Hello, I am just seeing if anyone knows of any tests we could do to see if our little pup (26weeks old) has any food allergies/tolerances? We have been having lots of problems with Ozzie's stomach and when we finally thought we'd crack it, we are no suspecting that he has an allergy, so would like to know how we go about finding out about this. Katie & a poorly little pup
Re: Food Tolerance/Allergy tests Sorry to hear that your little one is poorly , I`m pretty sure that Vets can carry out some allergy tests , they can be very comprehensive indeed , so best to ask them really and I hope you find some answers soon, poor little soul
Re: Food Tolerance/Allergy tests I went through my vets. Harley is wheat intollerant and a few other things. I have changed her food and eventually found something she is good on.
Re: Food Tolerance/Allergy tests My lab had allergy tests a few years ago. It was done at the vets and cost about £300. The results were very comprehensive and showed she was allergic to all grains, and some meat too. It has been very useful in helping to decide which foods to feed her. Chloe
Re: Food Tolerance/Allergy tests Food intolerance tests via blood sample tend to be fairly inconclusive. The most reliable test available for food intolerance is the Nutriscan test which uses a sample of saliva - a test recently developed by the very well respected haematologist Jean Dodds in California, who specialises in allergies and thyroid issues. http://www.nutriscan.org/ You can have the test done via your vet, or alternatively can send off the sample yourself directly to Dr Dodds
Re: Food Tolerance/Allergy tests Personally I have reservations about all these tests. In humans, an allergy blood test looks at foods you might be allergic to and pretty much checks to see whether your body is producing excess antibodies to it. Traditionally it helps if you can be specific as possible rather than a blanket run of 20 or so of the most common allergens. Trouble is, many allergy tests on BLOOD (or possibly saliva??) Might not directly relate to what happens when a particular food is eaten. I think they can HELP, but need to be considered with a lot of other information too. Definitely be guided by your vet. In humans I would be thinking about a trial exclusion diet, then back that up if successful with dietician advice to ensure nitritional balance and completeness. These are just my thoughts and I am not a vet - I hope your vet can belp you with this.
Re: Food Tolerance/Allergy tests [quote author=drjs@5 link=topic=8243.msg116660#msg116660 date=1413232273] Personally I have reservations about all these tests. In humans, an allergy blood test looks at foods you might be allergic to and pretty much checks to see whether your body is producing excess antibodies to it. Traditionally it helps if you can be specific as possible rather than a blanket run of 20 or so of the most common allergens. Trouble is, many allergy tests on BLOOD (or possibly saliva??) Might not directly relate to what happens when a particular food is eaten. I think they can HELP, but need to be considered with a lot of other information too. Definitely be guided by your vet. In humans I would be thinking about a trial exclusion diet, then back that up if successful with dietician advice to ensure nitritional balance and completeness. These are just my thoughts and I am not a vet - I hope your vet can belp you with this. [/quote] This is all absolutely right. Blood (or saliva) tests are excellent at ruling out food allergy - if the test comes back negative then the animal is not allergic to the items tested for. However, if it comes back positive it may or may not be of any relevance. The definitive way to diagnose food intolerance or allergy is by a process of dietary restriction (one protein, one carbohydrate source or use a hydrolysed diet) to demonstrate complete resolution of signs, followed by provocation with the original diet to demonstrate a relapse then restriction again to demonstrate resolution. Once settled on the restricted diet it is then possible to add one dietary item at a time to try to identify the offending item. Most veterinary gastroenterologists seem to prefer soya-based diets for investigation. Hope this helps and your pup gets better soon.
