i had decided this was a no no

[festiveface]

but...i so want to get a dog. mainly for ds1 who adores dogs. he has looked after mil dog for the last 3 years, she lives next door but is moving to spain and taking the dog with her.
he is a bit of a loner really i know that sounds awful) and i think it would have huge benefits for him but...
ds2 is allergic to dogs, some much worse than others. i think it is posssibly the saliva as well as the fur and comes up in hives. he also has asthma.
i keep toying with the idea of one of these dogs that are supposed to be less allergenic but maybe it would be a really stupid idea.
what do other people do? do they just accept it and buy a goldfish?

[festiveface]

it could be fleas! would that make him come out in hives?

because it's hives he gets, would you say thats a bad reaction? his dad just sneezes when it's a big hair shedding type dog.
there is no way i would put ds2 in any danger. but, by the same token i wonder if he would be fine with say a poodle or a shnauzer or something.
i might just be fantasizing there tho!

[tensing]

I'm allergic to Ant Bites, that brings me out in hives, as well as itching all over and if its a bad reaction, normally wood ants then I swell around the bite site.

Why not go to the GP and get him tested, its is usefull to what you are allergic too.

Also remember that anyone can suddenly develope an Allergy, and also you can grow out of them.

[Chandra]

Go to the GP and test him... excuse me if I smile... DS had a reaction to peanuts and I was in the waiting list for testing for 18m, asking for having him tested for dog/flea allergy is more likely to get you a response from the gp along the lines of "keep him away of dogs, ensure dogs have no fleas (pretty basic IMO) and don't allow the dog on carpeted areas or furniture."

There is a product you can put on the dog's coat to make it less allergenic, it takes a couple of weeks to work and you have to apply it every week when you wash the dog. DS is mildly allergic to dogs and I have to say that keeping the house free from dog dander entails so much work that if I haven't had the dogs for 5 yrs before DS was born I would have found them a new home.