The results are in! Our vet called me this afternoon with the preliminary results of the allergy tests we had done on her a few weeks ago. I still have to pick up a copy of the report, but here's what I remember her allergens are from the phone call:
- Various types of grass
- Various types of pollen
- Various types of fungi/mold
- Chicken
- Corn
- Brewers Yeast
- Kale
I changed her diet to
Wellness Simple Solutions (Rice and Duck) a few months ago when we began suspecting allergies. We put her on a food elimination diet where she could only eat this hypo-allergenic food. Her ears cleared up almost immediately which was a relief. However, once the snow started melting, I knew her allergies were more serious. It was in April when we really noticed Clip chewing her paws, licking herself and scratching her itchy muzzle on the furniture, the carpet or with her nails. Now, a minimal dose of Prednisone seems to be providing releif along with her diet. The vet said it won't be uncommon for her to have flare ups along the way, where her scratching or dirty ears intensify, and then we will have to treat her for those flare ups. Hopefully now that we know her triggers, we can do our best to keep her comfortable. Once the snow comes back, we can take her off of Prednisone (I hope.) One reason to be greatful for living in the land of winter.
It is a relief that Clipper's line was removed from Dogs with Wings training program. It seems to keep showing up that it was the right decision to make. As these dogs are getting older, it seems problems continue to arise with them. It would have been such misfortune for a service dog user to discover their service dog had developed an allergy to something as common as grass, so short into their working career together. Clip is still a young dog, 2 years old, hopefully it's good health for this girl from here on!
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