Allergy Testing and Hyposensitization for Dogs
Allergen Testing & Allergy Shots to Treat Skin Allergies in Dogs
Apr 26, 2009
Allergy testing in dogs can be a valuable tool in the fight against skin allergies in dogs. However, allergy testing has limitations and must be evaluated with those limitations in mind.
- Allergy testing cannot be used to diagnose allergies. The diagnosis of skin allergies must have already been reached by other means before allergy testing is performed.
- Allergy testing is not effective for evaluating food allergies in dogs.
- Allergy testing is done solely to identify which allergens produce a response in the dog with skin allergies. Once the allergens are determined, hyposensitization can take place using those allergens. (Allergens are specific substances to which the dog is allergic.)
- Hyposensitization is a treatment for skin allergies whereby the allergic dog is introduced to increasing levels of the allergens determined with allergy testing in an attempt to sensitize the dog's immune system to those allergens and cure the skin allergy.
- If the dog owner does not intend to follow through with hyposensitization procedures for the dog with skin allergies, there is no need to perform allergy testing. It will not provide information necessary in treating the dog unless hyposensitization is to be attempted.
How is Allergy Testing Done for a Dog with Skin Allergies?
Allergy testing can be performed in two different manners:
- skin testing
- blood testing
Skin testing involves injecting small quantities of test allergens under the dog's skin and watching for a response to the potential allergen.
- A positive response is a reddened area which occurs in the skin surrounding the injection site, indicating that the dog is sensitive to the substance injected at that site.
- A negative response is no change in the skin surrounding the injection site, indicating that the dog is not allergic to the substance injected at that site.
- Normally, many different potential allergens are tested at the same time and the injection sites are clearly marked to identify which substances produced positive responses.
Blood testing requires your veterinarian to draw a small sample of your dog's blood. The blood is sent to a specialized laboratory where it is tested against numerous potential antigens to determine which react with the blood. A positive reaction indicates that the substance tested is something which causes an allergic reaction in the dog being tested.
Though some veterinarians feel that skin testing is the most reliable test for identifying allergens, both tests are commonly used to identify allergens for dogs with skin allergies.
Hyposensitization - A Treatment Option for Dogs with Skin Allergies
As noted previously, the main reason to perform allergy testing in dogs is so that the dog can either undergo hyposensitization to the allergens identified or the allergens can be avoided.
Avoidance is often impossible or impractical. Hyposensitization is usually the best means for treating skin allergies where a specific, non-symptomatic treatment regimen is desired.
Hyposensitization involves periodic injections of a compound containing the allergens to which the dog has proven allergic. The allergens are administered in a gradually increasing dosage until such time as the dog's immune system has become sensitized to the allergens and no longer responds to them in an abnormal manner.
The potential risk involved with giving hyposentization injections (or "allergy shots") is that the dog may have a more severe reaction to the allergens in the injection than anticipated. These types of reactions can be severe and potentially fatal, so care must be taken to observe the allergic dog carefully directly after a hyposensitization injection.
