How will a veterinarian test my dog for allergies?

There are some tests that we have for allergies in dogs. When I think of dog allergy testing, I think about skin testing, which is done with little injections put all over their bodies by a dermatologist. We often send dogs for testing by a dermatologist to get a diagnosis. We also do blood tests. They're done less frequently than skin testing. We also have dog allergies that are related to food, so we'll do some tests through food trials.

There are a couple of things. It depends on what we see going on with your dog in the first place when we do the examination. Sometimes when it comes to testing, if we suspect mange, we have a couple of tests. We do a skin scraping to test for mange. If we're looking for bacterial infections, in some cases, we may do what we call culture and sensitivity to identify exactly what is the type of bacteria. As far as the treatment of the dogs goes, most of it will come from examining the dog and getting a historical background. We get what we call history information you have observed and can impart to us. Otherwise, as far as specific diagnostic treatments go, most of it will be observation, looking at your dog, and getting to the background information.

We're just looking at their skin. We might do some skin scraping, cytology to examine everything, and if we really suspect allergies, we may even refer you to a dermatologist.