# Allergy results are in--what do I do?



## Sosoprano (Apr 27, 2011)

Pippa has been very itchy for months, so I put her on nothing but Canidae lamb and rice. After the recalls and little change in her itching, I switched to Fromm 4-Star Salmon a la veg and decided to have her tested for food allergies to eliminate the guesswork. Here’s how the scores go:

5 and 6: ultra high level
4: very high level
3: high level
2: low level
1: very low level
0: absent or undetectable

The testing company says “Consider Class 2 level and greater for allergen immunotherapy.”

Pippa scored 2 for: barley, corn, pea, wheat, yeast
She scored 1 for: duck, egg, lamb, milk, pork, soybean

I was excited about switching to Fromm because I feel very comfortable about the quality of their food, and the dogs love it. But barley is the fifth ingredient in all their 4-star lines, and peas are the third ingredient in the Gold lines.

So what do I do now? It sounds like the testing company might recommend I find a different food for Pippa, given her score of “2”. Would you agree? Oddly enough, she seems to be itching a little bit less, and her vet thinks she might be more sensitive to inhalants rather than food; we had horrible pollen this spring--yellow dust everywhere. 

I so don’t want to switch her food again, but of course, her health is everything. Any advice?


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## paula bedard (Feb 5, 2008)

Gosh, I've been googling foods and it seems that peas and barley are in most of the kibbles, even those for limited diets. I feed Blue Buffalo and Merrick, my Ike has allergies too, but they both have peas and barley. Ike has food as well as seasonal allergies, and yes this Spring was bad. Have you given her benadryl or claritin? These help too.


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## geomana (Oct 15, 2011)

Did you also do the allergy testing for environment factors (pollen,mold,etc) ?

Food allergy tests are not suppose to be very accurate and only about 15% of the allergies are said to be food related.

You may want to consider the additional test if you 
have not already done so.

Good luck,
Take care.


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## Tailer'sFolks (Feb 27, 2007)

DogtorJ.com :: Food Intolerance in Pets & Their People :: Home of The GARD

Compare Pet Foods : Dog & Cat Food Ratings

Best Dry Grain Free Dog Foods

Maybe these sites will help you decide what food to try next. Tailer has a limited diet he can have...no chicken, corn, wheat, rice, soy, rosemary, kelp, pork, lamb...I am feeding him Evo Herring & Salmon...it has a strong smell, but he likes it! Good 
Luck!


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## Sosoprano (Apr 27, 2011)

paula bedard said:


> Gosh, I've been googling foods and it seems that peas and barley are in most of the kibbles, even those for limited diets. I feed Blue Buffalo and Merrick, my Ike has allergies too, but they both have peas and barley. Ike has food as well as seasonal allergies, and yes this Spring was bad. Have you given her benadryl or claritin? These help too.


Ugh, I haven’t gotten around to searching yet, but if most foods have peas and barley, then it looks like it might be hard to avoid them without going to a food that is intended specifically for hypersensitive dogs  

And I have not tried Benadryl or Claritin. I’m guessing they’re both for seasonal allergies. Do you give them every day? I would totally be up for that next year!


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## Sosoprano (Apr 27, 2011)

geomana said:


> Did you also do the allergy testing for environment factors (pollen,mold,etc) ?


I thought about that, but I figured that if food weren't the problem, then environmental factors would be the source by process of elimination. And other than to offer Benadryl or Claritin and oatmeal shampoos, I’m not sure there’d be anything else we could do if we knew the exact source. (Yes? No?)


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## Sosoprano (Apr 27, 2011)

Tailer'sFolks said:


> DogtorJ.com :: Food Intolerance in Pets & Their People :: Home of The GARD
> 
> Compare Pet Foods : Dog & Cat Food Ratings
> 
> ...


Yikes, poor Tailer! That’s a lot of no-nos to worry about. Thanks for sharing the sites. I will definitely check them out.


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## paula bedard (Feb 5, 2008)

I'm not certain about claritin, but you can safely give benadryl daily. It does not stay in their system. (I was just discussing this with my Vet as we were both having allergy issues this Spring.) Ike is allergic to corn, chicken, and soy...though soy to a lesser degree. Should he get any and starts itching, I give him 2 benadryl and the itching stops. You might try giving her a benadryl with her food and see if that helps.


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## A1Malinois (Oct 28, 2011)

Natures Variety Rabbit Formula has peas but its way down the list. Has no other allergin in there that you listed (that I saw)

GO Natural Wild Salmon has no allergins in their food that you listed 

Double check that though because theres a ton of words crammed together I may of missed something


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## Florabora22 (Nov 30, 2008)

If Pippa scored a 2 on a scale of 6, I probably would take it with a grain of salt and continue her on her current food if she seems to be doing well on it.

What is Pippa like in the winter months when environmental allergens are minimal? Is she the same as she is during the warmer months, better, worse?


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

Blood testing for food allergies is not considered to be precise. In fact the lab we use has all but told us it is a joke. Every time you switch to a new diet, you need to give the diet at least 2-3 months to decide it isn't working...


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## Florabora22 (Nov 30, 2008)

Sally's Mom said:


> Blood testing for food allergies is not considered to be precise. In fact the lab we use has all but told us it is a joke. Every time you switch to a new diet, you need to give the diet at least 2-3 months to decide it isn't working...


I actually said something similar to this in my original post, but wasn't sure if I was correct or not. I recall my vet also saying that allergy testing is way too expensive for what it really tells you, so I opted out of doing it at the time.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

I had Conner allergy tested. I eliminated ALL foods that showed up, even the 1's. That meant no rice, potatoes, oats, barley, yeast, pork, duck, or rabbit.

We also at the same time tested for allergens in the environment, and he had a bunch of those cone back too, including human dander and dust. We had allergy injections made based on the results and he was on them for a few years.

He's doing great now


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## A1Malinois (Oct 28, 2011)

Sally's Mom said:


> Blood testing for food allergies is not considered to be precise. In fact the lab we use has all but told us it is a joke. Every time you switch to a new diet, you need to give the diet at least 2-3 months to decide it isn't working...


Out of curiousity why do vets push for this test if its a joke? My previous vet pushed this test on me. I never got it because of the cost.


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

I don't know why a vet pushes the test, I don't. The gold standard for allergy testing is skin testing. I have been out of school for 26 years and saw my first skin tested patient as a vet two weeks ago. He is head to toe pyoderma except where the ski test was done. That is the only area on the body with no pyoderma.


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## Sosoprano (Apr 27, 2011)

Florabora said:


> If Pippa scored a 2 on a scale of 6, I probably would take it with a grain of salt and continue her on her current food if she seems to be doing well on it.
> 
> What is Pippa like in the winter months when environmental allergens are minimal? Is she the same as she is during the warmer months, better, worse?


I’d like to continue her on her current food for a while. If the allergy testing isn’t that accurate after all, maybe it’s ok to wait a couple of months to see how she does before changing anything?

Pippa was fine until after she was spayed in December because of her ovarian cyst. She was nine months old at the time, so it’s hard to say whether the changes occurred because of hormonal levels, the winter, or just her growing up. 

Also, in fairness to my vet, she didn’t push for the testing, I asked for it. I didn’t know that the blood tests were so inaccurate, and I was hoping to avoid months (years?) of protracted guesswork. Oh well


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## A1Malinois (Oct 28, 2011)

Sally's Mom said:


> I don't know why a vet pushes the test, I don't. The gold standard for allergy testing is skin testing. I have been out of school for 26 years and saw my first skin tested patient as a vet two weeks ago. He is head to toe pyoderma except where the ski test was done. That is the only area on the body with no pyoderma.


Hmm so maybe I will look into the skin testing for Lincoln. Im sure the price is waaay out of my league but ill ask my vet and see what he thinks if he doesnt have Autoimmune thyroiditis Though that seems to be what he has just waiting for the final test to come back.


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## A1Malinois (Oct 28, 2011)

Sosoprano said:


> I’d like to continue her on her current food for a while. If the allergy testing isn’t that accurate after all, maybe it’s ok to wait a couple of months to see how she does before changing anything?
> 
> Pippa was fine until after she was spayed in December because of her ovarian cyst. She was nine months old at the time, so it’s hard to say whether the changes occurred because of hormonal levels, the winter, or just her growing up.
> 
> Also, in fairness to my vet, she didn’t push for the testing, I asked for it. I didn’t know that the blood tests were so inaccurate, and I was hoping to avoid months (years?) of protracted guesswork. Oh well


You can continue your food and wait and see thats what I would do. Mine wasnt the same after he was neutered...thats when all the problems started. Im sure mines problem was the lack of hormones


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## Florabora22 (Nov 30, 2008)

Sosoprano said:


> I’d like to continue her on her current food for a while. If the allergy testing isn’t that accurate after all, maybe it’s ok to wait a couple of months to see how she does before changing anything?
> 
> Pippa was fine until after she was spayed in December because of her ovarian cyst. She was nine months old at the time, so it’s hard to say whether the changes occurred because of hormonal levels, the winter, or just her growing up.
> 
> Also, in fairness to my vet, she didn’t push for the testing, I asked for it. I didn’t know that the blood tests were so inaccurate, and I was hoping to avoid months (years?) of protracted guesswork. Oh well


It's so hard to pinpoint the cause of itchiness in our dogs. Goldens seem predisposed to suffer from skin issues. You're doing your best to make Pippa feel better, that's all that matters. Best of luck to you with Pippa, I hope things calm down soon!


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## geomana (Oct 15, 2011)

The allergy test for environment factors is suppose to be precise unlike the food testing one and depending on the allergen they may be able to treat it.

Food allergy can be tested by doing an elimination hypoallergenic diet but as mentioned its about a 3 month process.

Good luck.
Take care.


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## A1Malinois (Oct 28, 2011)

Also, it could be he is hypersensitive to staph which is normal bacteria found on the skin. So the itching may be that or it may be a combo of things


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

I agree, Goldens, in general are itchy. As long as there are no "sores" or discomfort, I say leave it alone!


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## w00f (Nov 4, 2011)

I would stay away from any food that registered a 3 or higher on that test. For the 1's and 2's, I would combine that with a food trial. The only way to really do that is to do a homecooked trial. You could try the kibble, but it might be hard to see the more subtle signs of allergy, or if there is a reaction, you won't know what the reason is the food not only has barley, but has egg in it too, and then there are sensitivities that are not technically allergens.

I like blood allergy food tests, but they have to be used in combination with all the other tools.

Pet's Best - Fromm 4 Star Salmon a la Veg


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## Garfield (Apr 7, 2009)

w00f said:


> I would stay away from any food that registered a 3 or higher on that test. For the 1's and 2's, I would combine that with a food trial. The only way to really do that is to do a homecooked trial. You could try the kibble, but it might be hard to see the more subtle signs of allergy, or if there is a reaction, you won't know what the reason is the food not only has barley, but has egg in it too, and then there are sensitivities that are not technically allergens.
> 
> I like blood allergy food tests, but they have to be used in combination with all the other tools.
> 
> Pet's Best - Fromm 4 Star Salmon a la Veg


Not to mention that many foods use proteins in their minerals and/or share equipment with other food/formulas. Purina and Royal Canin have true allergy test diets provided your dog is not allergic to one of the few ingredients in them, though I'm a big proponent of working with a vet nutritionist on a personalized, balanced elimination diet. As others mentioned, that is the true test for weeding any food allergies. 

p.s. Given the timing on this, I'd more strongly suspect environmental allergies are the majority culprit. Try to bath your pup at least monthly (more frequently in high pollen stretches) and Benadryl wouldn't hurt on particularly itchy days (might help to keep track of what pollens are in play those days). However, if she's really scratching herself raw with no clear explanation (i.e. fleas, skin infection, etc), you may want to persue the (much more reliable) environmental allergy testing and any necessary followup allergy shots. Good luck!


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