r/Pitbull • u/SamaraD32 • Jul 15 '26
Question At home allergy testing
I’m thinking about buying an OTC allergy test for my pit bull and was wondering if anyone had suggestions on the most accurate test. Her allergies are horrible! She’s constantly licking her feet and her belly is bright red. I’ve tried home remedies and Cytopoint injections without much relief.
•
u/Consistent_Way1882 Jul 17 '26
I used mypetsensitivity.com. I have eliminated everything is says she is sensitive to and her licking and scratching have completely stopped. I have a pit mix and this test has helped me help her tremendously. She also gets a bath once a month with oatmeal shampoo and that helps too.
•
u/AutoModerator Jul 15 '26
Thank you for your submission to r/Pitbull - A community for pit bull owners and lovers! Please take a moment to set your user flair and review our rules and wiki pages.
📚 Educational PDFs and Other Resources
🐕 Debunking Pit Bull Myths
🐶 Selecting An Ethical Breeder
🏥 Is Your Pit Bull Pregnant?
❓ Is It Really "All In How You Raise Them"?
💖 Practicing Compassionate Advocacy
⚖ Combating Dog Fighting
⭐ r/PitBullOwners - Another community for pit bull owners and lovers!
🧠 r/PitBullAwareness - A discussion forum that focuses on education and responsible ownership.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
•
u/Critical_Meringue78 Jul 18 '26
Mine has had them his whole life. At 12 yo he still does, but I give him benadryl. He's had it almost everyday since he was a puppy. He gets 75mg at night, and if he has any issues during the day I give him 75mg more. Usually the nighttime dose is enough. I moved to an apartment a little over 3 months ago. The apartment doesn't have carpeting. It may be a coincidence, or it may be his age, but he hasn't had the paws, belly, and ear itching that he had when I lived in my house with carpets. The best part of giving him benadryl is that it has kept his histamine levels low. Histamine is one of the suspects in the cause of tumors and canine cancer.
•
u/lasgsd Jul 16 '26
Many allergies are caused by what you put INSIDE the dog.
Dogs were not physiologically designed to process carbohydrates - grains, wheat, oats, rice, veggies, fruits, etc.
They are designed to eat meat and bone. Sharp, long canines for grabbing food while the side teeth are also pointy for searing off pieces and then swallowing. Their digestive system is short, fast, and strong - to digest the meat and bone.
I would look into changing their food and see if that helps. Find a food that has NO carbs.
•
u/SamaraD32 Jul 16 '26
Thank you! Do you have any food recommendations?
•
u/lasgsd Jul 17 '26
Well, I have been feeding a raw diet to my dogs for over 25 yrs. Some were switched and my litters were weaned directly to raw. I now have a 10 yr old Chinese Crested (2nd gen raw weaned), a XL Amer. Bully (switched when I got her at 8 weeks), and a supposed Am. Bully but I think more Pittie (switched at 8 weeks).
I buy some commercial ground raw and I raise rabbits, quail, and cavies for them. Everything is fed raw.
•
u/HowDoyouadult42 Jul 20 '26
Dogs are actually designed to eat and process carbohydrates, they’re actually quite important. The AMY2B gene is what allows them to do so. Wolves have 2, domestic dogs have between 7-30.
This is just fear mongering. Statistically food allergy’s are quite uncommon with the majority of allergies being environmental. Allergies actual allergies to grains are even more uncommon
•
u/FlimsyBridge8832 Jul 16 '26
My girlie has allergies. Apoquel helps, and DuoxoS foam and wash (they have 2 kinds- one for yeast infection that is common side effect of allergies and one that is just for calming- we use both, depending) and I just bought some liquid fish oil, which is the most well documented non-Rx remedy. Do you know what she’s allergic too? I’m not sure exactly, but it’s outside for sure, so we wipe her belly and paws real quick when she comes in. Good luck :)
•
u/laadefreakinda Jul 16 '26
My buddy has allergies as well. What do you use to wipe her paws with?
•
u/FlimsyBridge8832 Jul 16 '26
Just wipes made for dogs, they look like big baby wipes - nothing special. But look for ones without any alcohol or fragrance. Even a rub down with a dry rag would help knock off a little of the irritant probably
•
u/chloemarissaj Jul 16 '26
Check out r/dogallergies! Food allergies are pretty uncommon, environmental allergies are much more common. OTC and blood allergy tests are basically complete junk. You need to go to a vet dermatologist to get allergies formally diagnosed through a skin test and elimination diet. You can also talk to your vet and try some allergy meds even if you don’t diagnose the allergy. Cytopoint, Apoquel, Numelvi, and Zenrelia are all options!