- Does your pet lick and chew at its feet?
- Does your pet suffer from chronic ear infections?
- Do you often see your pet chewing at its tail?
- Are there certain times of the year when your pet itches and scratches without finding relief?
- Does your pet have more than 3 bowel movements per day?
If you are answering “YES” to the above questions, your pet may be suffering from allergies! Allergies can be caused by a variety of things, such as: food, cat dander, grasses, trees, weeds, molds, feathers, insects, and dust mites.
How are allergies diagnosed?
Many hospitals offer allergy testing via bloodwork. Studies have shown, however, that this method isn’t very accurate. We do not recommend this expensive testing in most cases. The gold standard for food allergy testing is a food trial, which will be constructed and supervised by your veterinarian. The gold standard for environmental and seasonal allergies is Intradermal Skin Testing (IDST).
The goal of IDST is to identify the primary allergens to which your pet is allergic, then follow up with desensitization injections. SylvaniaVET is the only practice in the area that we know of that offers IDST. We test for 36 allergens that are most frequently found in our area.
If you are worried your pet has allergies, and would like more information regarding testing, please contact SylvaniaVET to schedule an appointment with a doctor.
Solving and controlling skin problems can be a chore. Mostly it takes patience and persistence on both the clients and doctors part. Both Dr. Bob and Dr. Melanie have a strong interest in solving dermatology problems.
Not all skin problems are allergies of course. We will work hard to solve any problem that relates to the skin. Many dogs develop lumps and bumps on or under their skin. Therefore, it is common for us to determine what type of growth it is by examining a sample of cells taken from the growth by needle (Fine Needle Aspirate, FNA). This is the only way one can be certain that a growth is not a serious problem.