Dog Allergy Testing And Allergy Injections

[PepitoVFR]

Have just started Katie (13 y/o MalteseX female) on this and interested to hear from anybody with personal experience of it.

If like me you'd never heard of this treatment, there are a couple of nice clear explanations here:

http://www.ehow.com/about_6557520_desensitization-dog-allergies.html

http://www.allergydogcentral.com/2011/06/30/dog-allergy-testing-and-allergy-shots/

Since Katie is apparently allergic to so many things (total of 25) I'm having to inject her from two separate vials (each with approx half the number of allergens extracts).

It's a long term treatment (and not cheap) but I have hopes :)

cheers,

[Dogsfevr]

A client has a dog that headed down this path & after two years still on the meds the dog has now developed kidney issues from the drugs which will most likely kill it .

You are brave starting an old dog on it not sure i would

[trinabean]

I have a young dog who is undergoing ASIT (allergen specific immuno-therapy) through a Dermatologist. Treatment normally goes for a few years, he's had about 18 months of treatment so far, so still early days for us. I do think some of the other parts of the treatment plan are very helpful in alleviating symptoms (eg. antihistamines).

[aussielover]

My dog had been on it for about 3 years now. Unfortunately it seems not to have had much effect with her so we have stopped them now.

I have heard that other people have had better results but realistically the absolute best I have ever heard of is a 50% reduction in symptoms. Most improvement with in the 30% range and it's difficult to tell whether it's placebo effect (in the owners mind), other treatments etc until you stop the injections.

What has helped my dog the most is moving to a cold dry climate. The new apoquel tablets are good and she also responded well to Atopica.

Edited June 22, 2014 by aussielover

[fbaudry]

We are getting close to the 2 years mark and I honestly can't say it's working for us. There are times when she gets better and I go "that's it, it's kicking in" and then the itch returns.

Aussielover, did you get apoquel through Linda Vogelnest or your regular vet?

[aussielover]

Through Linda. She organized for mindy to be part of the long term trial in Australia.

It's not available for regular vets yet in Australia

[fbaudry]

Might be time for me to book another appointment with her; was thinking of going to the natural vet at Russell Lea but maybe I should stick to her for now

[Ptolomy]

My dog is now 8 1/2 and has been having immunotherapy injections since she was 12 months of age. We have been able to stop the daily Zyrtex and she is much much better than she used to be.

Her injections are now 5 weekly.

[fbaudry]

Ptolomy, would you remember how long it took for to be able to notice a consistent improvement in your dog's condition?

[Ptolomy]

Ptolomy, would you remember how long it took for to be able to notice a consistent improvement in your dog's condition?

I guess its hard to say because its not like you wake up one day and the dog is cured. It was probably over 2 years, maybe 3 years before I really acknowledged she was so much better. She was a mess to begin with and the vet took photos of her and uses them in her lectures for uni students.

She was so bad that if I dropped a chicken chunker on the ground and she got it - her ears would go bright red within 24 hours and she would get pustules and end up on antibiotics.The first 12 months were tough. She couldn't handle the usual dose of immunotherapy, which was 1ml every 4 weeks - so after trial and error she ended up on 0.1ml every 4 weeks. There was a big break through when I started her on evening primrose oil (on advise from the dermatologist) - 4000mg a day within 2 weeks the differences were amazing. I can now give her a chicken chunker and know she will not go into meltdown, she has been off Zyrtec for a couple of years, but did have a bad patch probably 12 months ago - where I put her back on them for 6 weeks, but was able to get her off them again.

You can see her in my signature - dog second from the right.

Edited June 22, 2014 by Ptolomy

[fbaudry]

Thank you for that! I know what you mean about it not being an overnight result; we are not yet at the 2 years mark so I should just persevere. I'm just being cynical maybe, but wonder if sometimes they "grow out" of allergies, and would have had with or without the desensitisation.

I was quite severely asthmatic as a child, and the specialists advised against desensitisation back then, because the list of allergens was so long. Now as a middle aged adult, I only need the odd puff of ventolin!

Penny started itching after her last set of puppy vaccinations (coincidence?). The vet immediately jumped on the food allergy band wagon (I think he wasn't impressed I wasn't feeding her 100% dry), and she was as it uh as ever after 8 weeks on the prescription diet.

That's when I got the appointment with the dermatologist, who basically said I could chuck the rest of the bag and give Penny a meal of whatever the very same night. We went through the skin prick test and she came up with a mild reaction to a number of allergens, but nothing really stuck out.

Maybe I should just persevere, and book in another appointment with her. She never mentioned Primrose Oil, just making sure she was supplemented with Omega or flaxseed. Plus using Alpha Kerri lotion on broken skin, and the range of Paws sensitive shampoo and conditioner...

[aliwake]

I have no experience with the dog equivalent, but I get the desensitisation injections myself. For most people their allergies are sorted within about 2 years. For me - I feel a lot better while I'm on a course of injections, but I tend to go backwards once I stop having them. For that reason I've been getting them for about 12 years now... My allergist has just switched to a new delivery system, which is drops under the tongue every 2nd day - I'm still waiting for mine to arrive so can't give any feedback on those yet. Would be a great option for dogs I think.

I hope that the OP finds it effective, but from personal experience, with an older dog I think I would just be resigned to daily antihistamines forever. I still have days where I need antihistamines anyway, so I'm not sure how much of an improvement will be seen in the near future. It's certainly a long road!

[sas]

We got no result on it.

[Holmesy]

I was really hoping i'd see more really positive posts about this treatment as Linda has recommended that my dog be treated with these vaccines on a 6 monthly basis too. Unfortunately for me, after 2 rounds of the skin testing, there were no conclusive results as to what is causing her bad reactions. Probably grass pollen, but nothing highly reactive in the test results.

I am hoping the vaccines will at least lessen the discomfort a little bit because I am really reluctant to have to use cortizone to control her reactions or use any other immune suppressants.

[PepitoVFR]

A client has a dog that headed down this path & after two years still on the meds the dog has now developed kidney issues from the drugs which will most likely kill it .

You are brave starting an old dog on it

With respect, I disagree.

Some reasons:

1. I trust my vet. She knows my dogs medical history and I respect her professional opinion.

2. I did my own research but did not find any worrying incidence of harmful side-effects of this treatment.

3. Katie may not have age on her side but she is still in excellent health and has never shown a reaction to any medication ever in her life. She recently had most of her teeth extracted with no complications whatsoever and recovered from the anaesthetic better than most dogs a fraction of her age.

[karly101]

I know a handful of dogs that went down the allergy vaccination route and all doing very well.

Unfortunately my dog isn't deemed allergic enough to start the vaccs. He's going ok on the medications but they aren't cheap, the allergy vaccines does seem to be more cost effective long term.

[Joypod]

Gus went through desensitization with injections monthly for about 2 years. He showed a marked improvement in his itch within the first 12 months and then stabilized.

I would have rated his itch at about a 7-8 out of 10 when he started and he's been consistently at 2 for the 6 months since he stopped his injections.

So for me (and him of course), it was successful.