First Time Puppy Owner Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 (edited) Hi There I know that several people out there have had allergy testing done on their dogs and am wondering about results of these tests and whether people have had success with allergy injections or partial benefit from these, even if needing to be continued for life. Just courious as I had my boy tested last Friday and his results were no where near as varied as i thought they might have been, so I have decided to go ahead with the injections which should arrive in a few weeks. Here are his results Strong Reactions - Perennial Rye Wheat Couch Yellow Dock Rough Pigweed Melaleuca Eucalyptus Pine Arroyo Willow Benson is on Artemis Maximal Dog and has been for about a mth as I felt it was the best kibble out there. And he is also on Atopica at a dosage of 2 100mg tablets every second day and will be remaining on these whilst we are doing the desensitiation injections for 6 mths as the cyclosprin at least keep his allergies at bay to the most part. Anyway thank you in advance for sharing your story. Cheers Suz Edited May 12, 2009 by First Time Puppy Owner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
First Time Puppy Owner Posted May 12, 2009 Author Share Posted May 12, 2009 bump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormie Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 I haven't yet, FTPO, but will be very soon, so I'll let you know how we get on. Are you doing it under dermatologist advice or vet? I don't know a lot about it yet, but my advice before you start would be to make sure you get the best advice possible - I know that it is recommended to try get them off cortisone as best you can whilst you do them, to improve get the best results, but not sure about Atopica, but it would be something I'd be finding out before you get started! Goodluck!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
First Time Puppy Owner Posted May 13, 2009 Author Share Posted May 13, 2009 (edited) Thanks Stormie! Yep we are seeing a Dermatologist now, Dr Mike Shipstone. My understanding is that the active ingredient in Atopica, which is cyclosporin does not effect testing nor the allergy injections, but he would prefer Benson to stay on it for a period of six mths whilst we are administoring the first six mths worth of injections to keep him comfortable as it has been effective in controlling his symptoms. Then to take him off the Atopica when we commence another period of injections to see if the immotherapy has worked and to what extent if at all. So you have had the testing done on Orbit right? Do you mind sharing what he had strong reactions to? Has your dermatologist recommended atigen injection? ed4sp Edited May 13, 2009 by First Time Puppy Owner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormie Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 Thanks Stormie! Yep we are seeing a Dermatologist now, Dr Mike Shipstone. My understanding is that the active ingredient in Atopica, which is cyclosporin does not effect testing nor the allergy injections, but he would prefer Benson to stay on it for a period of six mths whilst we are administoring the first six mths worth of injections to keep him comfortable as it has been effective in controlling his symptoms. Then to take him off the Atopica when we commence another period of injections to see if the immotherapy has worked and to what extent. Sounds good!! Will keep fingers and paws crossed for you guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
First Time Puppy Owner Posted May 13, 2009 Author Share Posted May 13, 2009 Man you're quicker than a flash Stormie I swear I posted and then went to edit immediately and you had already posted! So how is Orbit doing these days??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormie Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 I didn't realise I replied so soon to your post! Yeah Orbit is so so... he goes along ok until he decides to have a big roll in the grass - then we pay for it for a couple of days. It's good with the weather being cooler because I can keep him in his coat more which helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
First Time Puppy Owner Posted May 13, 2009 Author Share Posted May 13, 2009 Maybe you should change your name to lightening! So do they think Orbit has contact allergies as well as atopy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elfin Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 Our older boy started desensitising injections under the guidance of a dermatologist just over 12 months ago. It took about 4-5 months to work, but he is a different dog. His coat all grew back, and he is generally much happier. He had completely bald feet where he had ripped the hair out (he even tried pulling out his nails!), but they are normal now. He was never on any medication apart from Cortavance spray for his bad spots. I think it the desensitising injections have worked really well for us, and we are more than happy to continue with them for the rest of his life, as the dermatologist reccommended. (And thank god for pet insurance!!!! We wouldn't be able to afford it without it.) Best wishes for you and your dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
First Time Puppy Owner Posted May 13, 2009 Author Share Posted May 13, 2009 Our older boy started desensitising injections under the guidance of a dermatologist just over 12 months ago. It took about 4-5 months to work, but he is a different dog.His coat all grew back, and he is generally much happier. He had completely bald feet where he had ripped the hair out (he even tried pulling out his nails!), but they are normal now. He was never on any medication apart from Cortavance spray for his bad spots. I think it the desensitising injections have worked really well for us, and we are more than happy to continue with them for the rest of his life, as the dermatologist reccommended. (And thank god for pet insurance!!!! We wouldn't be able to afford it without it.) Best wishes for you and your dog. That's great news! All the best with the continuing treatment And thank you I agree thank god for pet insurance, best money I spend every month!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 (edited) Few people here who have had successes, we personaly did not and it was a hard hit on the wallet too. It's just one of those things that you try when you haev an allergic dog. Edited May 13, 2009 by sas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zayda_asher Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 (edited) One of my dogs sensitised to his injections and started reacting to them, so he is no longer on them. They worked well for him though, until he started reacting to them. My other dog, her ASIT is what holds her together... She was recently retested and has developed a bunch more allergies... and we are using ASIT for them, with the same success as her previous one (she has three vials - now that's expensive!). We don't use any steriods or atopica with her, just the ASIT and antihistamines (and a routine of topical treatments, baths, resichlor if she has issues, etc.). Both Asher and Zayda's allergy lists are in this thread: http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?show...ayda+asher+here And you can see Zayda's old compared to her new, because we were doing her retesting at the time of this thread... Fortunately so far on the elimination diet there are no new allergies, I think it's all the atopy - fingers crossed. We'll be doing the elimination diet for a while though, to assess everything. As Sas said, works well for some, not so well for others... you have to try it and see... ETA: It's worth giving it an extended trial too... I know our Derms say a year and then you can assess if it is making a difference... Edited May 13, 2009 by zayda_asher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
First Time Puppy Owner Posted May 14, 2009 Author Share Posted May 14, 2009 (edited) As Sas said, works well for some, not so well for others... you have to try it and see...ETA: It's worth giving it an extended trial too... I know our Derms say a year and then you can assess if it is making a difference... Sorry to hear that Zayda has developed more allergies. 3 vials - ouch! I am praying that it works well for Benson, but completely understand that it may not and I guess that's kind of why i left it till the last resort as I had read so many stories on here of it not assisting most dogs. Definitely will be trialing it for a year before giving up as I understand it can take up to 8-12 mths to begin showing signs of assisting. Will read your thread this weekend - best of luck with your two Edited May 14, 2009 by First Time Puppy Owner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zayda_asher Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Thanks FTPO... since diagnosis of new allergies and getting Zayda up to full strength on her new ASIT we've had no move painful hives (which you'll read about in the other thread)... so it's all going well... now we just have to get through this new elimination diet! So keep fingers and paws crossed that we find nothing new there Stats may have changed in recent years, but I know when we were first researching it with Zayda a few years ago, they showed that 75% of dogs see some level of improvement... so that's not bad really... obviously that still leaves 25% that see little or no improvement, but definitely worth the shot! Good luck with it.. when do you start? Good to see that you aren't dealing with a whole host of allergies either... no food or insect ones? lucky! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
First Time Puppy Owner Posted May 14, 2009 Author Share Posted May 14, 2009 (edited) That's great news about Zayda no longer getting the horrible hives! Thankfully Benson has never had hives or a rash he just simply scratches or chews till he has ripped out the hair and skin. I agree it's worth a shot! Do you ever feel like you have done half a dermatology degree? I mean I sometimes do these days, yet you have two with differeing issues so you must feel like you have a Phd by now! Benson is moderately allergic to a lot of things on top of the list I posted including fleas, oats and tobacco (I am still smoking but starting Champix this weekend to aid me to quit - have smoked from 16 and am turning 30 on monday so not easy ) Edited May 14, 2009 by First Time Puppy Owner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k9katz Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Started 28/9/07 ....still on the maint schedule and will continue lifelong as I would not want to go back to how she was. Like Elfin, I have a different dog today, happy and hairy LOL. My girl Trinta has to have 2 vials of the treatment so 2 injections a month due to so many allergies. Did you end up doing the blood test ( SPOT ) ? My vet says he has much more success with this than the intra dermal which is interesting. My main advice to you would be to be absolutly vigilant with the timing of injections, especially at the beginning. Best of luck with it all. Trinta has also been eating Artemis for 9 months now and has had no problems despite having some ingredients in there that she had tested positive to. The only reason I tried the food was because I knew that if she did react, I could simply stop the food. I had tried her on raw but she just didnt do well on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
First Time Puppy Owner Posted May 14, 2009 Author Share Posted May 14, 2009 Thanks for responding K9Katz Can I ask you to clarify what you mean about the timing of the injections? Like time of day??? Fantastic to hear that Trinta is doing so well on the injections and the food. I found Benson did even better on Artemis than Orijen - he is now at 38.4 kgs so have to cut back to 3/4 cups instead of full cups which he was having of Orijen. No we didn't get the blood test SPOT done - is that through the dermatologist as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julesluvscavs Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Hi Apologies for not having read the whole thread and everyone's responses yet.. I had a German shepherd x Blue Heeler once who had the worse allergies condition , It started when he belonged to this cruel man, who also let him get flea infested. I spent soooooooooooo much money on getting him tested and desensitized ( on and off over a few years), but it was very successful in the end:) I had to regularly clip him short all over (his dad had been a long haired shepherd), and I used to get so much flack from people saying I was being cruel to him clipping him short all over, but they had no idea how bad he used to get with his skin . He would get painful sores all over his body . In my early 20's I also had desensitizing injections for grass, hay etc etc allergies. I would get so ill if I went near my horses, their paddocks/food etc.. It cost me heaps for me too (this is why i have no money now ! LOL), and it worked effectively for me, altho it took a few years of injections.. I now can go near what i was allergic too without it being almost life threatening for me ! In both cases with my dog at the time, and myself I tried everything else first to avoid having to pay big money and go through the stress of having injections all the time. On a side note , not sure if anyone has mentioned it already, there is a new product from the vets now for mainly dogs( but we use it on our cat for her skin problems) that might be worth looking into as well. It is very expensive tho for a little bottle of it ! eeek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julesluvscavs Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Our older boy started desensitising injections under the guidance of a dermatologist just over 12 months ago. It took about 4-5 months to work, but he is a different dog.His coat all grew back, and he is generally much happier. He had completely bald feet where he had ripped the hair out (he even tried pulling out his nails!), but they are normal now. He was never on any medication apart from Cortavance spray for his bad spots. I think it the desensitising injections have worked really well for us, and we are more than happy to continue with them for the rest of his life, as the dermatologist reccommended. (And thank god for pet insurance!!!! We wouldn't be able to afford it without it.) Best wishes for you and your dog. Oh thats the stuff we are using on our cat now ...along with some other allergy tablets.. seems to be finally helping her ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
First Time Puppy Owner Posted May 14, 2009 Author Share Posted May 14, 2009 Oh thats the stuff we are using on our cat now ...along with some other allergy tablets.. seems to be finally helping her ! Unfortunately Benson chews even when Cortavance is applied. But thank you fo sharing, great that it worked for you and your dog! I have also been allergy tested and went to a dermatologist hoping I could be desensitised as I am allergy to grass, eucalyptus, feathers, cats and dogs (not to bad to the last two ) but due to my MS I am not allowed to have the injection Bl**dy body! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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