Has anyone had their pup tested for allergies? If so, which test serum or skin? Did the shots help?

I'm debating testing and shots for Sebo. He breaks out every summer and I'm concerned about 3 rounds of steroids every summer. The vet says that his case is borderline for alternative treatments.

Looking for advice from those that have been there done that.

Bump

Luka has had both tests. The skin test gave us a clearer answer as to what kind of environmental allergies she has. We did the blood testing twice, and got different results each time, so it was confusing. At that time Luka was getting worse, her face was swelling up like a balloon on a regular basis in addition to her biting the fur off of her body. We had to go to a specialist to get the skin testing done, but I'm glad we did, as most vets think it is more reliable. She ended up being allergic to a ton of different hots didn't work well for her. We saw some improvement, but not enough to justify the price. We just did a better job of managing her environment, like cleaning her off with baby wipes after she comes in, using insect repellent, improving her diet, and adding in a natural allergy relief pill. Sadly, the thing that helped most was that we stopped going to the dog park. A lot of things she was allergic to were at our local dog park, which was one of those parks with super tall grass and only a few mowed walking trails.

Anyway, I would go with one or both test so you at least know what your up against. While the allergy shots did little for us, I know some pets that the shots have helped tremendously.

Thanks Melissa! It sounds like Luka had it bad. Sebo has spots he chews out his fur but only occasional scratching and no swelling. Since it only happens in summer I've ruled out food. Most of the grass he's exposed to is cut but that might not make any difference. We live in the pollen capital of the world. I've also wondered about the swimming, so much unknown in the ponds around here.

Pingo had the skin testing done. (He is a pom, but has allergies so bad that we couldn't NOT test him). He got allergy shots, but they do nothing for him. We just have to keep coconut oil on his skin, and take him in every 3 months for a steroid and cortisone shot. He doesn't have the long fluffy pom coat, because of his. We have to keep it REALLY short so that the coconut oil will reach his skin.

It doesn't work for everything, but the places that he is chewing the fur off, try rubbing it there, and the antifungal/antibacterial properties are good for helping it heal

We also feed him a teaspoon everyday, and that has gotten us down to the steriod shots every 3 months, instead of every month.

He gets coconut oil, fish oil and zinc as supplements. No grains. I haven't tried it on the skin as well but will give that a shot too.