Skin tests

[aidy06]

Hi guys, hope you are all well. We've recently had some allergy test done to Marley which all came back negative for environmental things so the vets think his allergy is food realeated, they want us to see a dermatologist at a university that will do extensive tests on him but he will need to be out to sleep. I'm worried about having him put to sleep though and having second thoughts about it now, any info you can give me or advice and help would be much appreciated. Thanks

[6 Beautiful Pugs]

I would not have it done. I would do an elimination diet. I know there is a great thread/sticky on here on elimination diets.

Take care,
Lisa

[Snifter]

Do you have details of all the tests that they propose to carry out? Why on earth would they need to put him under anaesthetic?

My Snifter had lots of itching that resulted in dreadful hot spots a few years ago and eventually saw a specialist. There was no suggestion at any time of putting him under a GA. In fact the specialist said that there was no point in doing skin tests at an early stage because the vast majority of itching is caused by fleas or by diet. His advice was to treat the house for fleas (though there was no evidence Snifter had fleas), treat Snifter with Stronghold and change his diet. If that did not work then he said we might consider doing something fancier.

We did not do a full elimination diet. The specialist advised going onto a totally grain free food with a novel protein. He could only have that food and any treats had to be the same protein. We opted for James Wellbeloved ceral free fish and vegetable kibble. The specialist had been planning to put us on a veterinary kibble but checked the JWB ingredients and gave it the OK. In addition all his treats are fish and I check carefully that they have no grains. Fish4Dogs does great dried fish skin chews and salmon mousse to top the kibble with. I also put him on Yumega oil.

This has solved our problem. I have since added turkey to his diet with no ill effects. I picked the brains of a second set of specialists when I went to a pug breed health seminar recently and they totally agreed with what we have done and are continuing to do.

[lisamak]

You can do the food test yourself, Dr. Jean Dodd has a saliva test you can purchase yourself. Less expensive than vet most likely and clearly no need to go under. Here's the link: Welcome to Nutriscan - Dog Food Sensitivity Kit. Dr. Dodd is a well-reknowned vet in the fields of allergies and thyroid issues. I have a client that used this test and was very pleased with the whole process (including a phone consult with Dr. Dodd).

[aidy06]

Hi, sorry for the delayed reply. Been busy with work commitments, this is the place the vet recommended taking Marley Small Animal Teaching Hospital - University of Liverpool
Spoke to them and they confirmed that he would have to but to sleep for the tests as it involves alot of needles being put into a patch on his skin Dermatology - University of Liverpool
See the picture labeled 'Allergy skin testing being carried out'. Anyway we've decided against this for obvious reasons. Bella Marley is already on James Wellbeloved cereal free fish and vegetable kibble, I have just ordered the goody bag sample from fish4dogs to see how he likes them. If he likes them then we will order more, thank you. How does the Yumega oil work Bella? Is it good? We will look for this too, thanks again and sorry for the delayed response

[Snifter]

You just add a small amount of the Yumega oil to their food once a day. It is made by a company called Lintbells.

Yumega Plus includes Salmon Oil for Dogs, Reduces Scratching - Lintbells

[aidy06]

You just add a small amount of the Yumega oil to their food once a day. It is made by a company called Lintbells.

Yumega Plus includes Salmon Oil for Dogs, Reduces Scratching - Lintbells

He only has dry food, will it be ok to use with that? Which one do you recommend? The normal one or the plus? Thanks again