If you have a dog in your home that has been acting slightly funny lately, perhaps acting stressed out or scratching intensely, it could be that your pet has an allergic reaction. Your dog could also have pink spots on its neck, armpits or just about anywhere else. If this sounds like your dog, then you might want to consider getting your dog tested for allergies.
When it comes to dog allergy testing, there are two ways you can go about it; blood or skin. This article aims to pit these two methods against each other, finding out their benefits, demerits and costs.
Blood allergy testing, as its name states, consists of taking a blood sample from your dog and submitting said blood sample to a laboratory. The lab then tests the blood sample for the presence of allergen-specific antibodies such as IgE against various allergens that are expected to present certain symptoms.
There are various labs offering blood allergy testing; however, each of them utilises different techniques to perform the blood allergy tests. Depending on the laboratory, these techniques can vary in clinical relevance and accuracy. When you go to your vet for a blood allergy test, you should ask the name of the lab they use to research if that is the best for your situation.
Merits of blood allergy testing
Blood allergy testing is extremely convenient as it can be seamlessly performed in general practice. Due to this, you don’t need a specialist to conduct the test or even interpret the results. Dogs do not have to be shaved or sedated for this, as they simply are required to give a blood sample—something that can be collected during a typical wellness check.
Another merit of blood allergy testing is that most blood tests do not require your dog to be taken off its medication before it can be tested. This advantage is one of the reasons why dog owners actively pursue allergy testing. The last thing a dog owner wants is to take their dog off medication for extended withdrawal times when performing skin allergy testing.
Demerits of blood allergy testing
While there are various merits to using this method of allergy testing, it does have some limitations. For one, these tests are typically associated with false positives—positive results that cannot be confirmed through skin allergy testing. Despite this, dogs treated on the basis of these tests often show marked improvement despite the flaws in this allergy testing method. This is why blood allergy testing is a great choice for dogs that cannot be tested for allergies via the skin.
What is Skin allergy testing?
Skin or intradermal allergy testing is a process where minute quantities of allergens are injected into your dog’s skin. This type of testing is generally carried out under general anaesthesia or sedation, following a stringent monitoring protocol. Generally, about 50 injections are given in a single area of your dog’s body, typically the abdomen or lateral thorax. As stated earlier, only a minute sample of each allergen is injected under the skin.
Typically, a positive allergen response is presented as visible swearing, resembling a hive. The swelling tends to form at the site of the injection and occurs within 30 minutes of the injection. If the injection site doesn’t swell, then your dog is presumed to not be allergic to that particular allergen. By examining the injection site for visible skin reactions, a dermatologist can figure out which allergens trigger your dog’s atopic dermatitis.
Merits of skin allergy testing
Demerits of skin allergy testing
There are various restrictions and cautions for dogs receiving this type of allergy testing. For one, female dogs in heat or pregnant shouldn’t get intradermal allergy testing due to how hormones can impact test results.
Furthermore, your dog should be at the end of its allergy season which typically ends in the fall. You also cannot bathe your dog in the 5 days before intradermal testing and your dog cannot eat the day of the procedure to ensure that it can safely be sedated.
Furthermore, intradermal allergy testing can’t be done on your dog if it takes the following medications:
- Essential fatty acids in the last 7 days
- Antihistamines within the last 7 days
- Topical steroids such as eye or ear medication within the last 2 weeks
- Oral steroids within the last 30 days
- Long-acting injectable steroids within the last 3 months
Other limitations to skin allergy testing can include the requirement for anaesthesia or sedation. This can become contraindicated in dogs suffering from certain underlying conditions. It can also be a concern for dog owners reluctant to pursue anaesthesia or sedation for their dogs.
Additionally, your dog will have to be shaved on the test site as hair can impede the test. Fortunately, with the proper equipment and vet table, this process isn’t any more than a little inconvenience for most dogs; however, if your dog is a show dog, this can be a major disadvantage.
Another demerit of this allergy testing method is that it needs a knowledgeable dermatologist to administer and interpret the results. One thing to note is that skin reactions at each injection site can be subjective, as the dermatologist would need a lot of experience to interpret the results.
Dog allergy testing blood vs skin: which is best?
While there are so many positives and demerits of both allergy testing, there really isn’t one size fits all test for all dogs. As stated earlier, skin allergy testing is generally viewed as the gold standard of allergy testing. Nevertheless, it does have its limitations. Suppose a dog owner is unable or unwilling to pursue skin testing. In that case, blood allergy testing might offer the same advantages without having to withdraw medication, go through sedation, shave your dog’s hair, or have to drive all the way to a dermatologist.
While the results obtained from blood testing can be different from the results you get from intradermal allergy testing, numerous dogs can experience clinical improvement when receiving treatments via immunotherapy based on the blood allergy testing results.
How Much Does Dog Allergy Testing Cost?
Simply put, heading to the veterinarian can be quite expensive, so much so that it makes the entire experience quite stressful. It can also mean that you are less likely to head to the vet. Fortunately, there is a way to get around all of this: you simply have to know how much certain expenses cost before heading to the vet.
Thankfully, you can find out just how much it costs to conduct dog allergy testing. The first thing you should note is that dog allergy testing prices can vary depending on where you are in the country. While dog allergy testing isn’t the most significant expense in vet care, the treatments after the result can really add up. It is possible to go for an initial test, only for the results to be inconclusive, requiring follow-ups that raise the price considerably.
With that said, here is the regional breakdown of blood allergy testing and skin/intradermal allergy testing:
With a blood allergy test, you can expect to pay $330 in the West Coast, and $214 in both the Midwest and East Coast.
With a skin allergy test, you can expect to pay $215 in the West Coast, $250 in the Midwest, and $214 in the East Coast.
| Price from | |
|---|---|
| At Home Dog Allergy Tests | $80-200 |
| Vet Blood Allergy Tests- West Coast | $330 |
| Vet Blood Allergy Tests- Midwest | $214 |
| Vet Blood Allergy Tests- East Coast | $214 |
| Vet Skin Allergy Tests - Midwest | $215 |
| Vet Skin Allergy Tests - West Coast | $240 |
| Vet Skin Allergy Tests - East Coast | $214 |
Additional Costs to Anticipate
As stated earlier, there are sometimes additional costs you have to consider when testing your dog for allergens. As it stands, there are 3 major allergen sources that affect dogs, and they aren’t mutually exclusive—this means that it can be a combination of the three.
Generally, a dog’s allergies result from a skin irritant it is allergic to. The irritant can be dermatitis or fleas, among others. Dermatitis and fleas are two of the most prevalent allergens. Depending on how severe the allergic reaction is, you might need to consider treating the dog using a chlorohexidine wash. A vet might even require your dog to take medications that target skin-borne irritation.
Furthermore, allergens can be present in dog food, meaning that dogs suffering from allergens might require unique hypoallergenic diets—this type of food can cost a lot more than the average dog food. Moreover, it can take quite a lot of time to determine the exact ingredient your dog is allergic to. For this reason, vet dermatologists will simply begin with a basic 2 ingredient diet for the dog. This helps you better determine which foods are bad for your dog.
Another source of allergies is the environment. It could be something as simple as the carpet in your home or a unique type of dust in it. Testing for environmental allergens requires a lot of trial and error, so it can be difficult to find out what the problem is, resulting in high test expenses.
