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Allergy Shots for DogsThis page looks at allergy shots for dogs - allergy shots may be necessary for allergic dogs who do not respond to other conventional
dog allergy medication. How do allergy shots work? Are there any side-effects? Read on and find out.
Immunotherapy (aka hyposensitization, commonly called "allergy shots") is another type of conventional dog allergy medication. It is sometimes recommended to dogs who
do not respond to any other conventional allergy therapies such as corticosteroids or antihistamines.
Allergy shots for dogs involve weekly injections of antigens (foreign proteins to which a particular dog has shown allergic symptoms). The antigen(s) to be injected is
determined after intradermal skin testing.
Before the intradermal testing, the allergic dog must be free from all corticosteroids, oral or injected, and antihistamines for a specified period of time in order for the
test to be valid. In all about 60 different substances are tested for.
The theory behind immunotherapy is that, the allergic dog's body will become sensitized to the foreign protein(s) and will therefore exhibit fewer and less severe allergy
symptoms the next time the dog gets into contact with the allergen(s).
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The exact mechanism is unclear although there are several theories.
One theory is that allergy shots may cause a reduction in IgE levels (IgE antibodies bind to the allergens and mast cells causing allergy symptoms).
Another theory is that, like vaccination, immunization may be the mechanism in which a different class of antibodies is formed instead of IgE.
Yet another theory is that the body develops a higher level of tolerance toward the allergens as the body forms allergen-specific suppressor cells that suppress the
allergic response.
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