In Which Brisbane is Allergic to Even More Things

I've known for several years that Brisbane was allergic to poultry and eggs. We did an elimination diet when he was still raw fed, and determined that he reacted very reliably to chicken, turkey, duck, and eggs. Environmental allergies were also suspected, so he has been getting Benadryl and Zyrtec to help keep those under control. Still, he has ongoing skin issues that we just can't seem to beat.

A nice sunset picture just because.

I finally took the big (and expensive!) step of getting his allergies tested so he can begin allergy shots. This involved a really horrendous amount of blood being drawn from his neck. I guess for most tests they just need 3-4cc of blood, but for this one they needed 12cc of just plasma so they had to take way more than that. Poor Briz needed needed some time to recover after that. Then the vet had to send his plasma off to the allergy testing lab.

Several weeks later, we finally have the results. Some of them were expected, he tested positive for egg and flea allergies. Some of them were sensible, he is allergic to a variety of trees, weeds, and grasses. 

And some of the results were just plain annoying. Brisbane is apparently allergic to corn, barley, and sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes. They're in most grain-free foods. I feed him baked sweet potatoes on a regular basis. Also popcorn. He can no longer share a bowl of popcorn with me.

It's annoying, but between the new food restrictions and the allergy shots, hopefully he will eventually be much less itchy. This is exactly the reason I made the Dog Food Wizard.