Dogs and Allergies

[BumpNRun]

Just wondering what the HUDDLE masses think or have experienced when it comes to dogs and allergies or allergic behavior?

 

I am very aware of the HYPO Allergenic breeds.....

 

But was wondering if anyone had their own experiences with this......Maybe you have allergies and have a dog...what size, breed, etc....

 

Have you had any adverse reactions....just trying to find out what real life stories are out there. Maybe you have had no reactions?

 

One of my children has shown to be slightly allergic to dogs through an allergist. We have had them exposed to dogs and my son does not show any reaction to the siliva nor the dander or hair.....

 

He does take medicine on a daily basis to cope with seasonal allergies.

 

We have been looking at a breed known as a Vizsla, a smooth haired, ( hunting dog w no undercoat and human type hair)

 

Any feedback will be greatly appreciated and welcomed.....

[Big Country]

Sugar Magnolia is the resident dog expert and hopefully will chime in.

 

I am not familier with the Vizsla , but based on this, be sure to have plenty of room for them and make sure that you get it out for plenty of regular exercise. The good thing is the description does say they are known to be reliable with children, a big plus in my book.

 

Do you have any other animals"

 

The Vizsla is a hunting dog and may be good with cats they are raised with, but should not be trusted with animals such as hamsters, rabbits and guinea pigs etc...

 

 

Regarding the allergies, I am not allergic to dogs, but those that I know that are generally are more allergic to longer hair breeds. Most common symptoms were sneezing, red burning eyes and running nose.

 

I also know many breeds are interbred with poodles (see labradoodle, etc.) as the poodle has actual hair, not fur, thus i is much less allergenic than purebreds. Just food for thought in case your son does show signs of allergic reactions.

 

Not sure if my input helped at all, but possibly some food for thought.

[BumpNRun]

Thank You Big Country...........I appreciate it......

 

We, my wife and I, are used to hunting dogs......We have no other pets at this time......We have gone through the small pets...fish, birds....turtles...etc...the other kids want a dog as well as my son......

 

From what research we have done, I believe the Vizsla has hunam like hair too....

 

Keep the posts up please........

[max]

I nor any of my family members have dog allergies but we do have a hypo-allergenic dog. We have a Bichon. He too has human style hair. He is a small dog and is very friendly with children.

[keggerz]

Just wondering what the HUDDLE masses think or have experienced when it comes to dogs and allergies or allergic behavior?

 

I am very aware of the HYPO Allergenic breeds.....

 

But was wondering if anyone had their own experiences with this......Maybe you have allergies and have a dog...what size, breed, etc....

 

Have you had any adverse reactions....just trying to find out what real life stories are out there. Maybe you have had no reactions?

 

One of my children has shown to be slightly allergic to dogs through an allergist. We have had them exposed to dogs and my son does not show any reaction to the siliva nor the dander or hair.....

 

He does take medicine on a daily basis to cope with seasonal allergies.

 

We have been looking at a breed known as a Vizsla, a smooth haired, ( hunting dog w no undercoat and human type hair)

 

Any feedback will be greatly appreciated and welcomed.....

as a person that has suffered with allergies his entire life I can say from my experience that LONG HAIR dogs are far worse then any short hair....

I am allergic to both Cats and Dogs and cats always F'd with me while only long/longer haired dogs did

 

oh and speaking of allergies, mine: dogs, cats, grass, trees, pollen, string beans, potatoes, chocolate, feathers, dust...I know I am forgetting a few others

[BumpNRun]

as a person that has suffered with allergies his entire life I can say from my experience that LONG HAIR dogs are far worse then any short hair....

I am allergic to both Cats and Dogs and cats always F'd with me while only long/longer haired dogs did

 

oh and speaking of allergies, mine: dogs, cats, grass, trees, pollen, string beans, potatoes, chocolate, feathers, dust...I know I am forgetting a few others

So short hair never really bothered you? Were or did you have constant exposure? and Thanks

[keggerz]

So short hair never really bothered you? Were or did you have constant exposure? and Thanks

when i was a kid for the most part we had german shepards (not exactly short hair but not golden retriever long(goldens really F'd with me)) and also had a doberman & lab mix and none of them ever really bothered me. They were all inside dogs so my exposure was pretty constant.

 

Now I have a Min Pin and she never bothers me but still get me around a golden or irish setter etc and I am F'd up good.

 

fwiw, the only time i can really remember the shepards bothering me would be when they started to shed but then again that was the worst time of year for my allergies too

 

edit: when i was a kid my allergies were so bad that during the spring and summer I had to get shots weekly and the rest of the year i got them every two weeks...now I just pop a claritn when needed

Edited May 9, 2008 by keggerz

[Avernus]

I've noticed that the only time I have ever functioned properly is when I lived in an environment where there was no cigarette smoke and no animals....

 

I am almost allergic to anything and everything...and migraines have become a mutated result of my reactions...even though I have found a way to curb them...but they are still a daily threat....

[BumpNRun]

when i was a kid for the most part we had german shepards (not exactly short hair but not golden retriever long(goldens really F'd with me)) and also had a doberman & lab mix and none of them ever really bothered me. They were all inside dogs so my exposure was pretty constant.

 

Now I have a Min Pin and she never bothers me but still get me around a golden or irish setter etc and I am F'd up good.

 

fwiw, the only time i can really remember the shepards bothering me would be when they started to shed but then again that was the worst time of year for my allergies too

 

edit: when i was a kid my allergies were so bad that during the spring and summer I had to get shots weekly and the rest of the year i got them every two weeks...now I just pop a claritn when needed

 

Really, really good stuff here....Just what I was looking for......I cant " Thank You" enough for the feedback....

 

Please shout out if you have experiences.........

[BumpNRun]

I've noticed that the only time I have ever functioned properly is when I lived in an environment where there was no cigarette smoke and no animals....

 

I am almost allergic to anything and everything...and migraines have become a mutated result of my reactions...even though I have found a way to curb them...but they are still a daily threat....

Can you share how you curb them as my wife has them severly as well as the allergies

[Sugar Magnolia]

Vizslas can be nice dogs. Be careful of the breeding. Some lines can be very timid and skittish. They are ultra sensitive and will totally shutdown with harsh handling, and get labeled as stubborn when they are actually shutdown and afraid to perform, with fear of making a mistake and being harshly punished. Some will shutdown with you just raising your voice. So you need to assess your personality to make sure it meshes. If you tend to be hot headed and lose patience easily this is not the breed for you. You need to expose them to new situations slowly and build their confidence early as puppies. They are clingy and so prone to separation anxiety. I could be wrong, but I don't think of them is super low shedding, but they are a short haired dog with no guard hairs, so I guess they'd be low to medium shedders I suppose.

 

Of the Eastern European gun dog breeds (Weims, Wirehairs, Griffons, Shorthairs) I like the Vizslas the best.

 

Be careful, very careful of Labradoodles and Goldendoodles. Breeding for profit and not temperament has turned out dogs who are total nut cases with health problems. I have trained many nice ones but way more crazy ones. They can have ADD, can be extremely hyper, borderline neurotic-almost untrainable. Also you can end up with one with a Lab coat and the Labs are one of the worst shedding breeds out there. Meet the parents, and aunts and uncles before purchasing puppies from a breeder. Ask about health clearances they've done on the sire and dam.

 

I have trained some really nice poodles. Some poorly bred ones are snappy, but I haven't trained any bad ones. They are extremely smart. I'd own one except I'm not crazy about there looks.

 

Portuguese Water Dogs are expensive but are basically high energy poodles. They kind of remind me of a mix in temperament between an Australian Shepherd and a Std. poodle and kind of look like a poodle. Most breeders are breeding responsibly but the breed is growing in popularity, so there are going to be bad ones out there now. They don't shed and need to be clipped like a poodle.

 

If you want to know more about breeds, I've trained just about every AKC breed out there and seen lots of the same breed come through my classes so feel free to ask me about others you are considering. I also research breeds for temperament and history/origin as a hobby. Since I specialize in aggression cases, there certainly is a pattern with breeds prone to aggression types of issues, especially dog-dog aggression.

 

The link that Big Country sent you to is an excellent one to research breeds. I get some exotic non-AKC breeds and will go to this site to learn of the temperament, so I know who to train it. Actually the Gordon Setter and Basset Bleu de Gascogne pictured on this site, I have personally trained.

Another great resource is a book titled "Your Purebred Puppy-A Buyer's Guide" This book does an excellent job of teaching you how to research breeders and ask the right questions to increase the prospect of you getting a healthy puppy with a stable temperament.

[Avernus]

Can you share how you curb them as my wife has them severly as well as the allergies

 

I use that umm neti-pot...it cleans out any sort of inflammation in my nose and I also tend to pour half a cup of hot water and put 2 teabags with chamomille in them and put it in the freezer for about a half hour or so....then I apply them to my eyes...preferably right below my bottom eyelid as that is where a lot of the inflammation starts....

 

and on top of that....I'll pop a benedryl if I need to hit the panic button...

 

also I have often popped a vitamin B2 pill during breakfast and when something feels funny, I pop a "flush free" Niacin pill...

 

there are all sorts of ways I use to attack them as it seems to evolve and think on it's own (the "Big M" as I call it because I am it's b!tch...I used to get one just by talking about them)...even when I took Claritin or whatever when it was 1st released to the market, it used to give me the Big M 20 minutes or less after taking it....

[The Irish Doggy]

Thing is with slight allergies, you can build up an immunity. I am horribly allergic to cats, but only slightly to dogs... Had dogs in the family my whole life. They don't really bother me so long as I keep the exposure down. The #1 thing for your boy's comfort - don't let any dog on his bed. Keep up with a OTC med too.

[Avernus]

Thing is with slight allergies, you can build up an immunity. I am horribly allergic to cats, but only slightly to dogs... Had dogs in the family my whole life. They don't really bother me so long as I keep the exposure down. The #1 thing for your boy's comfort - don't let any dog on his bed. Keep up with a OTC med too.

 

over the past 12 years I have built up only a slight immunity....it seems to evolve and adjust to whatever I fight it with which is always causing me to change up my strategy....