Allergy test - for our dog
Discussion
Hi,
Our 5 year old Cavalier King Charles has been licking her feet for ages and after many trips to the vet, all sorts of different grain free, hypoallergenic food trials she's still doing it.
I've seen allergy test kits online which I think are a saliva swab, has anyone used one and was it any good?
She's not doing herself any damage but she's obviously itchy/pissed off with something so we'd like to sort it out. We've had shampoos, steroid sprays etc and all have failed.
Our 5 year old Cavalier King Charles has been licking her feet for ages and after many trips to the vet, all sorts of different grain free, hypoallergenic food trials she's still doing it.
I've seen allergy test kits online which I think are a saliva swab, has anyone used one and was it any good?
She's not doing herself any damage but she's obviously itchy/pissed off with something so we'd like to sort it out. We've had shampoos, steroid sprays etc and all have failed.
Habitual licking may not even be to do with the skin. The licking can eventually cause sore skin as a secondary issue but not the primary.
Licking can be pain related or just a behavioural issue (poss initially triggered by a time of stress then became habit)
Does the ever get bad ears, sore lips, smelly skin etc. If she has never had these as problems with her skin then it reduces it being an allergy issue
Licking can be pain related or just a behavioural issue (poss initially triggered by a time of stress then became habit)
Does the ever get bad ears, sore lips, smelly skin etc. If she has never had these as problems with her skin then it reduces it being an allergy issue
Is Apoquel an antihistamine? Our cat has grass related allergies, so our vet put her on Tavegil, which is a human antihistamine, which has improved things. Might be worth a try.
Note: Tavegil from vet suppliers is very expensive, so get your vet to write a prescription which can be sourced from pharmacies. It's much cheaper even thought it's the same stuff in the same packaging.
Note: Tavegil from vet suppliers is very expensive, so get your vet to write a prescription which can be sourced from pharmacies. It's much cheaper even thought it's the same stuff in the same packaging.
Thought I'd update this, we did the test and had the results back last week. She's allergic to pork, chicken, beef, corn, corn syrup, peas and a load of other things. Couldn't believe it, it's basically most of the ingredients in her old food so it's no shock she's itchy.
We've transitioned over to food without any of the above which was difficult as it's amazing how many dog foods have lots of things she's allergic to in.
Anyway, been about a week now on the meaty wet/pâté type foods and she's cut right down on her licking/biting of her paws. We're going to get her on a raw diet soon, just taking some advice from a few people.
We've transitioned over to food without any of the above which was difficult as it's amazing how many dog foods have lots of things she's allergic to in.
Anyway, been about a week now on the meaty wet/pâté type foods and she's cut right down on her licking/biting of her paws. We're going to get her on a raw diet soon, just taking some advice from a few people.
Was this swab using IgG testing because if so they are really inaccurate and generally come back saying they are 'alllergic' to all sorts of products. Even IgE testing done via blood or skin prick, whilst better still produces a lot of false positive results
I am not saying that your dog doesn't have an intolerance (allergy is a misleading word tbh as allergic reactions are usually more severe) so finding a food that has less 'extras' in will be helpful but I really don't think your dog will have a genuine allergy to all of those products listed (esp when you understand how IgG testing works.)
However by finding a food with limited ingredients you are sort of doing a food trial already which is what we often advise (without the swab/blood testing) make sure this is the only food that is given for six weeks (so no treats, table scraps etc etc... at all) if food is the issue then the chewing, biting etc should have stopped by then. Then you could try introducing one extra food type at a time, if a reaction occurs to one food type you know where the problem area really is.
Obviously if the food you have is complete, well balanced and working which is the important thing! you could stick to that long term but if your dog is truly that intolerant of all those food types then shop bought treats will be pretty much a no go and will need to be home made only.
Sorry that turned into much more of an essay than I planned. I just wanted to make aware the potential innacuracy of some of these tests so caution is advised. I did find this link which explains why.
https://paleoleap.com/what-kind-allergy-testing-is...
I am not saying that your dog doesn't have an intolerance (allergy is a misleading word tbh as allergic reactions are usually more severe) so finding a food that has less 'extras' in will be helpful but I really don't think your dog will have a genuine allergy to all of those products listed (esp when you understand how IgG testing works.)
However by finding a food with limited ingredients you are sort of doing a food trial already which is what we often advise (without the swab/blood testing) make sure this is the only food that is given for six weeks (so no treats, table scraps etc etc... at all) if food is the issue then the chewing, biting etc should have stopped by then. Then you could try introducing one extra food type at a time, if a reaction occurs to one food type you know where the problem area really is.
Obviously if the food you have is complete, well balanced and working which is the important thing! you could stick to that long term but if your dog is truly that intolerant of all those food types then shop bought treats will be pretty much a no go and will need to be home made only.
Sorry that turned into much more of an essay than I planned. I just wanted to make aware the potential innacuracy of some of these tests so caution is advised. I did find this link which explains why.
https://paleoleap.com/what-kind-allergy-testing-is...
Edited by bexVN on Saturday 2nd November 20:59
We're taking the test with a pinch of salt but as our vets seem to think we have a bottomless bank account we thought it was worth a punt as they've completely failed to suggest anything that works with regard to the constant paw licking etc. It was kind of a last resort but it seems to have given us enough to go on to get her more comfortable, we can't believe the difference from a couple of weeks ago now she's on different food based on the results.
We're looking at going over to raw food soon but we just need to do a bit more research into it. We've cut out gravy bones, dentastix etc a while ago anyway and just give her a chunk of carrot now which she loves.
We're looking at going over to raw food soon but we just need to do a bit more research into it. We've cut out gravy bones, dentastix etc a while ago anyway and just give her a chunk of carrot now which she loves.
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