A Comprehensive Allergen Test for Dogs – Dogster

Ease of Use: 4.5/5

Scope: 4.9/5

End result Transparency: 5/5

Worth: 4.8/5

Caring for a canine who suffers from allergy symptoms may be tough, each bodily and emotionally. This course of is made infinitely tougher once you don’t know what your canine is allergic to.

And that’s precisely the place EasyDNA’s Canine Allergy Check is available in.

Not like so many canine “allergy” exams on the market, this selection makes use of blood serum and IgE antibodies to check for 125 environmental and meals allergy symptoms, not sensitivities or intolerances. This provides you the information you should make impactful adjustments to your canine’s life to assist them overcome allergy signs like atopic dermatitis and persistent diarrhea to allow them to have extra good days.

I had the chance to do this allergy check on my Dalmatian combine, Ragz, who almost died of anaphylaxis from an unknown allergen when she was younger. Discover out if this complete check was in a position to uncover Ragz’s thriller allergy, what it took to get outcomes, and if it’s well worth the funding in my full EasyDNA Canine Allergy Check product assessment, beneath.

Overview

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When Ragz, my 14-year-old Dalmatian combine, got here into my life as a foster pup over a decade in the past, she was in poor form. Not solely was she soiled and lined in cuts and scrapes, however she had hives throughout her physique.

On the time, I didn’t assume a lot of it. However the query of what triggered these hives would come up once more 4 years later when Ragz went into anaphylactic shock with out warning.

My husband had simply gotten house from work. When Ragz did not run via the canine door to greet him, we immediately knew one thing was incorrect. By the point we discovered her, she was torpid and her gums have been pale and cheesy.

After we received her to the emergency vet, she broke out in full-body hives. It took three hours, however the vets have been in a position to stabilize her and save her life. Since that day, we have now been residing in worry, not figuring out what might have triggered her allergic response.

Most house owners of allergy-prone canines don’t have to fret about anaphylaxis, however less-emergent allergy signs may be simply as extreme and tough to stay with. I’ve identified dozens of canines who’ve suffered from crippling dermatitis on account of unknown allergy symptoms.

For Ragz and so many different canines on the market, EasyDNA’s Canine Allergy Check presents solutions. That is precisely why I didn’t hesitate to get the check performed regardless of the additional steps concerned.

Not like cheek swab allergy exams that depend on IgA and IgG antibodies and that may be performed at house, this in-depth check makes use of the extra dependable IgE antibody and requires a blood draw by a licensed veterinarian. Which means that there are additional prices related to this check. But it surely additionally means the outcomes usually tend to mirror precise allergy points that you could goal to cut back your canine’s signs.

It took some forwards and backwards to get the blood draw scheduled with my vet just because they weren’t conversant in this product. Ultimately, although, it solely price me $20 for them to do the draw, full the pattern, and mail it again to the lab for me.

This price can fluctuate by vet and area, so I like to recommend calling round to get an thought of the value earlier than buying the equipment to verify it’s a viable choice for you.

As soon as the check was mailed in, it took a couple of week for the lab to obtain it. From there, it took one other eight days for them to course of it and e-mail my outcomes.

I discovered the outcomes to be very straightforward to interpret. On the high of the PDF, it gave a fast abstract of the findings, together with what number of complete allergen responses have been recorded. It additionally broke down what number of of those responses have been Class I, Class II, and Class III.

After that, every allergen examined was listed together with the response consequence and the correlating Class response. The seven pages of outcomes I acquired additionally included some very neat info on doable cross-reactions frequent to the allergens that confirmed reactivity.

Ragz reacted to 5 of the allergens that have been examined—pork, wheat, oat, European mud mite, and alder/birch pollen. All of her reactions have been low (Class I), which suggests they’re much less more likely to trigger a noticeable allergic response.

Whereas this check didn’t uncover the wrongdoer that triggered her thriller anaphylactic shock episode, it did present some precious perception. For one, it highlighted potential allergy symptoms to 3 frequent meals in our pet pantry: pork, wheat, and oats. I’ll positively keep away from feeding these to Ragz sooner or later.

Extra importantly, I can see how this check can be extremely precious for a canine that suffers from ongoing meals or environmental allergy symptoms.

After receiving Ragz’s outcomes, I instantly despatched my pal a hyperlink to the product. Her canine has been battling limitless itchy and infected pores and skin with no identified trigger. I’m sure a check like this one would assist her and her poor canine lastly discover some solutions and a few reduction.

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