Dog allergies?

ceewash

Is anyone allergic to their dog? How do you manage? Is it manageable or have you had to get rid of dog?

Person_one

ceewash wrote: »

Is anyone allergic to their dog? How do you manage? Is it manageable or have you had to get rid of dog?

I have dog breeds that don't shed their fur, so I'm not allergic to them.

Realistically, that's the only sensible way for an allergic person to have a dog. Anything else is too risky for both dog and owner.

What's the situation? Are you allergic and looking to get a dog, or do you have a dog and think you/a family member might have become allergic?

GwylimT

I don't suffer allergies around poodles, bulldogs and bichons, so we have a bulldog at the moment. Taking medication everyday for the dogs life isn't realistic, especially as many make you drowsy. Our first dog was a lab, we had to give her back to the breeder as it became apparent that I was allergic to her.

ceewash

In thinking of getting a dog. I have had one but it was about 10 years since it died. I have noticed that I am a bit sniffly and have sore eyes around some dogs. I really wanted to get a dog from the rescue centre and would hate to have to take it back.
What sort of dog do you have?

trolleyrun

Perhaps you could start by being a foster home to a rescue dog? Then it's not a permanent solution, unless you have no reaction to the dog you're fostering and fall in love

ceewash

I don't think they do that at the local rescue centre. I'll have to find out more. Is the list of non allergenic dogs reliable?

orlao

I'm allergic to animal hair, dander and saliva - it only developed in my thirties though!

At the time it was diagnosed I had 3 dogs, 3 cats (who all slept on my bed) and 2 horses so I had to manage it rather than rehome, not that rehoming was ever an option really.

For about 6 months I had prescription steroid cream and strong anti histamine tablets just until my skin improved and we were past the autumn shedding season - spring shedding had triggered the reactions. I also evicted the animals from the bedroom and put in hard floors downstairs which made a huge difference. Mind you, one has snook back upstairs these days and doesn't really cause a problem...

After that I took OTC antihistamines in whatever quantities necessary to control itching (loratadine which doesn't make me drowsy) especially at shedding season and I also seem to react less to animals I'm used to. If I'm around a strange to me 'slobbery' type dog I end up with red welts on me wherever they have touched and need extra AHs for a day or two but I acclimatise in a week or so.

For me, it's manageable, the important thing is to find the AH that works for you so that any allergy is kept damped down IYSWIM and obviously, going for a breed that is less allergenic might help if your allergy is to animal hair. I don't think that there is a reliable list especially if it turns out that you react to saliva/dander.

If you explain to a rescue, they might be able to let you spend extra time with a potential dog or even let you take it on trial. My rescues have always been on trial so to speak because they are coming into a multi animal household and you never know how the dynamics are going to work until they are home - in saying that the only animal I've ever had to return was because evil (current) terrier was harassing him mercilessly and it wasn't fair on the new dog because it was turning him into a nervous, understandably snappy wreck. I've never found that I couldn't manage my allergy for the time it took to calm down.

HTH.

RuthnJasper

Antihistamines are good (Loratadine, as mentioned above). I think you can also get an injection from your GP which lasts for a few months, but worth checking.

My previous dog, the late, great Jasper, was a Staffie - they have very short, smooth coats and even my brother, who has raging allergies to pet fur, wasn't affected in his company!

Good luck. x

elsien

ceewash wrote: »

I don't think they do that at the local rescue centre. I'll have to find out more. Is the list of non allergenic dogs reliable?

I don't think it's that straightforward.
Have a read of this which explains things a bit more. It's about labradoodles, but the general principles still apply.
http://www.labradoodletrust.com/allergy_info.html

teddysmum

Some time ago, I read that people are more likely to be allergic to dander than the dogs' hair, so moulting would make no difference in their case.

Person_one

ceewash wrote: »

I don't think they do that at the local rescue centre. I'll have to find out more. Is the list of non allergenic dogs reliable?

Basically, the breeds of dog that have hair that grows continually and needs to be cut to keep short rather than fur that sheds are usually the breeds that don't cause a problem for allergy sufferers.

The best thing to do is to spend some time in the home of somebody who has that breed of dog and no others, and see if you have a reaction.

Those dogs include:

Poodles (and don't be put off by the haircuts, the haircut isn't compulsory and underneath they're great dogs!)
Bichon Frise
Schnauzers
Wheaten Terrier
Bedlington Terrier
Airedale Terrier
Kerry Blue Terrier
Coton De Tulear
Shih Tzu
Lhasa Apso
Tibetan Terrier
Portuguese Water Dog
Maltese

The poodle crosses such as the labradoodles/cockerpoos etc. don't breed true so most of them aren't actually hypoallergenic, and to be honest their coats generally look like a complete nightmare to keep tangle free!

Whatever you do, don't even contemplate getting a dog that you have a reaction to and then using medications/wipes etc. to try and manage the situation. That's bad for you, because allergies can get worse as well as better and its not a good idea at all to be on constant medication when you don't need to be. Also, although its rare, anaphylactic reactions or asthma attacks can happen completely out of the blue when you are exposed to an allergen.

Its bad for the dog you get too, because there is always the risk that the situation will get worse, that one day you won't be able to cope and the dog would have to be rehomed. Just don't put yourself in that position where there are so many lovely breeds that you can have in your life without the risk!

The breeds of dog I've listed above don't tend to come into rescue as often as other breeds, but if you are patient and willing to travel for your dog, then you will eventually be able to get a rescue dog. My most recent two, it took just a couple of months of waiting and logging into dogpages.org.uk every day before they appeared on one of the rescue's lists and I drove 4 hours each way to go and get them!

Good luck, it sucks when you love dogs but are allergic to them, but we have to be sensible and not let our hearts rule our heads, for our sake and our dogs' sakes! Sorry for the essay!