Quality of Life of Allergic Dogs Treated with Allergen-Specific Immunotherapy—A Retrospective Study

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The goal of veterinary intervention in allergic dogs is to improve their quality of life, which should be as comparable as possible to that of healthy dogs. Allergen-specific immunotherapy is an effective treatment in which allergic dogs are administered an allergen mixture to reduce or eliminate symptoms associated with subsequent exposure to the causative allergens. The study examined the quality of life of dogs receiving allergen-specific immunotherapy compared with dogs treated with other therapies. The quality of life of dogs treated with allergen-specific immunotherapy improved significantly. The dogs were significantly less disturbed at mealtimes (i.e., had better appetites and scratched less at mealtimes) and caused significantly less physical discomfort to their owners (from unpleasant odors to the impression of a dirty apartment) than dogs not treated with allergen-specific immunotherapy. Owners of dogs that received allergen-specific immunotherapy were able to significantly improve their daily activities (such as leisure, vacation, walks, work, hunting), significantly reduce their expenses (treatment costs, veterinary costs), feel significantly less emotional distress (less guilt, powerlessness, sadness, regret, fear, anger, disgust, rage, frustration), and experience less influence on relationships with family members and friends compared to owners of dogs that were not treated with allergen-specific immunotherapy. By using quality-of-life questionnaires, veterinarians can demonstrate improvements during therapy to gain owner confidence. ABSTRACT: Background: The quality of life (QoL) of dogs with canine atopic dermatitis (CAD) treated with allergen-specific immunotherapy (ASIT) was studied to determine whether the QoL of dogs treated with ASIT (AG) improved compared with dogs not treated with ASIT (CG). Methods: The power of the study was calculated in advance assuming that the AG would assess QoL 20% better than the CG. The CG consisted of 21 dogs with CAD and the AG of 46 dogs with CAD. Validated QoL1 (pre-treatment) and QoL2 (post-treatment) questionnaires were emailed to owners. Results: AG dogs were significantly less disturbed during mealtimes (i.e., had better appetites and scratched less during mealtimes) and caused significantly less physical discomfort to their owners (due to unpleasant odor, the impression of a dirty apartment) than CG dogs. Owners of dogs treated with ASIT were able to significantly improve their daily activities (leisure, vacation, walks, work, hunting), significantly reduce their expenses (treatment costs, veterinary costs), feel significantly less emotional distress (less guilt, powerlessness, sadness, regret, fear, anger, disgust, rage, frustration), and experience less influence on relationships with family members and friends compared to owners of dogs not treated with ASIT. Conclusions: According to our results, the quality of life of dogs treated with ASIT and their owners seemed to improve significantly.