5Strands Pet Food Intolerance Test for Dogs & Cats, 955 Items Tested

We ordered the 5Strands Pet Food Intolerance Test for our dog and couldn’t be happier with the experience and results. The test is designed for pets of all ages and breeds, and it helps identify food intolerances that may be affecting their gut health. All it takes is 10–15 strands of your pet’s hair so it was super easy! We placed our order on October 24th and received the kit the very next day. The instructions were clear and simple, and everything needed (including the prepaid shipping label) was included. They recommend downloading their app, which I did, but you can also receive results via email. Results are promised within 4 days of the lab receiving the sample, so be sure to factor in shipping time. They tested for a wide range of items — not just regular food but also freeze-dried options. The results are categorized into insignificant, Level 1, 2, and 3 intolerances, which made it easy to understand what might be bothering our pup. Our dog is part pit bull, and while they’re known for being tough, he has a surprisingly sensitive stomach. We’ve always fed him kibble and avoided people food, but now we understand why certain brands or ingredients didn’t sit well with him. This test gave us clarity and peace of mind. We highly recommend this test to any pet owner, especially if your dog has digestive issues or unexplained reactions to food. We were so impressed that we’re planning to order the human version for ourselves!

This test helped identified a lot of the ingredients in her that she was sensitive to. Runny to solid poo Tummy and paw redness cleared up Came to share the link and figured I’d write a review 2 years later. Grateful for this product!

This product really helped give me a lot of insight into the problems that my dog was having. The one food item I thought she was most allergic to. She wasn’t and it turned out what I had been feeding her she reacted to unfavorably. Now to try and find a new food without all her intolerances in it.

While the name is 5 strands you need more than 5 strands of dogs hair which can be a bit challenging. In one place it says you need the root and another place it says you don’t. I sent mine with roots as best as I could collect them. When you register your kit your account allows access to updates on the status of your test and a chat line is available for questions. I received articles by email to help maximize the benefit of the testing. Results arrived in a timely manner and included an extensive report of my dogs food intolerance items ranked by degree of severity. Instructions on how to read the report and what to do with results are included. I’ve been following an elimination diet for 8 weeks. So far no noticeable decline in my dogs itching. Ill stick with it for awhile longer as it can take some time especially since it’s impossible to eliminate all high intolerant foods without making your own dog food or for the size of my dog (116) spending a fortune in limited diet foods. I found that even with limited ingredient there are some ingredients I could not completely eliminate. I found the report helpful but feel defeated in discovering foods that will take care of the symptoms. 5 strands does offer nutritional counseling for a price ($99/half hour). I was hoping for more support than that. It’s also unknown how reliable the results actually are

Easy to use took about 2 weeks to get results. Given a list of everything our pug should avoid

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.

This is an intolerance test for hundreds of ingredients in dog food, it is broken into different types of foods. Unfortunately I only feed dog food for about 30% of my dogs diet and the rest is homemade dog food. So there are really no basic ingredients listed like chicken, or turkey, or cheese or whole vegetables. So it does not help me to know what regular foods she is sensitive to. For an additional fee they will test for Whole Foods. Which means I wasted my money in buying this test.

I bought this test during the Black Friday sales. I was happy I was able to get it on sale. I bought it on a recommendation from one of my sons dog trainer friends. Onyx has had tummy aches, very loud burps and stinky flatulence. I could see she was very uncomfortable. Holding her head down after eating. Giving her Gas X after meals. I saw her vet and he recommended changing her food. So we did, several times with no improvement. We submitted this test and results came back in a fair amount of time for processing. Her list was sickening, there were so many intolerances. I emailed this list to my dog supplies outlet store where we get our food. One women there, Bri, who I’m very grateful to have found. She also went through this with her dog and is highly knowledgeable. Was amazing. She went through all the ingredients for multiple foods and found one with the least amount of intolerances. My girl is now eating Nutra Source Kangaroo and green lentils. She has been on this food for about six weeks with definite improvement. We gave her gut guard from four leaf rover for 30 days and now have her on Protect for maintenance. I still see her burping and still has some flatulence, not stinky anymore and I no longer see her with a tummy ache like she had before. I think we’re still getting her gut back in shape so I’m giving her more time on this food. We shall see if I end up having to change it in the near future. I have been changing her food for over 2 years now trying to find THE ONE. This is not something that can be done overnight for sure. So I highly recommend this product and would definitely buy again. I have already recommended it to others and will continue to do so. Thank you 5 Strands!

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!

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 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.