How to Test Animal Allergies
Animals are just as susceptible to allergies as people are, and testing for animal allergies is very similar to testing for human allergies. By testing for the allergies in your pet, you can identify what is causing the animal's symptoms and find the appropriate treatment to provide your pet relief.
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Instructions
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Take your pet to a veterinary dermatologist. Veterinary dermatologists are specially trained to diagnose animal allergies. Your regular veterinarian can provide a referral.
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Discuss your pet's symptoms with your vet. Most pet allergies are caused by inhalants, but food allergies are also common. Inhalant allergies usually present skin symptoms, whereas food allergies often show up through digestive symptoms.
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Have your vet perform a complete diagnostic workup before choosing allergy tests. It's possible that your animal could have another condition causing the allergy-like symptoms.
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Switch your animal to a non-allergic diet for a few weeks prior to allergy testing to make sure it doesn't have a food allergy.
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Get an intradermal test for your animal. Intradermal testing is the most accurate way to test animal allergies. The skin is shaved and small amounts of the suspected allergens are injected under the skin.
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Wait for results from intradermal testing. Results present themselves on the skin in the form of raised bumps. It can take several for an untrained eye.
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Get a RAST (radioallergosorbent) or ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) blood allergy test if the animal is unable to get an intradermal allergy test. These tests are not as effective in identifying animal allergies, but they are necessary in some circumstances.
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Discuss treatment options when you get the results of your animal's allergy tests. Some allergies can be treated with medication, while others require immunotherapy. Immunotherapy, which involves desensitizing the animal to the problem causing allergens, requires numerous injections over time.
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Tips & Warnings
If you have a show dog that you would rather not have shaved for an intradermal allergy test, a blood allergy test can be used.
Like human blood allergy tests, animal blood allergy tests often yield false positives.
Blood allergy tests take weeks to get the results, as opposed to hours for intradermal test results.
Animal allergy tests can be expensive, but they are nothing compared to how much it can cost to treat animal allergies. If you are not prepared to pay for extensive allergy treatments if they are recommended, it doesn't make sense to pay for the allergy tests either.
