We are strictly a referral practice. You will need to have your family veterinarian contact us to make the referral.

We choose to work closely with your local veterinarian in order to get accurate health history and help with follow-up appointments.

In most cases, we are confident that your pet has allergies prior to testing. The purpose of testing is to determine specific environmental allergens that your pet is reacting to in order to formulate a treatment (allergy immunotherapy).

The test does not include food allergy. Skin and blood testing for food allergies are considered highly inaccurate. We recommend completing a strict elimination diet in order to accurately determine dietary items that are causing allergic symptoms.

Those patients being referred specifically for intradermal skin testing will need to have the following medications withdrawn prior to testing:

• Oral corticosteroids (Prednisone):4 weeks

• Short-acting injectable corticosteroids (Dexamethasone, Vetalog) : 4-6 weeks

• Long-acting injectable corticosteroids (Depo-medrol) : 8-12 weeks

• Topical corticosteroids (including ear medications like Otomax) : 4 weeks

• Antihistamines (Benadryl, Zyrtec, Hydroxizine, etc.) : 2 weeks

• Amitriptylline (Elavil) : 2 Weeks

• Oral progestins (Ovaban, etc.) : 4 weeks

• Intact female dogs must be out of heat for at least 4 weeks before allergy testing can be performed.

Your pet should be fasted unless your pet is a diabetic. Please contact our office if you have questions about a medication your pet is currently taking.

You can have your pet wear a T-shirt and/or bathe more frequently. Bathe with cool
(but not cold) water to help relieve itchiness. If these measures are ineffective, please ask your veterinarian to call us for further recommendations.

The results of the intradermal allergy testing will be available the same day as testing. Allergy immunotherapy (allergy vaccine) will be formulated based on your pets positive reactions. Typically allergy injections will be started within 1-2 weeks after testing.

Allergy immunotherapy is the only therapy that directly addresses your pets allergies to environmental allergens such as grasses, trees, weed pollens, molds, and house dust mites. It is also a very safe and effective long-term therapy.

You will be taught how to administer subcutaneous injections by either us or your referring veterinarian.

Your pet will not need to stay with us overnight. However, you should be prepared to leave your pet for a few hours for testing.

In some cases, there is almost complete cessation of allergic symptoms once the allergy injections are started. In other cases, there is a significant reduction in the symptoms, but other symptomatic treatments are necessary. The goal of allergy immunotherapy is often to eliminate or limit the use of steroids (prednisone, etc) for management of your pets allergies.

There are many ways in which to manage chronic allergies in dogs and cats. We will guide you through the various treatment options in order to find the right combination of treatment that keeps your pet as comfortable as possible.