Allergy Testing
for Pets

What we test dogs and cats for is very similar. We test for:

• Individual pollens including common grasses, weeds, trees and crops

• House dust mites - microscopic mites that live in your home and feed off dead skin cells

• Storage or flour mites, commonly found in processed dog and cat food, as well as processed human foods such as cheese and dried pasta

• Common fungal spores in the environment

• A yeast called Malassezia that lives on your animal's skin 
  

Both dogs and cats can be tested using a specific blood test.

Intradermal skin tests are performed on dogs while they are sedated. Small amounts of the allergens listed above are injected into the skin. These are compared against a positive and negative control so we can see what a positive result looks like. The two tests look at the immune system slightly differently so they give us a better overall view of what your dog may be allergic to.

Immunotherapy treatment

The results can be used to obtain allergen specific immunotherapy (also known as allergy shots). This is a tailored desensitising vaccine that gradually exposes your pet to the allergens. They are tailor made just for your pet and are given as a series of injections under your pet’s skin. It is a lifelong treatment and may be used on its own, or more often as part of a tailored treatment regime including other medications and treatments. For those animals that can receive immunotherapy, it is very safe to use, and 75% of dogs and cats may benefit from this treatment. 

It is the only treatment we have that can change the course of your pet’s allergy without blocking a part of the immune system. But be prepared as it can take up to 12 months, and sometimes longer, to have an effect. 

Negative test results

10 to 20% of dogs with an environmental allergy will have a negative test result. This doesn’t mean that they don’t have an allergy. This result is partly due to your dog’s own biology, and it may be that they’re allergic to something we can’t currently test for. This is called ‘atopic-like dermatitis’. The only main difference between this and ‘normal’ atopic dermatitis is that we can’t use immunotherapy as part of the treatment plan.