Immunotherapy Could Be the Solution For Your Dog’s Allergies
If allergens were to ask, “am I the problem” the answer would be yes
Dogs: they’re just like us! They need love and activity to thrive, they poo better in a squatting position and sometimes they hump someone they shouldn’t. Also, much like us, they can have allergies.
For some dogs and their owners, allergies are an all-year-round struggle. In these cases, repeated itch-relief shots can be expensive and ineffective. But there is a possible solution: allergy immunotherapy, a treatment which introduces allergens into the dog’s body via injections or drops under the tongue so that your pup can build up a resistance to them.
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“Allergy immunotherapy is the only thing that potentially could stop the allergies from getting worse but also directly addresses the causes of allergies,” says Dr Britt Levy, of the Pet Dermatology Center in Philadelphiaopens in new tab. Below, everything you need to know about the treatment.
What are dogs allergic to in the first place?
Dogs can be allergic to a lot of the same environmental allergens that we are. At the top of the list: trees, grasses, weeds in the winter or autumn and dust mites. Note: food allergies are generally treated differently from environmental allergies, so for the purpose of this story, we focused on environmental allergens.
How much do you spend on your pet per year?
One major difference between dog and human allergies, though, is that dog allergies tend to worsen as they get older. So if an itch relief shot works for a dog when they’re younger, it might not work as well for them when they’re older.
How can you tell if your dog has allergies?
“When people throw around the term ‘allergies’, most of the time what we’re talking about is atopic dermatitis,” explains Dr Levy. “In people, they call it eczema.”
Essentially, if they’re having an allergic reaction to something, dogs will usually get very itchy in specific places, such as their feet, their armpits or their groin.
Ear infections are also a common symptom of allergies, though it’s a lesser-known symptom that often gets misdiagnosed – and therefore mismanaged.
“If you have a dog that’s getting recurrent ear infections, 99 percent of the time it’s due to underlying atopic dermatitis,” Dr Levy says. For roughly 10 percent of allergic dogs, Dr Levy estimates, ear infections are the only clinical symptom they will have. “So they just keep going to the vet and getting drops or ear washes, but it’s never going to go away because you’re not managing the underlying cause.”
Is your dog a good candidate for immunotherapy?
Generally, Dr Levy says that a good client for immunotherapy would be a dog who exhibits obvious clinical symptoms for at least six months of the year. Most dogs are good candidates, she adds, and it’s not at all harmful to treat a dog who only has symptoms for part of the year. Maybe the better question is this: is the owner a good candidate for immunotherapy, are they willing to take on the associated costs and ready to make the effort to manage the treatment effectively?
“It’s more of a matter of is this something the owner is willing to do long-term,” Dr Levy says.
How long-term? Experts say you need at least a year to determine how effective the treatment will be for your pet. And if it is effective, most canine patients will need it for the rest of their lives. On the bright side, unlike some medical treatments, it’s all natural and is generally very safe, but mild reactions (itching, swelling at injection site) can occur.
How does immunotherapy for dogs work?
So you’ve determined your dog has allergies, now what? The first step of immunotherapy is to figure out which allergies they have. This can be done through an intradermal allergy skin test, which is generally considered the gold standard, or a blood test.
With both skin prick tests and blood tests, timing is important. Dr Levy recommends doing testing after the dog has been showing clinical symptoms for at least a year. “It’s expensive, and you wanna get your bang for your buck, so ideally you have a year to be exposed to different pollens, to see what the different patterns are.”
Once you’ve ascertained what’s in your dog’s unique cocktail of allergies – say, crabgrass and dust mites – a bespoke immunotherapy formulation is created. This can be given either as injections under the skin or as drops administered under the tongue. The dosing schedule is tailored to each dog and typically involves a gradual build-up phase followed by long-term maintenance treatment.
How successful is immunotherapy for dog allergies?
“We say to most people that 60 to 70 percent of dogs get 60 to 70 percent better,” Dr Levy says. She also estimated that 90 percent of patients will see some degree of improvement. While studies have shown that 10 percent of patients might see no results whatsoever, Dr Levy says she’s personally never seen that happen.
How much does immunotherapy for dog allergies cost?
Most of your costs will be upfront, for testing; skin prick tests and blood tests could cost several hundred pounds. And while price varies from region to region and practice to practice, a couple of vials of injections will usually set you back around £150-180opens in new tab depending on the number of allergens in the vial. A vial will typically last around six months.
Allergy immunotherapy is an amazing option for dogs who have allergies all year. But if they only get a little itchy for a few weeks in the spring, an anti-itch injection might be the cheaper, easier option. Or, you could always turn your whole life upside down and move somewhere far away from the villainous allergens. Antarctica sound good?
