you can feed your dog without actually going to a raw diet. Both of these things helped him immensely and I continue to do them to this day although it didn't help 100%.

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All of my dogs are already on raw food :)

Thank you for your reply, it was very informative. I can't wait to see what the test shows. It'll be about 10 days before we get the results though.

Please keep us posted!

Boy, I tell ya the allergy thing sucketh. Poor Maddie and I struggled with hers most of her life. We tried everything from prednisone to antihistamines to allergy shots. All with limited success. The prednisone gave her the greatest relief of those options, but the side effects are bad.

Ultimately the things that worked best for us, was changing her diet, giving her a bath every week and spraying her body down with something the vet gave us that worked really wonderful (For the life of me I can't remember the name of it right now though, but when I get home from work, I'll see if I still have a bottle of it in the cabinet).

She was never totally itch free though, even with all that work. That's one of the first things I asked Oz and Gull's breeders about, was whether they had any skin issues in their lines. It's something I don't want anymore of my puppers to have to go through, cuz they're so miserable.

Par...

I adopted my dog Scooby from the dog pound years ago. Shortly after adopting him I found he has an allergy to almost everything! :rolleyes: He's allergic to fleas. I started giving him brewer's yeast when I discovered he is allergic to yeast! :eek:
Scooby recently had a bacterial ear infection that moved to the rest of his body. It made his hair fall out in clumps. :( It was small patches so it was hard to tell what was going on at first and it appeared almost overnight. The bacteria from his ears had moved to the rest of his body making "scabs". Those scabs would "burst" and the hair would fall out. The vet put him on antibiotics for several weeks and gave me an ear rinse/ear antibiotic treatment to do. He's gotten better.
Scooby has to take benadryl on a somewhat regular basis. I don't give it to him everyday but on occassions of "breakouts". He's already up to one pill and he's only 35lbs! Usually, I have to take him to the vet for a full dose of antihistimines for his outbreaks.
I am afraid the worst has already happened to Scooby as a result of his allergies. I think he may have had a "stroke" due to an undiagnosed fever from an possible flea reaction. We never knew the exact cause. So it is important to always keep an eye out for signs of allergic reactions. Scooby's skin turns "pink" and he scratches on anything and everything. He also will feel extremely "warm" to the the touch.
Shampoo's have had a limited effect on Scooby. I do try to use "soothing" shampoos. However, I tend to really just hose him off with plain water in between baths or exposure to other animals. He's got to use frontline to keep the fleas off of him. One bite and we are at the vets office!
I hope the allergy testing helps. I wish I had found out with Scooby. Unfornately, it has been with trial and error with is allergies. :(

Cincy was allergy tested (blood test) about 2 years ago, and now gets immunotherapy shots every 2 weeks. Her allergies are dust mites, so she gets worse in the winter. She still stuggles that time of year, and we use a small amount of prednisone to control the bad times (2.5 - 5 mg per day).

Sadie has been fighting ear infections off and on her whole life. She also seems to be licking at her paws more andmore, so I made her an appointment for tomorrow evening to ahve her allergy tested as well.

Thanks for the replies everyone. These results can't come fast enough!

She's just miserable. The vet prescribed some Hydroxyzine as needed and of course we've been using them for the maximum amount. She's still itching a lot though, but they have made her a little bit better. She's getting a bath tonight, and it looks like it's going to be a weekly thing. Good thing I have a booster bath or my back would seriously suffer!!

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Originally Posted by .sarah

She's just miserable. The vet prescribed some Hydroxyzine as needed and of course we've been using them for the maximum amount. She's still itching a lot though, but they have made her a little bit better. She's getting a bath tonight, and it looks like it's going to be a weekly thing. Good thing I have a booster bath or my back would seriously suffer!!

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I'm surprised your vet doesn't have her on prednisone if she is that miserable. Prednisone actually shuts down their adrenal system so they don't feel all itchy. While it's not the solution long term, it does help for a flare up.

As for the baths, make sure you get a good anti fungal shampoo that also conditions and moisturizes since you will be giving so many baths. Dusty actually gets a bath every weekend and several paw and belly rinses throughout the week (even if he's not muddy). I like to rinse the environmental spores of what he is allergic too off of him before they work their way into his coat and down to his skin level. I use Melaluca (tea oil). In addition he gets quality food (INNOVA EVO - grain free) that contains the omega fatty acids and he also gets 3V caps (fish oil). Even though he gets many baths, his coat is not dried out!

Dusty is responding wonderful to his allergy shots. This is the first time April has come where he has not had chewed up paws and hocks! I hope you have as much success!

I'm not sure why he didn't prescribe prednisone. It was really just supposed to be a "tie-over" until we get the results back, so maybe that is why?

I do have a question that maybe you can answer. Her belly seems to be damp a lot. Would that be something that would help harvest bacteria/fungus/yeast?

When you rinse Dusty do you actually put him in the tub and rinse him with water or do you just take a wet cloth to him? I am going to have to try all of these things.

I am glad Dusty is doing so well... hopefully Nova will be just as good soon! :)

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Originally Posted by .sarah

I do have a question that maybe you can answer. Her belly seems to be damp a lot. Would that be something that would help harvest bacteria/fungus/yeast?

When you rinse Dusty do you actually put him in the tub and rinse him with water or do you just take a wet cloth to him? I am going to have to try all of these things.

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Dusty's belly was damp a lot also and he got tiny red bumps on it. I even tried shaving all the hair on his belly to help him out but it did not work. In addition, it had a slight odor along with it. I later found out that this does indicate a fungal condition caused by the dogs adrenal glands working overtime.

Yes, I actually put him in the booster bath and use warm water to rinse him off. I then towel him off then let him air dry the rest of the way. Another thing that helped him dry was to get the proper moisture balance in the house all year long. I use humidifiers in the winter to keep the air comfortable so his skin (my skin too) doesn't dry out but the harder part is the summer humidity. I found that using dehumidifiers in our basement helps tremendously. I mention this because part of Dusty's problem is the molds that excessive moisture bring and the drying effect of the skin that lack of moisture in the winter causes.

Dusty knows the routine now. Come in the house and go to the tub! ;)

Thanks for the reply again. This is all so helpful. :)

The vet hasn't called with the results yet. Yesterday was supposed to be the maximum amount of time it would take to get them back, so I'm going to call them tomorrow.

Got the results back a minute ago. She's allergic to quite a few inhalents.

Rhizopus, Candida albicana, Brome grass, Orchard Grass, Velvet Grass, Johnson Grass, Pigweed, Sagebrush, Russian Thistle, Goldenrod, and Red Mulberry.

Of course I was hoping for food allergies because they would have been much easier to treat. She's not allergic to any foods though. The doctor she's been seeing isn't in today so he's going to call me tomorrow to discuss treatment.

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Originally Posted by .sarah

Thanks for the replies everyone. These results can't come fast enough!

She's just miserable. The vet prescribed some Hydroxyzine as needed and of course we've been using them for the maximum amount. She's still itching a lot though, but they have made her a little bit better. She's getting a bath tonight, and it looks like it's going to be a weekly thing. Good thing I have a booster bath or my back would seriously suffer!!

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This is freaky. I just posted about Fenway coming back from the Vet and how the Vet has put him on HYDROXYZINE. Did you vet recommend bathing in AVENO OATMEAL? It's for humans but the oatmeal supposedly helps with the itching. I haven't tried it on Fenway yet. I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to get him to take these pills. Good luck.

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Originally Posted by .sarah

Of course I was hoping for food allergies because they would have been much easier to treat. She's not allergic to any foods though. The doctor she's been seeing isn't in today so he's going to call me tomorrow to discuss treatment.

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I'm not 100% positive about this but the blood test doesn't check for food allergies. If you want to test for food related allergies you need to do the patch test and it is more extensive so it is also more expensive.

The next step in treatment should be a serum created from the allergens specifically for your dog. Then you will start giving injections.

I did some quick research on HYDROXYZINE. Some interesting information pasted from various sites:

{It is an antihistamine and does not contain any cortisteriods. Antihistamines in general are more effective in itchy cats than itchy dogs though many dogs achieve relief with this medication. The enteric coating and small sized tablet make it a common first choice in an antihistamine trial.

In the treatment of allergic skin disease, antihistamines are felt to synergize with omega 3 fatty acid supplements and, as a general rule for this condition, it is best to use these medications together.

Hydroxyzine should not be used with additional tranquilizing medications.

A newer antihistamine called Cetirizine has become available. This medication represents an active form of hydroxyzine which does not cross the blood-brain barrier. This means that Cetirizine would be helpful for a patient who’s responded well to hydroxyzine but had an unacceptable level of drowsiness.

CONCERNS AND CAUTIONS

This medication will interfere with allergic skin testing. Check with your veterinary dermatologist regarding how far in advance this medication should be withheld.}


When I first started out with allergies in Dusty we did food elimination diets and he was started on Chlorphenaramine (antihistimine). We tried several antihistimines but none really worked. Then we started on the Prednisone. He needed to be off all these for a minimum of 3 weeks but preferrably 6 weeks before being blood tested. I only mention this because you said your vet did not tell you this. Before spending money on having a special allergy serum created, verify with the vet that the tests are valid if Nova was still on antihistimines immediately prior to the test being taken. While they probably are, it is better to check than to be sorry later after many dollars are invested. It never hurts to ask the vet!