Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. We release the results the next day. For example, a specimen received on Monday will be processed on the same day, and the results will be released to you on Tuesday. The exception is Saturday. If we receive a specimen from your office on Saturday, you will get the test results on Monday. The 24-hour turnaround time is available for dog allergy testing, cat allergy testing, horse allergy testing, Lyme disease test for dogs, Lyme disease test for horses, Echinococcus test for dogs, and West Nile virus test for horses.

Please, submit your information on our website and send us an e-mail requesting the kits. They will be delivered to your clinic preassembled and free of charge within 1-2 days.

No! Pet Preferred Diagnostics will provide you with a prepaid priority mail envelope. Just follow the instructions that are included in the kit.

Yes, Pet Preferred Diagnostics Early Cancer screening test is also available for cats, ferrets and rabbits and requires only 0.1 ml of serum or plasma.

The test is highly recommended as an EARLY SCREENING CANCER TEST for all dogs and cats at 5 years and older during the annual exam, and at 4 years and older for breeds that are predisposed to cancer.

You can put two kits in one envelope. You also can ship several serum samples in one box. Please make sure that the tubes containing the serum are appropriately marked and correspond with the information on requisition forms.

You can put two or more serum samples in one box. However, do not forget to appropriately mark the tubes with serum samples and include the corresponding requisition forms in the envelope. It's the same for all veterinary lab tests.

No. We do not require a cool pack.

It is not a problem. Please, keep the serum sample refrigerated and ship it at your convenience. The serum sample can stay in refrigerator at +4C for up to a week.

It is very sensitive. Our test detects 8 antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi at the early and later stages of infection in a single sample with 100% sensitivity. Please see the details for our Lyme disease test here.

We will send you an e-mail containing the results in PDF format. We can also Fax the results to your office upon your request. The test results are very easy-to-read, interpret and understand, because of the new technologies that we use for veterinary diagnostics.

Yes. We accept serum samples from other countries. Please contact us for instructions or visit: https://www.petpreferreddx.com/for-veterinary-care-providers for instructions for our international customers.

We require 1 ml of serum. Our 54-allergen panels require only 0.5 ml of serum, and the Food Intolerance (IgG) test requires only 0.1 ml of serum thanks to our modern technologies. These volumes include the spare amount of serum in case if we need to rerun the test.

The allergy tests for equines are available. We have the Pollen-only panel and a panel testing for environmental, insects, mold, fungi, mites and pollen allergens.

An allergy test detects the IgE antibodies produced by the immune system as soon as the immune system sees the target. Then antibodies developed to fight the allergen remain in the system for a while. After a certain period, pets can be exposed to new allergens (pollen, for example). This means that a new allergy test will detect some new antibodies on top of the antibodies that are already present. The third allergy test can also detect antibodies against mold, for example, if a pet was exposed to mold after a humid season. Thus, three different tests could yield three different results, but it does not mean that the results are wrong.

When we opened our laboratory in 2020, one of our goals was to make allergy tests affordable and available for all pet owners. We made this possible by utilizing modern scientific findings and a new generation of equipment, specifically designed for pet allergy testing.

The advantage of our technologies is that your patients can continue receiving their medications. Steroids and antihistamines do not affect the test results.

We discuss the elimination diet with the doctor that ordered the test. We recommend excluding all harmful food ingredients from a pet’s food. After a patient is stabilized (does not have allergy symptoms), the owner can carefully add back an ingredient and see if the pet is nor reacting. Let’s say that an allergy test revealed beef, pork and lamb as harmful. You need to recommend excluding all these ingredients. When the allergy symptoms are gone, the pet owner can add beef. If the pet is feeling good, they can add pork. If the after adding pork, the patient experiences symptoms, then the pork in the ingredient to avoid. We will always discuss with you a possible food for your patients upon your request. However, we do not provide with a food list since there are so many variants of a pet food on market. It should be your and your client’s decision what to give in every case.

Our allergy panels are universal for all regions. They contain the most common allergens for all regions. We tested and we receive serum samples from the entire country. We can assure that a dog from Iowa, for example, will never be allergic to palm tree if it never was exposed to a palm tree.

We can use up to 15 allergens for sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) and up to 20 for injectables (SCIT).

yes, there is a treatment plan for SLIT and SCIT that is provided with immunotherapy. We recommend repeating the allergy test in a few months after finishing the immunotherapy.

It takes up to 10 business days to formulate the immunotherapy.

No. We do not work directly with pet owners. Immunotherapy and test results are released to veterinarians. In some cases, upon a veterinarian's request, we can send the immunotherapy to a pet owner’s residence.

All that you need to do is start working with us. If you need to redo a test, we will be happy to do it for you. If you already have an allergy test result from another lab, it is not a problem as well. We can formulate the immunotherapy based on the test results obtained from a different laboratory.

We never require a contract with a vet clinic. Once our colleagues try our service, they stay with us.

It is not ELISA. We are using the latest multiplex immunoblot technologies for canine, feline and equine allergy testing. These technologies make our test very sensitive and specific.

We use monoclonal antibodies. However, we also have a custom-made polyclonal antibody that completely replicated the results obtained with monoclonal antibodies.

We have a cross-reactivity detector that shows a positivity in some cases. Thus, if the CCD marker is positive, yes, we re-run the test with anti-CCD antibodies. If the CCD marker is negative on our strips, there is no need to use blocking anti-CCD antibodies before the run.

All the tests that are offered by Pet Preferred Diagnostics are performed in our own laboratory in Alpharetta, GA. That and our technologies make us to be the only laboratory releasing all test results within 24 business hours after receiving a serum sample.

The Lyme disease test available in veterinary clinics (the SNAP test) is a quick test that only indicates "positive" or "negative" results. If the result is positive, further analysis is required, which may involve additional blood collection, expenses, and time. Furthermore, if the test is performed six or more weeks after a dog has been bitten by an infected tick, the SNAP test may not detect Lyme disease.

Our test detects 8 antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi at both early and later stages (six months and later after a dog has been bitten by an infected tick) of infection in a single sample with 100% sensitivity. With our test you can monitor the treatment. The test will show the decreased level of antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi in the case of a successful treatment.