5Strands Pet Food Intolerance Test, at Home Sensitivity Test for Dogs & Cats, 825 Items Tested, Hair Analysis, Accurate for All Ages & Breeds, Pet Gut Health, Results in 4 Days

I got this out of desperation. I have 2 French bulldogs. 1 I knew already is allergic to chicken. The newest pup was having sores all over and thin hair. I kept trying to pinpoint the issue by changing foods. Trust me it isn’t easy to find foods for dogs that aren’t chock full of unnecessary things or chicken fat even if it isn’t a chicken food. Anyway, I got this because I had no idea what else to try for the youngest. It was very very easy. Just hair and send it off. Turned out my little guy was allergic to ALL proteins except beef. And, a litany of other things. I found a food that worked for both dogs and his hair is thicker, shiny, and most importantly the sores are all gone. I wasn’t sure about this but it has helped much tremendously. Photos are from before and after.

The 5Strands pet food intolerance test was easy to use and gave us helpful insights. We were able to eliminate certain foods and noticed our dog’s itchiness start to clear up. It really helped take the guesswork out of finding what works. Overall, a simple and helpful tool for dogs with sensitivities.

If you’re like us and have thrown good money after bad trying to help your dog get relief, stop the madness and start HERE. First of all, the speed of service is fantastic. I mailed Harriet’s hair sample on a Tuesday and the results were emailed to me the next Tuesday. The results are clear and easy to read (color coded by level of intolerance, grouped by “protein,” “veggies,” “additives,” etc.) Harriet is a chocolate lab-pit mix, known for allergies. She was perfect from age 5 wks til shortly after her first birthday, then she started having chronic ear infections. A short time later, the scratching and paw-licking started. My baby is now nearly 2 1/2 yrs old and has been miserable while we’ve spent money hand over fist at the vet trying to help her. We spent a lot on Apoquel alone ($160 the first month, $80 a month thereafter) only to find it didn’t help. Steroids helped at first, but no longer do. We tried probiotics. We tried CBD. We changed her diet to one recommended by her vet, to include kibble with lamb (and rice) or fish as the protein, w/some olive oil or an egg mixed in, and were told for treats to give her cottage cheese, banana, or plain yogurt. Nothing changed. According to these results, lo and behild, she has a level 3 (severe) intolerance to lamb, many types of fish, white rice, olive oil, chicken egg whites, bananas, AND cottage cheese! Plus a number of other moderate-to- severe intolerances to most additives and dyes. We are going to begin the elimination process recommended by 5Strands by preparing her food ourselves using what she CAN have, as well as making her treats, and go from there. Please note, you don’t HAVE to make your own dog food; there are other ways to approach this process; we just chose this method to hopefully bring her quicker relief, as she has severe intolerances to so many additives and dyes, and then we will start reintroducing offending foods as directed once her symptoms have resolved. I will update this review in 4-6 wks with the results. I would like to add, as far as the (relatively few) negative reviews, take them with a grain of salt, as it appears to me many of those unhappy folks gave a negative review because they either didn’t LIKE the results (“it says my dog is intolerant to everything!”etc), didn’t implement the steps to take outlined by 5Strands upon receiving the results, or simply read the results incorrectly. You’ll also read, “this isn’t legit science” or “my vet says it’s a waste of money.” That depends on the vet; just like human doctors, they have different opinions and I have heard from some vets who think that way, but also some who not only DO recommend this testing, they employ it in their practice. Our vet wanted $400-600 for a blood test for allergies. We’re not independently wealthy, so I’d rather start here and pay $88. Bottom line, if you’re like us and have spent boatloads of money trying to help your dog feel better with no results, start here. For the cost of a month of Apoquel, you can get to the root of the problem and take the necessary steps to bring relief!

We’ve done this test for ourselves, now it’s time to test our new dog. Highly recommend for anyone experiencing stomach discomfort as I found many sensitivities on mine (for humans) :) Only issue is the adhesive label was printed so the backing is sticky and not the return label so I need to go purchase packing tape

Our Vet recommended economical 5 Strands Food intolerance testing for our rare breed dog (Norfolk Terrier); and, then again, for our Westie Puppy. Westies are notorious for tummy and skin problems many of which are diet based. What you feed makes a huge difference in overall health and we needed to arrive at a diet which agrees with both pups. 5Strands allowed us to arrive at a diet which they can both thrive on - in less than 10 days - far faster than any in-office/laboratory testing which can be hit or miss. We just retested so we can fine tune their diet, and found, thru 5Stands customer service (they respond immediately) that they now offer testing for raw diets. It is gratifying to find such high quality and easy to access health testing at an affordable price.

Any traditional vet, internist or specialist will tell you that these tests are not accurate. These tests do not test ige food allergies, just so called intolerances. My dog has a lot of digestive issues with foods and I wanted to compare this test with another one I had done through another company to see just how close they are. I used the same hair from the same day. Both tests showed completely different results. This one made no sense to me because there are things like Quinoa showing as a level 3, but Quinoa Powder showing as a 1. There's no difference. The other was Salmon was a level 1, yet Salmon oil was a 3. Another was beef being a level 3, yet beef jerky a 1. There are things that should be on the test, but isn't. Chicken isn't even on the list, but chicken meal is. There are things like fish that I know 10000% my dog has issues, yet white fish shows as a level 1. People who say these tests work are most likely seeing placebo effect. The company even says in fine print, that the results are "temporary imbalances". If your dog is currently eating or has recently consumed the foods expect them to show as a level 3 like mine did. There's notes on the report I received about how it might not be the protein or food source causing issues and might be the additives so I should switch off of processed food onto home cooked or raw. I am already on a home cooked diet. I ended up getting an email from the company a week later stating that the results I received were wrong from a batch that tested incorrectly and I would be receiving the correct results within 24 hours. The next test was all different yet still made no sense. If they don't have standards to prevent mistakes to me its a huge red flag. Save your money and do a true elimination diet.

I just recently got a corgi who is now 5 months old. I bough this after reading about many dogs having allergies to certain food. Although this is not an allergy test, I wanted to get some insight to why my puppy stool isn't as solid I would like it to be despite giving him pumpkin supplement. I was also trying to figure out what food to keep him on, and wanted to know what I should eliminate from his diet. The test was easy to do. I brush my pup daily, so I just sent in the hair I gathered from his brush. It took nearly a week to get results. You can also add on additional test to the sample you sent in, which is nice. I added an environment sensitivity test to mine and got results within 3 days. Overall, I am glad I got this test. It turns out my puppy is sensitive to pumpkin and a lot of vitamins that are added in puppy food. I was also giving him fish oil for his coat and it turns out he's sensitive to pollock oil. I basically have to discontinue majority of the things I was giving him, but I am glad I found out now before it was too late. I will definitely retest in a couple of months and compare the results.

I did this 5strands test for my 11-year-old Great Pyrenees because he gets really intense skin and ear infections. The kit was easy to put together with simple instructions, and easy to ship out. Pretty quick turnaround for results which I received via email (attached screenshots of what the report looks like). He is reportedly intolerant to basically everything (all meat except fish), and I couldn’t find ANY food (even The Farmer’s Dog) for him that was free of his intolerances. I wish I knew what % of dogs have these intolerances because it seems unbelievable that he is intolerant to all these foods. I question the test’s accuracy, but I don’t have a way of checking that unless I pay for another test at the vet. Overall, it delivered results like it said it would. I think for a dog with so many intolerances, I wish they had more substantial resources to come up with a plan on what to do next and how to manage this level of intolerance.

Brilliant

I ordered this test after being disappointed in one from another company. I was extremely pleased with the quick turnaround in getting my test results, I was concerned there would be a delay as I was sending from Canada to the States, but it was much quicker than I anticipated. Collecting the hair sample was easy and painless for my dog which I appreciated. We have been dealing with skin issues for a while now and assumed it was food intolerances. It was. Reading and understanding the results was simple and I love having a printed copy I can reference when I cook my dog's food. The only thing is that I wish it tested for more fruits. I made a quick call to 5 Strands and spoke to a lovely woman there named Lauren and found out that there is a fruit & veggie add on. It was quick and super simple to add this on as 5 Strands keeps the hair sample for 30 days, so I did not have to send another sample in which was nice! I highly recommend this product and love that if assistance is required it is only a phone call or email away. We have started my dog's elimination diet and couldn't be more pleased.

I used this test for my dog who Had many allergies. It does say to retry after a certain amount of days based on how strong the intolerance is. Really helpful.

Wow! We were so thrilled to receive my dogs test results…7 pages (2 columns each) of allergens tested!! We’re beyond happy with the level of testing provided, quick response from customer service when needed, and only had to wait about 2-3 weeks in total from the day we placed the order to the day results arrived. Now we can relax and slowly change our dogs diet without having to wonder about this that or the other. Amazing! Thank you!

I sent off a hair-sample allergy test for my cat, hoping it would give me some guidance about his food intolerances. When the results came back, I forwarded them to my vet — and the response shocked me. My vet explained that this type of hair testing is not scientifically valid at all. The company uses something called “bioresonance”, which supposedly reads the “energy/vibrations” of the hair and matches it to foods. My vet said this has no scientific basis whatsoever, comparing it to trying to read someone’s aura. In their words, the results are “completely meaningless” and should be fully disregarded. The vet also said that companies like this can make any claims they want because they’re based in the U.S. and don’t need to prove their tests are medically accurate. That was really disappointing to hear, especially after paying for it and hoping it would help my cat. If your pet has suspected food allergies, the vet said the only reliable method is a proper food elimination trial using a hydrolysed diet for 2–3 months, or in some cases, real medical blood tests (which are still less reliable than an elimination diet). Hair tests like this cannot diagnose anything. Overall, I feel like I wasted my money and got my hopes up for nothing. I would not recommend this product to anyone — it’s misleading, unscientific, and gives results that even vets say are useless.