I’m interested in people’s opinions on the validity of food allergy testing for dogs. I did read this Topic: “Help with Allergy Dog food– Unable to find suitable food”. It seems that most who replied there are Non-Believers (in the validity of testing). Thought I would start a new Topic for some more discussion.
I recently had one of my dogs tested and the results were pretty surprising. But I’m wondering if they are actually meaningful. I’ve read articles that go both ways on the subject, but it seems that most reputable sources say the testing is not valid for foods (for dogs anyway). I have food allergies myself and my blood test from years ago did prove to be valid for the IgE reactions. At least I concluded that. So I started out as a Believer regarding testing for dogs, but now wonder if Non-Believer is the more reasonable position.
I had the allergy testing done because my dog’s health has been declining in the last 9 months, including seizures that started 6 months ago. But he really didn’t have classic food allergy symptoms. At the time his poop was fine and he wasn’t particularly itchy. Now, after eliminating the foods he is supposedly allergic to his poop is much too soft. But that may be from changes I’ve made to his food – or related to his other health problems. I do notice now that he licks his front legs/paws more than the other dog does, but not obsessively. I suspect this is related to allergies, but not sure if it is food or environmental allergens. His eyes produce a lot of tears too, which presumably is environmental allergens.
This was a blood test for IgE reaction (by Heska). He tested positive for all of the foods listed below (number is the IgE reaction), but no reaction to any meats. He also tested positive for pretty much every environmental allergen they tested for.
Reaction to:
White Potato 304
Carrot 295
Green Bean 184
Sweet Potato 141
Oats 76
Soy 75
Wheat 65
Barley 55
Corn 48
Rice 48
Peanut 43
No reaction to:
All meat tested for (beef, chicken, lamb, pork, rabbit, turkey)
Egg
Milk
Pea
Apple
Flax
Brewer’s yeast
I was really shocked that he had a reaction to every vegetable that they tested for, but no reaction to any meats. This seemed very atypical, but I did read in the other Topic that Amy H reported the same phenomena with her dog, so maybe that isn’t as unusual as I thought.
I was disappointed that Heska didn’t test for more foods because I’m now left assuming that my dog is probably allergic to many more vegetables (if I believe the test results). So I had thoughts of finding another company who could test for more foods, but now that I’m starting to lean Non-Believer, I wonder if maybe it is best to not waste any more money on testing. I am giving him the immunotherapy drops by Heska for some of the environmental allergens. I’m not terribly enthusiastic about continuing those either.
I welcome all thoughts.
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