dogs for allergy sufferer

dazb75

I too meet quite a few of these on my walk. Although, I haven't met any who are snappy, from my experience they aren't exactly a playful dog. They always seem a bit grumpy!

lisawood78 wrote: »

In regards to Schnauzers temprament.

I'm sure there are lots of lovely ones out there, but we have no less than 3 local breeders of these dogs (all sizes) and all the ones I have met out on walks are snappy, growly, lunging to get to you (not in a good way!) and generally seem to be a not very friendly breed at all.
My largest dane (all 11st of her!) Is regularly terrorised by a miniature that seems to stalk our every walk, she is scared of it! One family about 2 mins walk away have a whole brood of miniatures atm and they are always barking, middle of the night, any time of day for n apparent reason.
Like I say, i'm sure they are not all this way, but that is my experience with them.

Fire_Fox

Unfortunately there is no such thing as a hypoallergenic pet as some people are allergic to the dander, some to the saliva or skin secretions on their coat, some find they are better when they change the pet's food or they change to an anti-inflammatory diet themselves. What would you do if you get a rescue dog or pedigree puppy and find you become more allergic/ asthmatic over time (this is VERY common)? Are you willing to return the puppy and will your children deal with that? Have you thought about setting up a dog walking service or volunteering to walk dogs for a local rescue?

Alternatively you might consider acting as a foster home, many fosterers become 'failed fosters' and keep one of the cats/ dogs in their care. Whilst fostering all veterinary costs will be covered, often all food as well. As you have children you would generally be offered dogs/ puppies that have come from another foster home rather than an unknown emergency case. Although most rescues do not rehome at Christmas I have heard of it happening, generally to an experienced owner that is well known to the rescue.

From the MSE/ DFW perspective, a 'second hand' dog will be a lot cheaper than a pedigree puppy - many reputable breeders put an enormous amount of time and money into having a litters once or twice a year, and will charge accordingly. Whereas a rescue will have had all their vaccinations and be spayed/ neutered, and only ask for a donation. :money: Please do factor pet insurance into the equation.

I posted the following on another thread
"You are not more likely to get a well adjusted dog by buying a puppy and training it yourself than by making a considered choice with the guidance of a reputable rescue. There really is no difference between distinguishing between a reputable breeder and a back street one and a good rescue dog and a nightmare one, except you are more likely to get the truth from a rescue than a BSB.

'Second hand' animals being problematic is a myth - the vast majority are up for adoption because of financial difficulties, an unwanted litter, stray, ex-breeding stock, bullied by the other cat/ dog, owner died, owner had a baby, moved house and left their pet, and so on. A small number are there because they have been abused, not socialised or trained and these would normally go to experienced homes only.."

If you choose a puppy born in rescue, or an adult that has been in a foster home for several months, you should get a pet that has been socialised and/ or thoroughly assessed with children and other animals. Whatever you do please don't get a dog from the freeads/ Gumtree/ card on a notice board. They are many stories of bare-faced lies being told: 'spayed' cats that suddenly give birth, dogs with terrible health or behaviour problems. If you are interested in a particular breed, there are breed-specific rescues or you can approach the breed club directly. :cool:

HTH.

sickasachip13

Hi,

We have a miniature schnauzer (Bertie)and various allergies between us - Bertie doesn't cause us any problems at all. He really doesn't shed either - unless being plucked / brushed. We have laminate floors in the whole downstairs and when we brush up there's no evidence of Bertie's existence!

Temperament wise, all the mini schnauzers we've met have been like ours - bright, laid back, interested in people and kids but in a really friendly way, keen to play, easy to train, confident but not boisterous - absolutely great all round. I would say that they do seem to be quite bright dogs and I would certainly advocate puppy training classes and proper training or I reckon they could get a bit naughty.

Also, meant to say - we brush Bertie outside every week or so but we also use clippers on him and keep his hair fairly short.

OnAndUp

I was going to suggest a Lhasa Apso or a Shihtzu? You can either keep their coat long or have it clipped short, Some people with allergies seem to do ok with them as their fur is more like human hair.

Raggs_2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Hairless_Terrier

A friend has one (only one in the country here), she small, fantastic personality (we've looked after her for a few weeks in total) obviously very few problems allergy wise. Only problem is you have to buy them clothing (it's the only dog I really don't mind seeing clothing on).