Is there really such a thing as a hypoallergenic dog?

[Callani]

That's it really - is there or is it just a marketing tool?

DP is pretty allergic to dogs - gets wheezy / asthmatic around my parents sprocker, but she is quite a shedder and I was hoping that with other dogs it wouldn't be so bad.

We both LOVE dogs and we'd love to get one at some point but will we ever be able to?

The answer is NO but you still might be able to get a dog.

I have exzema, asthma and allergies but still manage to be around dogs! - don't have one of our own but had a foster dog for 7 weeks and go to people's houses with dogs. I can be licked by one dog and get immediately itchy/raised bumps but another one won't cause a reaction at all. It's usually the dander and saliva not the actual hair.

You should choose a low shedding breed - bichon frise, poodle, schnauzer - for a start but don't believe anyone who says a dog is completely hypoallergenic. You will find that the body becomes de-sensitised over a longer period but hard to test that out before actually getting a dog!

Maltese are also low shedding, they don't have an undercoat.

It depends whether it's the fur, saliva or dander that sets it off...you can be allergic to any or all of them.

Even non-shedding breeds can set off allergies if it's not fur that's the problem.

Test your DP with different breeds and see, non-shedding and greyhounds tend to be better. (no idea why about greyhounds, but lots of people have told me that they are)

Definitely test your DP with different dogs, my allergies are mainly of small fluffy/feathered animals and I quite happily grew up with labs and spaniels sleeping on my bed.

My DSis has a hypoallergenic Schnauzer and that makes me itch and my eyes and nose run if I give her a cuddle.

I have a friend who has terrible asthma.
She can't come to my house as I have 2 gundogs and a cat but she owns a poodle without any problems at all.

It's not the shedding that causes the problem but the dander apparently.

our friends are all allergic - wheezy, asthma, but have a poodle with no problems

Ds has had a huge reaction to spaniels, staffys and greyhounds but is fine with our Border Terrier. Bt's are low allergy but not non shed. It is sometimes about the type of hair. Different breeds seem to affect different people.

Thanks everyone - will just have to try it out I guess!

DW is allergic to our friend's dachshund but has no problem with our Yorkipoos.

DD is allergic to some dogs and DH has a cat allergy; we've had a poodle very happily for several years. He is genuinely non-shedding and we don't let him upstairs.

It does depend on the allergy, though.