11 Q3 2023 | Animal Health Solutions
1. Glencross-Winslow, Juanita. "Getting to the root of nutritional allergies."
Veterinary Practice News, September 27, 2022. Accessed June 29, 2023.
https://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/nutrition-september-2022/
2. "The Truth Behind the Itch: Pet Allergy Myths Revealed." Tidmore Veterinary
Hospital, May 19, 2021. Accessed June 28, 2023. Available at: https://www.
tidmorevet.com/the-truth-behind-the-itch-pet-allergy-myths-revealed/
3. Burke, A. (2021, March 7). "Dog Allergies: Symptoms and Treatment."
American Kennel Club. Retrieved June 30, 2023, from https://www.akc.org/
expert-advice/health/dog-allergies-symptoms-treatment/
4. Newton, S. (2021, September 10). "What do I need to know about allergy
testing?" Improve Veterinary Practice. Retrieved June 30, 2023, from
https://www.veterinary-practice.com/article/what-do-i-need-to-know-
about-allergy-testing
5. "Allergen Specific Immunotherapy (ASIT)." VETDERM. Accessed July 3, 2023.
https://www.vetdermclinic.com/allergen-specific-immunotherapy-asit/.
6. "What every pet owner should know about food allergies." Clinical Nutrition
Service. January 27, 2017. Accessed July 2, 2023. https://vetnutrition.tufts.
edu/2017/01/food-allergies/.
7. Mount, Rebecca, DVM, DACVD. "The pros and cons of food allergy testing."
Veterinary Practice News. December 12, 2022. Accessed June 30, 2023.
https://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-food-
allergy-testing/
Recommending an
Elimination Diet
If the IDST or serological tests don't reveal anything
abnormal, or if you suspect that there may be a
food allergy, the best method for diagnosis is a
dietary elimination trial.
6
For this to be effective, it's
imperative to discuss the process with clients to
ensure full compliance.
Home-cooked diets are considered the ideal option
for elimination diets, but they are also labor intensive
and less likely to be nutritionally balanced.
7
Most
clients will probably prefer to use commercially
available prescription diets, available through your
Covetrus
®
Prescription Management storefront.
These diets rely on exclusively feeding a novel
protein for at least a month to see if the clinical signs
go away. This can be confirmed by putting the pet
back on the previous diet to see if there is a quick
relapse.
6
If the novel protein diet is helping, your
clients can begin adding different proteins one at a
time to try to determine what, specifically, their pet is
allergic to. This will help guide what they feed their
pet moving forward, and hopefully help ease any
discomfort from allergic reactions.
To help get pet owners started with an elimination
diet, send them home with hand-outs outlining the
approved products and timelines, so they can easily
order from home. Also make sure to set up recheck
appointments throughout the process.
