Prolonged drug withdrawal for antihistamines and corticosteroids cannot be tolerated. The dog is very young. The dog is a show dog whose hair cannot be clipped. Intradermal skin testing is unavailable. As a screening test to limit the number of allergens tested for in intradermal skin testing.
Intradermal skin testing Intradermal skin testing is the gold standard of allergy testing for atopy.
The animal is sedated and an area on his side is shaved down to the skin. On this shaved area a small amount of antigen is injected into the dog's skin. This is done in a specific pattern and order so that if the dog shows a small raised reaction the offending antigen can be identified. Reading the reactions and determining if they are large enough to create an allergic reaction in the dog is somewhat of an art. This is where having a veterinary dermatologist really pays off.