Would you rehome your dog if one of your DCs had asthma?

[Kayzr]

DS2 has had a pretty bad cough on and off for the past month. He has been to the doctors and I was told that he is 3, goes to playschool and its that time of year. He isn't ill as such. He is eating, drinking and playing just like a normal 3 year old. Just with a horrible cough.

But it still isn't clearing and he is back at doctors tomorrow to have another appointment about it.

A few people have mentioned asthma to me now saying it isn't normal for it to last so long and that it just seems to be a cough, no runny nose with it etc.

Today the boys have been with their Dad for dinner after school and XMIL dropped them home. She said that really I should think about getting rid of the dog.

Gresley is a golden retriever and we got him in Dec 2010. He is about 18 months old now. He like all goldies has a lot of fur!

I am swinging between thinking that if DS2 ends up having asthma, as awful as it would be for us all Gresley would have to go. DS2's health has got to come first.

But I can't help thinking that if DS2 has asthma then surely the fur etc would have caused this bad cough from the start.

Also my Mum has 2 large hairballs and DS2 practically sits on the Leonberger and he certainly isn't worse there.

Obviously if DS2 doesn't have asthma and is just unlucky at the minute with coughs then Gresley won't be going anywhere. I just feel a bit worried about everything and DP is away with work so can't talk to him about it right now.

Just wanted someone else to let me know what they think of it all.

Thanks and sorry it's a bit of a ramble.

[MrsZoidberg]

I have asthma and 3 fur balls. Can't tolerate cats though

Even if it's asthma, it doesn't mean the dog is the trigger. I would recommend keeping Gresley out of DSs bedroom though.

[Kayzr]

He doesn't go in the bedrooms. He isn't very keen on stairs. well he can get up but not down again so he stays away now.

[D0oinMeCleanin]

Asthma has different triggers. My mum rehomed my budgies when I was first diagnosed. Turns out I was allergic to cats, grass, dust and aerosols. Not budgies though. I still haven't forgiven her for that.

She kept the cat too, the bitch . I lived. I now own a cat. That I am allergic too

[ggirl]

my ds has asthma..much better now he's 9 and well under control
we had a bearded collie

we did wonder if we should get rid of her but luckily his asthma was well controlled by singulair and steroid inhaler

we did get a friend to have the dog for a 3 months and we cleaned and defurred the house . it made no difference to his asthma at all, so she came home

[G0ldenbrown]

No, i don't think I would, but i guess it's hard to say if you are not in that situation.

bit different, but My Hubby is allergic to cats and asthmatic. I had 2 cats before I had him, so in my view he had to learn to live with it. We bought an uber powerful air purifier and stopped allowing cats in the bedroom. Within a few weeks he was fine with the cats, he sort of got used to them.

I'd make sure you brush him often as well, outside to get rid of the looseness in his fur.

[Kayzr]

This all sounds good if he does end up with asthma. DS2 worships the ground Gresley walks on. It would be heartbreaking to have to rehome him.

[ggirl]

I'm allergic to dogs , only if i touch them though. Was a pita and had to constantly wash my hands when we had a dog but would have never got rid of her.
My allergy to dogs is now much worse since she has died.

[Sirzy]

As you DS hasn't been diagnosed as asthmatic I wouldn't worry about it yet anyway!

One of the asthma trigger for DS (2) is certain types of dog hair.

[PfftTheMagicDraco]

If my childs' asthma was triggered, or made worse by dog hair, then yes, I would rehome.

Both of my children have asthma, but it is not affected by dog hair. But I would rehome without a second thought if necessary. Asthma is serious.

[Kayzr]

Sirzy, I wasn't too worried until XMIL gave me the 'I need to be responsible parent speech' earlier.

[MaybeBBaby]

DS has query asthma (wont formally diagnose until 3+ here) was warned pets can make worse but so can pollen etc etc. for DS he has regular contact with the cat, which doesnt seem to bother his chest limited contact with dogs again no issue, but pollen is a nightmare. Can docs do an allergy screening kayz?

[DilysPrice]

I'd do what ggirl did and remove the dog from the child or the child from the dog for a trial period of maybe a couple of weeks, maybe more.

If his symptoms improved noticeably I'd rehome the dog, if not then not.

[hellhasnofurylikeahungrywoman]

We had to re-home our cats because of DD's asthma, there was no question when it came to the choice of them or her health BUT we did try every alternative first. She was skin prick tested so we knew there was an allergy to the cats that wasn't being helped by meds or all the other things like keeping them downstairs, HEPA vacuums etc. DD's asthma seriously affects her life and puts her in hospital every 6 or so weeks though, maybe it would've been different if it was mild asthma.

It took over a year for the house to become dander free though (our consultant had warned us it could take as long as 12 months for us to notice the benefits of the re-homing).

[MaybeBBaby]

Re xmil i would say the old chesnut "i'll bear that in mind" whilst silently thinking fark orf to the far side of fark.. (trying not to swear for lent!) as sounds pretty condescending x

[Kayzr]

BB, I'm going to see what DR says tomorrow. Up until now I've pretty much been told to get a grip as its that time of year, he's at playschool so picks up bugs etc from there and to go away by the drs and nurses.

But surely a cough shouldn't last so blooming long? We're both sleeping badly because of it.

[JaxTellerIsMyFriend]

My DD has had a cough for a while now too, and actually I took her to the Dr latst Monday... antibiotics again. Its 'that' time of year and the bugs seem to be lingering a bit longer.

I have 2 dogs and a cat. I am allergic to the cat, so I keep her out of our bedroom and vacuum every day (much to the cats annoyance!)

[BehindLockNumberNine]

If he has only had the cough for the past month and you have had Gresley for 18 months or so then I would not think Gresley is the trigger...

I think nursery could well be the blame... his immune system is fighting off all sorts of things atm as he is suddenly in contact with so many other children daily...

Even if the diagnosis was asthma I would only rehome the dog if allergy tests confirmed the dog was too blame for your ds's coughing...

And as an aside - I work in a primary school and we have had children coughing pretty much constantly since Christmas... There are a lot of bugs / lurgies doing the rounds...

[LowRegNumber]

If he does have asthma I would strongly recommend you get blood screening dine for allergies. Skin prick tests are, frankly, rubbish. They miss things, give positives in things that are barely an issue and do not drill down so do not give you enough information. You will not be offered it in the nhs and it costs about £120 private but you get sooo much more info such as sever reaction to cats but only border line to dogs or allergic to almonds but not hazelnuts (or whatever).

Because of paying for this test my brother was able to keep his pet dog as it turned out his trigger was actually the cat he saw once a month. The reaction would drag on and the dander would stick to clothes and re start it etc. Everyone, even the allergy people just assumed it was the dog!

If you are interested and you need it I can pass on the name of the place we got it done (i am sure there are others though) you literally send off for the kit, do the necessary at home and post it back

[MaybeBBaby]

DS' affects him more in the sense of he gets everything easier and once he has a cough etc struggles to shift it i wouldnt think it would be gresley, have there been any other changes that could trigger a reaction? X

[SarahJessicaFarter]

My DD is (we think) allergic/sensitive to dogs. We have two. Big hairy boys they are, just to make matters worse. She manages ok day to day, but introduce another dog (dog sitting etc) and she is instantly sneezing, green candles from the nose etc. So she copes daily because I keep the dogs outside most of the day, Hoover daily with a Dyson, wash the downstairs carpets often and damp dust (dusting with a wet J cloth) daily, no dogs upstairs and I Hoover upstairs a couple of times a week. I big help to her has been ensuring she has less clutter and virtually no cuddly toys. They collect dust like nobodies business!

[SarahJessicaFarter]

Also the boys go to be regularly groomed. Proper wash and blow dry at least 3 times a year. Makes a huge difference.

[midori1999]

No. There are a lot of what ifs in your post, but no, I wouldn't. I would find a way to keep my dogs even if it meant a drastic lifestyle change or even something like having purpose built heated kennels, because I believe that would be best for my dogs and they are as much my responsibility as my children are, not least as one would almost certain be PTS if I didn't keep him.

[YankNCock]

DH has quite severe asthma. Mine is very mild. We suspect DS will probably have it, but how badly isn't clear yet.

We have a dog now, and it's not causing any of us problems. When I was tested for allergies at age 12, dogs came up a 3 on scale of 1-4. The allergist said we should get rid of our dog, but I would never have forgiven my parents. I find it's only some dogs I have a problem with, and never ones I live with.

Even DH with his severe asthma doesn't find the dog triggers it. Cats, however, a few hours in a house where cats are and he's in A&E on a nebuliser!

[randommoment]

This year the coughs and colds do seem worse than usual, so I'd hold fire on rehoming the dog unless you get sound medical advice to do so.

[Blu]

I would get proper tests done to ascertain the trigger for asthma and any allergies, and if it was the dog, yes, re-home and have everything steam cleaned, etc.

Asthma is serious, the long-term treatment is quite poky stuff to be on, there can be long term affects of continual aggravation of the lungs - such as fibrosis.

Allergy wise, it isn't the actual hair, it is the protein on the hair - you can vacuum all you like, the proteins stay on the soft furnishings etc.