Your Dog’s Allergy Test in 5 Steps
Choose your panel
Each option covers a list of allergens, known as a “panel”. Two panels are available separately. The complete panel combines both. If you are concerned about a particular pollen or ingredient, first check which panel includes it.
Prepare the kit
Locate the lancet, the card with five circles and the protective pouch. Read the instructions before settling your dog in a quiet place. Plan to collect the sample in the morning, before your dog’s meal.
Collect a few drops of blood
The kit instructions show where to use the lancet on the inner surface of the ear flap or on a paw pad. Place one drop of blood on each of the five circles on the card.
Let the card dry and send it
Leave the card to air-dry for at least two hours. Once dry, put it in the protective pouch, then in the pre-addressed envelope. Tracked delivery allows you to check that it has arrived.
Receive your report
The estimated turnaround time is 10 to 15 working days from the laboratory’s receipt of the sample. Postal delivery time is additional.
What Does the Laboratory Look for in Your Dog’s Blood?
The analysis looks for immunoglobulin E, or IgE, antibodies. These antibodies can recognise a specific allergen. For birch pollen, for example, the laboratory checks the dried blood for IgE antibodies that bind to this pollen. It measures the signal for each allergen in the panel, then assigns it a class from 0 to 3. This is the number shown in the report.
Benefits of an At-Home Dog Allergy Test
The same card is used to test all the substances in your chosen panel. A single sample can therefore be used to investigate substances as different as household dust mites and pollens your dog encounters on walks.
Collecting a Sample in Familiar Surroundings
You can get everything ready before calling your dog over, then settle in the place where your dog is most comfortable being handled.
Preview the Report Before Choosing
You can view a sample report for each panel. This shows you the name used for the allergen you are interested in and how the result is presented.
A Report to Share with Your Vet
Alongside each result, you can note when the itching occurs and how long it lasts. These observations give your vet useful context for interpreting the report.
Allergens Included in Each Panel
IgE Panel I · 64 allergens
It includes birch pollen, dust mites, chicken and wheat, among other allergens.
IgE Panel II · 61 allergens
It covers house dust, bee venom, oats and rabbit, among other allergens.
Complete Panel · 125 allergens
It combines both lists. The report therefore provides results for all 125 allergens from the same card.
Understanding Your Dog’s Allergy Test Results
The report lists allergens (pollens, mites, moulds, foods and others), each assigned a class from 0 to 3. Behind these numbers, the laboratory has tested your dog’s blood for IgE: antibodies the body produces when it mistakenly treats a harmless substance as a threat.
Three points will help you read the report without drawing the wrong conclusions: understanding what the test detects (an allergy, rather than an intolerance), what each class actually means, and why food results need to be interpreted with greater caution.
Allergy or Intolerance: What This Test Can Detect
The two terms are often used interchangeably, but they describe different mechanisms.
An allergy is an immune system reaction. The dog produces IgE antibodies to an allergen, and these antibodies then trigger inflammation on subsequent contact. In dogs, the signs mainly affect the skin: itching, redness, paw licking and recurring ear infections. Digestive problems may also occur when the allergen is a food.
An intolerance does not involve the immune system. The body has difficulty tolerating a food or one of its components, for example because it is hard to digest or because of a reaction to an additive. The signs are mainly digestive: loose stools, wind and vomiting. As no IgE antibodies are produced, an allergy blood test cannot detect it.
Please note: tests marketed as “intolerance tests” generally measure a different type of antibody, IgG. Their results are interpreted differently, and their ability to identify an intolerance in dogs has not been scientifically demonstrated.
Reading Classes 0 to 3 and Relating Them to Symptoms
-
Class 0: no signal detected
-
Class 1: low signal
-
Class 2: moderate signal
-
Class 3: high signal
In one sample report, a dust mite is listed as class 3 and chicken as class 0. The dog’s blood therefore contains a high level of IgE antibodies to that mite, with none detected for chicken. This scale describes the strength of the signal measured in the blood, rather than the discomfort the animal experiences: a dog with a class 3 result does not necessarily suffer more than one with a class 1 result. Symptoms are what matter when assessing discomfort.
A positive result alone does not explain itching either. IgE antibodies to birch suggest possible sensitisation to its pollen, but a dog can be sensitised without ever scratching. If your dog licks its paws when birch trees release their pollen, note when the signs start and when they disappear. Your vet can compare these dates with the result and the clinical examination to assess whether this is a relevant lead.
Food Results: How Processing Can Make a Difference
Cooking, drying, manufacturing dry dog food, adding sugars or additives: each processing step changes the structure of the proteins in a food. IgE antibodies recognise only small, specific regions of these proteins. Depending on the process, some regions disappear and others emerge, particularly during high-temperature cooking (the Maillard reaction, which causes food to brown).
The extract tested by the laboratory may therefore differ from what your dog actually eats. The difference between a simply cooked chicken breast and the chicken in manufactured dry dog food is rather like the difference between a fillet and a nugget. A dog with a class 0 result for chicken may therefore react to some chicken-based dry foods. Conversely, a dog with a high-class result may tolerate hypoallergenic dry food, in which the proteins have been broken down into fragments small enough to avoid recognition by IgE antibodies. A reaction may also be caused by an additive or an ingredient that is not listed on the label.
For foods, the test provides an indication, rather than proof. The reference method remains an elimination diet: several weeks (often eight) on a novel or hydrolysed protein, followed by reintroducing suspected foods one at a time in their usual form to see whether the signs return. The test primarily helps your vet assess a suspected trigger, identify allergens to avoid and, if needed, select allergens for desensitisation.