5Strands Pet Food Intolerance & Environmental Sensitivity Test, at Home Gut Health Test for Dogs & Cats, 857 Items Tested, Pet Health Check, Results in 4 Days, for All Ages and Breeds

I spent a lot of time determining if I wanted to spend the money on this kit. I knew if it was accurate, the results would be well worth it. But I’ve also read the reviews that claimed they never got results, got incorrect results, or got bad customer service. After receiving the results, I couldn’t be happier that I got this comprehensive test! I’ve done a lot of researching about dog allergies. I’ve read that DNA tests aren’t accurate. My vet told me the only way to get real results was to go to the expensive specialist for expensive tests. Then I read that even blood tests weren’t always accurate. Diet testing takes a long time! I ended up ordering this test because I was so sick of not getting results with what we were doing. Here’s our story: Roo was licking her belly quite a bit, giving herself rashes. She’d occasionally lick her feet, and occasionally her armpits. We didn’t think much of it. Then it got to the point where she started licking her belly and armpits until she was completely red and raw. She increased her feet licking too. Then she also started scratching aggressively at her chin, opening her skin with her claws. It got to the point of lots of hotspots and skin infections. Googled it- sounds like allergies or intolerances. So we made changes to her diet, but not enough. We didn’t think it’d be from food she’s been eating for a long time, so we didn’t take away everything. So anyhow, we changed her kibble- gave her sensitive stomach and skin salmon. I had also been giving her a glucosamine chondroitin supplement since I had some left over from another pet, which I stopped at the same time we changed kibble. After a few weeks, we saw a lot of improvement, but she still showed symptoms. Maybe it wasn’t the dog food… We give our dogs dogurt (a frozen yogurt recipe). Maybe that’s it…. We stopped it and less than a week later, she got better, but still has some issues. Ok. Things are much better- but at this point we don’t know what to change. Only choices left were do nothing more and let her be slightly uncomfortable and deal with the occasional rashes and hotspots, send off an allergy test, or go to the expensive vet. All of these things may not have provided the desired results, so we picked the allergy test. I received it the next day and registered my kit. The whole process was so easy! I cleaned the dog brush so there wasn’t a hair on it from another pet and got a good size sample to put in the bag. Sealed it up, folded the box back up, put it in the mailing bag, and put the shipping label that was provided on the package. Kept the tracking number. I knew what day it was supposed to arrive, I couldn’t wait to get results. I tracked it the day it was supposed to arrive around noon, it said it had been picked up. By later that afternoon, I got a notification that the sample was received. It was a Friday, so I had assumed the weekend wouldn’t count in the 4 days. I was hoping for results by the following Thursday. Monday before noon I received an email that the results were in-after 3 days! And guess what was on there… Chicken, her original kibble had chicken in it. Chicken is also common in so many treats too. Glucosamine and chondroitin were also both on there. That would make sense for why we saw a sudden increase right before she got really bad symptoms. And why she had significant results by changing her food and stopping the glucosamine. Yogurt was on there… we saw improvement after stopping her yogurt. There were a lot of medium things she was allergic to that was in supplements we were giving, like brewers dried yeast and probiotics. Now that we’ve received results we can finally narrow down what food, supplements, and treats she can have. She’s so much healthier and there’s still more room for improvement! She looks happier and even 5 years younger! This test has been a game changer for us! Overall, I wasn’t a fan of how the results were listed. It’s grouped by severity of both food and environmental. For example, chicken meal was insignificant, chicken heart was mild, and chicken protein was severe. It made me have to search through the papers multiple times for multiple things. It would have been much easier if all chicken allergies were listed together, or if there was an option to filter alphabetically instead of by severity. Overall, this test was well worth it and my dog is doing so much better!

This was a lifesaver! My dog was still having digestive and skin issues after removing chicken. I did the test and learned that my dog was intolerant to lots of fruits and vegetables. She cannot eat pork, chicken, duck, and most seafood. The test showed all the trees, grasses, animal dander, flowers, and bugs she was intolerant with a rating of 3, 2, or 1. This information was so valuable, because my dog could tell me what was making her sick. Thank you for helping make my dog feel better and itch less.

Iv been waiting to leave this review to see how things played out and Im so very thankful of this product. My 8 year old Chihuahua has suffered from allergies the entire time I have had him (rescue puppy). Hot spots, dry flakey skin, pimple spots, loss of hair, dark skin, always biting and licking his feet, scratching, occasional yeast, I fixed his feet by putting him in booties every time we went outside so no contact with ground but that didnt solve the issues with the overall body. He has been on every drug/spray/shampoo you can think of prescribed by his dermatologist. He recently got moved from Apoquel to Zenrelia but after this last drug switch I was over it and felt bad for my little guy. 3 friends had mentioned using this allergy test previously. I have always been sceptical because of the mixed reviews and knowing a hair sample test is not exact/100% but i said the heck with it, it was on sale and i was spending all this other money why not? The test was easy, got results back in the expected time, and the app was easy to use. Breaks it down by food and environment. - Shocker, he is allergic to the grass and two types of trees in my apartment complex. - He is allergic to the chemical in the fabric softner sheets I used. - He is allergic to something in the greenies teeth treats I would give him - the skin lotion i used to help with dryness has mineral oil, allergic to that. - The WORST part of it all was on the “high” allergic scale, he is allergic to cranberries and brussel sprouts, two ingredients in the homemade venison dog food i made him for the last 6 years. So upset at myself for not doing this sooner… Changed fabric sheets, no more greenies, continued to wear booties on feet when we go outside, and changed the food which he is now eating JustFoodforDogs Turkey recipe. I also switched his blanket for a cooling blanket to help cool him down which he loves. He is still on zenrelia, however, the last 6 months have been the best the entire time we have dealt with these issues. All his hair is back on his feet and legs, his hair is growing back on his belly and neck, and his scratching has dropped by 80%. The biggest issue we have now is lite dryness and dandruff but im hoping with a shampoo change that will be the last aspect to deal with. Don't hesitate, don't question. Just do it. Even if its not 100% accurate, if your dog cant deal with a normal allergy test like my dog cant, this is the next best thing. I wouldnt incorporate any new foods, but you can At least eliminate anything that shows up on the report. My dog will never be allergy free completely unless he lives in a bubble but the quality of life is much better now.

These are great done it for 2 different dogs and has really helped me cut out things that make them itchy. It’s really easy to use and send of and good price for the amount of things they test for has really helped with itching and diet changes

Our 3 year old mixed breed dog was struggling with both environmental and food allergies. Sent the DNA My Dog saliva test back via regular mail - no expedited shipping - and didn't get the results for over a month. I did receive an email stating they received the sample and asked me to pay for expedited processing - which I did not. The DNA My Dog test gave me only 3 page report that listed 1 protein she was allergic to and 2 proteins with low allergen to. Then a list of 123 allergens our dog did not react to. The 5Strands brand had a test for both environmental and food, which we purchased. Used shedded hair collected by petting her for the sample and received it back in 4 days with no expedited options. We recevied back a 12 page report that graded her allergies by none, level 1, 2 or 3. It had 3 pages of environmental allergens (eg. ash trees, cat dander, hawthorn, etc..) and 6 pages of food allergies ( sorted by fats, grains, proteins, seafood, spices, additives and veggies.) We found the 5Strand test much more comprehensive and actionable. It is more expensive, but found it well worth it. There is so much information, it does take some time to digest, but printed out the results and took them to our pet food store and walked through options -starting with the proteins our dog could have, then sorting through the rest of the ingredients.

Easy to use and very quick results

Ok, so a lot of mixed reviews on this...here is my take on it. I was having the hardest time with my Frenchie. No idea what foods were making her so itchy! On a whim, I purchased this kit. I wasn't expecting much but I was hopeful. The report was 5 or 6 pages long and included environmental sensitivities. Its perfect!!! WARNING!! This is not going to pin point one thing that is causing the issues, it will give you a report listing the degrees of sensitivities to MANY things...which at first can seem overwhelming, but in the end is a REALLY amazing report. Does it work? Well...I cut out the foods that were high on the list and my Frenchie has not scratched since....you tell me :)

In order to activate the test kit, upon copying the QR code I was required to enter my Mastercard number and would then be billed $19.95 monthly. No way was I doing this so am out the $145.00. This was not mentioned anywhere when I ordered the kit. Rip off.