Does anyone have a dog with a family member with an allergy?

[DontBiteTheBoobThatFeedsYou]

My son has multiple allergies and desperately wants a dog.
He's made it his life's work, and 3 years down the line he's still desperate.

He's allergic to dogs - even the 'hypoallergenic' ones. He gets hives when the first touches his skin. So far is doesn't effect his breathing or eyes or nose. Just direct contact. He can stroke them no problem, cuddle them even.
But if he were the cuddle them with shorts and t-shirt he would get hives.

When our 2 year old goes to school we will have the time and money to have a dog. I'm in and out the house all day long so it wouldn't be on its own for periods of time, we would also employ a daily dog walker so it would never be alone for more than an hour.

Our hurdle is the allergies.
For DH and I it's a flat no because of the allergy.

But DS is insisting I explore all areas for example

"Is there something I can take?"

"Is there something we can wash the dog with to reduce the allergies?"

"Can we get a hairless dog"

The answers as far as I know is

No, antihistamines won't stop the hives. We have tried. It might reduce the itch slightly but it won't prevent a reaction.

Maybe, there's something you can buy to wash the dog with to reduce the dander. But is that bad/mean to the dog?

No. Hairless dogs are weird and it doesn't make any difference to the shedding of their dander.

I just wondered what other people's experience and opinions were from those who understand the world of allergies please and trying to be inclusive of those who want allergies.

And please don't suggest other types of pets.

We have other hairless pets and he adores them and looks after them so well. But the want for a dog just hasn't warned.

Not read thread but my friend whose son has allergies has a Frenchie.

I'm allergic to cats and dogs (no asthma though).

The first 3 weeks we had the cats I thought I was going to drown in nasal drip and had to sleep sitting up. I thought We would have to rehome them 😭 suddenly I just started masking.

If I touch them and then my eyes it's agony and if the lick me, scent me or touch me with their claws the hives appear to I wash the area etc.

Hopefully it will be the same with your DS and his hive reaction to skin contact will lessen and/or it will be 2nd nature to handle the dog in such a way/wear covering clothes that it's fine.

Tough decision to make

As he isn't wheezy with dogs you could consider having one but with obvious caveats.
I would say eg dog not allowed upstairs or on furniture, dog not to lick DS's face and DS to was immediately after stroking dog. He can still get a lot of fun walking and training the dog but would have to avoid cuddling.

DontBiteTheBoobThatFeedsYou oops apologies I misread it. Anyway my point remains the same. You know he is allergic so why bring a dog into the home? Being around a dog is one thing, living with one is another

@mynameisbrian

DontBiteTheBoobThatFeedsYou oops apologies I misread it. Anyway my point remains the same. You know he is allergic so why bring a dog into the home? Being around a dog is one thing, living with one is another

No, your point was "if it effects his breathing why would you even consider it?"

And my OP said he has hives which is fine if he is clothes but not if he wears shorts and t-shirt which is a far cry from what you were describing.

I'm allergic to dogs and cats, anything with fur really. I would never consider getting a dog. I get uncontrollable itchy eyes and sometimes come out in hives. My throat gets really itchy too which is quite strange. I'd love a dog but knowing my allergies it's just not a consideration.

What I would say is that I am def more allergic to some dogs over others. Yorkies I'm really bad with as family member has one of those. I haven't come across any dogs that I'm not allergic to. Def some that don't effect me as much. If I pet a dog I need to wash my hands right away. Some dogs I only need to be in the same room and the itching starts.

I would only consider one if I actually managed to come across one that I'm not allergic to which so far hasn't happened for me and I've come in to contact with a lot of dogs.

As a child when I stayed over with friends it was ok for one night if they had a dog but not forever.

What is worry about is getting one that you've had experience with and he seemed ok then he's not ok with the one u get. U hope it calms down and he gets a bit more immunity but it doesn't happen an you end up needing to rehome a dog that uv all fallen in love with.

What do you plan on doing with the dog if your sons symptoms get worse over time? Are you just going to give it away like age many lockdown dogs at the moment? It's not only your lives you have to consider it's the dogs!

I’m allergic to cats and dogs. I did have them as a teen and it was manageable and I seemed to build up a resistance. But I did always seem to be ill. When I went to uni despite having a crap diet and generally not looking after myself all that much I stopped getting ill all the time, pretty much overnight.
I am convinced living with them affected my immune system.
In my early twenties my boyfriend got me a low allergy cat but within a month of getting him I was rediagnosed with asthma after thinking I had grown out of it. And started needing inhalers more regularly. Now our cat has died ( he was old when we got him) I have stopped needing inhalers.
So in my opinion it just is nt worth it.

@DontBiteTheBoobThatFeedsYou it's really not a huge leap to say that your child could end up on steroids that would cause further complications.

You really seem to be pretty naive about allergies TBH.

Hives can very quickly progress to breeding difficulties and anaphylaxis - and it's not uncommon for people who have repeated reactions to end up with further allergies too.

Well I am not sure why your on here. You seem to have decided your getting a dog despite your sons allergies. He may not have breathing difficulties atm as he has been seeing dogs outside. However allergic reactions can worsen . My Ds had multiple allergies which thankfully he has grown out of most. However he has chronic rhinitis , itchy eyes and on daily anti histamine. It’s not nice and I wouldn’t purposely bring something into the house that could make his condition worse

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A HYPOALLERGENIC DOG!

However people with allergies may have different levels of reactivity to different types of hair and dander.

@DontBiteTheBoobThatFeedsYou you need to speak to an immunologist about how your son's allergy is likely to progress - some get better with exposure, some get worse.

You also need to think about the heartbreak and responsibility of getting a dog and then rehoming it because of a predictable allergic response.

Different people do respond to different dog breeds. Something like Discover Dogs at crufts is helpful for for 'testing' responses

it's really not a huge leap to say that your child could end up on steroids that would cause further complications.
It was a huge leap to assume I would be accepting and ok with giving my son constant steroids for the sake of a dog.

I'm not naive. The kid has multiple severe allergies, I'm constantly navigating the world for to to be inclusive for him. For him to be as normal as 'normal' as possible and allergies not to hold him back from stuff he would otherwise usually be doing and a family pet is our current tide.
It does not mean we will get one.
It does not mean I'm going in blindly not giving a fuck for the consequences.
And it doesn't mean I'm naive.

I want to research, assess, ask, explore and weigh up.

If I was naive, we would have a dog already.

Well I am not sure why your on here. You seem to have decided your getting a dog despite your sons allergies.

Thanks for your input.
What was it about my posts that made you believe I had already made up my mind and my posting was pointless because I was getting a dog anyway?

Was it when I said "Our hurdle is the allergies.
For DH and I it's a flat no because of the allergy."

Was it "All the other stuff you have said is exactly what goes round my head." when another poster had voiced all of my concerns?

Or was it me simply pointing out that a poster berating me for even considering taking on a dog when it effected my sons breathing was wrong because I had actually said it hadn't effected his breathing at all - so far?

Which bit?

you seem to have got hold of my error about breathing issues and using it to berate me at every post.

As someone who lives with a DS with allergies I am shocked that your even on MN asking whether a dog is a good idea. Eh? Your DC is allergic so plainly the answer should be no. If your DH has said NO why are you even still discussing it. I can only assume that its you that wants the dog and are hopeful your DS will miraculously recover from his allergies to dogs.

Oh and being inclusive with a DC with multiple allergies isnt getting an animal he is allergic too. Allergies are bad enough to manage without adding an animal into the mix he has a known allergy to.

My DH's brother has a dog allergy and he came to live with us and our Foster dogs for about 8 months. He will probably get a dog of his own in the future as he loved them so much. It was a pain to constantly clean and wash dogs beds, blankets..but tbh it's done regularly anyway. Can you borrow a friends dog for a week or two as a trial run?

I can only assume that its you that wants the dog and are hopeful your DS will miraculously recover from his allergies to dogs.

Oh absolutely.
Part of the magic was posting here first, otherwise it wouldn't work.

SirenSays this was our thinking. During lockdown we regularly looked after my friends Shih tzu, it was through this regular care that we learned that the reaction was hives.

We had the dog for weekends every now and then and during the week 9-5 for a couple of days every other week, so not exactly like real life but it was as good as we could get at the time.

I did feel the crazy need to clean constantly. And the guilt as well.

It’s just cruel to get a dog you might have to give away. You should be 100% dedicated to it working. Circumstances do change but that’s not the same as something you know is possibly a major issue and then doing it anyway.

Kids don’t need dogs. Yes they might really want one but the honest reality? They will become teenagers and be out playing football with friends all the time and just pat the dog on the head now and then and feed it some treats. Children are easily distracted and grow up. Dogs are 8-12 years commitment for adults, a child wanting one isn’t a good enough reason to get one and add in the allergies, how upset will your kids be if you have to get rid of it

I did, and it's me with the allergies.

I made sure I brushed the dog and kept him clean, I had antihistamines.

Limiting which areas of the house are for the dog to use helps.

But I never got major hives, my issues are with milder rashes and sinus irritation and mild wheezing.

So bad with cats though, that I cannot be in a cat home.

I wouldn't recommend it. I'm a masochist and lack meaningful company and contact with other adults, having a dog helped support me and this seemed more important than my allergies. But with a child it would be a no.