Treating Allergies To Dog Hair

[Zug Zug]

I have a dog hair allergy. Quite a bad one - I get itchy and snuffly and sneazy and irritated. For that reason I have curly dogs (bichon and a poodle x) because the wooly hair doesn't set me off.

But I've heard of people who get treated for their allergies, and I'm wondering if I did that, maybe I could open up a few different breeds to consider for my next dog.

I am a bit hesitant. I love poodles and think 'well it works so why change'. But I also love a lot of other breeds but have to rule them out because their hair makes me sick.

Has anyone on here been treated for dog hair allergies (and yes it is probably dander rather than hair but I've never found out for sure)? And did it work? Was it worth it? Was it effective enough that you can be around any breed now, or just some dogs or breeds?

[Erny]

I developed allergy to dogs - and given my line of work, that made things somewhat impossible. My allergy reactions were runny nose, runny eyes - BIG time, to the point that the tears in my eyes stopped me seeing properly (not good when you're working on problematic behaviours) and that I would find myself needing to blot my nose (because I couldn't sniff any more) at least once every half minute or so. The end of my nose was a continuous red and sore - not a good look and certainly uncomfortable.

I ventured to an allergy specialist doctor (conventional) who did skin tests and told me my allergy to dogs wasn't bad enough (???) to warrant desensitisation injections. He prescribed a cortisone based nasal spray. That didn't make any difference and I quit it when I began to have some rather serious and frequent nose bleeds. I rang the Doctor but basically he said there wasn't anything he could do.

I ended up visiting the Advanced Allergy Clinic (in Melbourne Victoria ..... but they have branches in I think every major capital City in each State). Their methods are non-invasive and are based on 'tricking' the mind to accept the allergen that you have been reacting to so that your body will stop reacting to it.

I needed two visits (or was it 3?) and I must say that it worked! I was reacting to a few other things as well (mould; the essence of cold wind/air; and a couple of others that I can't remember) and they treated me for those as well. Cold wind/air still 'gets' me and I do think I need to re-visit them, but I don't seem to suffer around dogs as I did.

Could be worth giving them a shot?

Thing is, how will you work this? I presume you'd test it out first before you took the plunge by taking on a dog as your own?

Edited May 9, 2010 by Erny

[Zug Zug]

Definitely. I can't afford to get a dog first, then do the allergy thing. What if it didn't work? I'd have to re-home the dog. This actually happened to me once many years ago I got an Italian Greyhound thinking they were low-allergy and I had to find it a new home. I still think about that little dog and wonder how she is. I couldn't go through that again.

I'd need to get the allergy treatment, then test myself out with other people's dogs until I was absolutely sure. Too risky otherwise.

So maybe I should get some treatment now, so I have plenty of time to test it. Worth thinking about.

Anyone else tried it?

(Phew! Dog just farted under the desk I'm typing at. I might head off to bed now! )

[Jake-K9]

My old girl used to have some pretty severe allergies, animals (cats and dogs) were one of them, but I was pretty young at the time.

I do remember her getting a series of treatments for it, I think they were injections, but whatever it was it apparently worked pretty well.

I have a mild allergy to cats, but it's only cats I don't know - and I will get used to cats that I tend to see frequently (say once a week, or live with them), so I've never bothered about trying to get it treated.

Hope you can find something that works for you!

[Costa's Mum]

I have allergies to certain types of animal fur/hair.

When we got our Vizsla I was sniffley, I had itchy eyes and itchy skin. About a week later it disappeared and I haven't had a reaction to Costa's hair since. It seems my body just adjusted to it or something.

Has anyone else experience anything similar?