By Jeff Van Dalsum
A puppy can bring so much joy to your household. However, if someone in your family has an allergy to your pup, they can't enjoy his company without itching, scratching, and sneezing.
People who are allergic to puppies are sensitive to dander or saliva. Dander is the flakes of skin and scurf that are shed by every dog throughout the course of a day.
Many people believe that some breeds of puppy are less likely to cause a reaction in sensitive people. Poodle puppies seem to have a coat that is more like hair than fur, so it may be less likely to cause a problem. The Labradoodle was bred by crossing Labrador Retrievers and Poodles, to try and produce a larger hypoallergenic dog.
Dander tends to be shed with hair, so a pup with a thick fur coat is more likely to cause reactions in allergic people. If you're looking for a hypoallergenic pup, it may be a good idea to choose a breed with a short thin coat, such as a Greyhound or Whippet.
Hairless pups, such as the Chinese Crested Dog or Mexican Hairless Dog are also considered to be a lower allergy risk than most other breeds.
Keep in mind that there is also lots of variation between individual dogs. Just because your family member can cuddle one dog with no problems, that doesn't mean they'll be fine with all other dogs of that breed.
So as you can see, there really is no such thing as a true hypoallergenic puppy, because all pups shed hair or dander and all dogs produce saliva. However, if you choose your breed carefully, you can reduce the risk of allergic reactions but you're not likely to eliminate them completely.
People with allergies can still enjoy the company of a puppy, but it takes a little work.
Firstly, reduce the amount of hair and dander that drifts through your home. This means vacuuming the house every day, and washing your pup's bedding to remove excess hair and skin scurf. Bathe and brush your pup twice weekly, so he doesn't shed as much hair. Both these tasks should be done by a non- allergic family member. Keep in mind that if you wash your pup with the wrong shampoo, it can dry out his coat. The result is more skin scurf and dander, which can make allergies worse. Choose a mild, soap free shampoo, and consider adding a fatty acid supplement to your pup's diet, to condition his coat from the inside.
There are also medications that can stop your body reacting to an allergen, and these can be helpful in controlling the symptoms of an allergy to pups.
There are so many health benefits to owning a pup such as reducing your stress levels and encouraging you to exercise more. If you choose your pup carefully, and keep your environment free of dog hair, your allergic family member can also enjoy your pup without constantly reaching for a tissue.
Perfect Puppy Care is a website dedicated to helping your raise a happy, healthy, and well-behaved puppy. We have taken it as our goal to provide you with all of the information you need to know in order to make living with your puppy a memorable and fun experience. We want to make sure that you understand all of your choices for your puppy and that you will be able to make fully-informed decisions in respect to training, health, dietary, and general puppy care situations. We update our blog daily with new information on puppy care.
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