Golden retrievers - how much do they shed and how are they for people with allergies?

[Levithecat]

I may need to have a tricky conversation with my parents so would welcome some info from people who know.
DH and DS1 both have bad pet hair allergies and asthma. My parents, who live close by, have always had dogs but usually greyhounds, and DH/DS manage ok with antihistamines and not touching the dogs etc. Not great, but not terrible. My folks would now like to get a golden retriever. Obviously they can do what they want, but if retrievers are particularly bad then we probably won’t be able to visit them at home, and I’d like to make sure they understand this. Thank you

Very hairy, need a lot of grooming, shed ALOT, not a good dog for allergy sufferers.

My parents have always had golden retrievers, and whilst they are the most beautiful, gentle dogs (IMO), they shed absolutely tonnes of hair. As in you can't visit whilst wearing black clothes because one stroke and you are covered in it!

Thank you both, that’s really helpful. It’s what I imagined. Pants.

they have an oily coat, so as well as the dog hair they tend to bring other allergens (pollen) into the house.

I have a GR. it feels like he sheds constantly although there are definitely periods where he sheds a tonne more than usual. He needs lots of grooming. There is never not hair floating about somewhere including upstairs and that’s with him being restricted to our kitchen/diner. The hair sticks to clothes, travels out to the car, gets brought to my mums house! (She has no pets so it’s only from our dog) honestly there is just permanently hair everywhere.

Maybe try convince them to go for a golden doodle instead (golden retriever crossed with a poodle). As it’s a cross breed you can’t be sure it will be non shed but my golden doodle only sheds a fraction of what my sisters put breed retriever does.

They sound like possibly the last dog to have with allergies
I was going to suggest a labradoodle or similar to them, but they’re quite old school. I think that would be a good compromise though. Thank you.

What makes them want a golden retriever? Is it the personality? There are lots of dogs with similar personalities but none of the yeti like qualities I love greyhounds btw.

They do shed a lot, but it's not the fur that causes the allergy. It's the dander on their skin so the long hair shouldn't make that much difference if they use antihistamines anyway. They are lovely affectionate dogs though so I imagine the temptation to touch them might be too much to cope with!

FWIW my dp has dog hair allergy, and he is always much more affected by short hair than long hair dogs.

Was also going to suggest a goldendoodle. Lovely personalities, cute and often don't shed at all.

My heart sank when I saw the thread title, before I read that you weren't getting one. We don't have one but they have gorgeous coats and I know they shed a lot.

Everyone will knock the PP for suggesting a golden doodle, but I am allergic to labs but not our own doodles.

Please don't get a doodle/poo cross. You can't guarantee they'll get the 'poo coat and plenty of them shed bucket loads. If you want a no-shed coat go for a schnauzer or poodle.

Thank you. I’ll try and have a frank chat with them and see if they’ll consider any alternative. Wish they’d stick with greyhounds!

DH suffers from allergies and we have a goldendoodle ( apparently a bit of irish setter in there as well). He has had no problems and whilst ddog sheds a bit this is manageable with regular brushing- DDog looks much more like a retriever than poodle hence not that curly.

He has a lovely temperament and is a handsome boy. I know that some people are very down on crossbreeds, but he is a good fit for us and we get
lots of compliments about him when out on walks - sometimes people think he's a red setter or a special breed of retriever then get all sniffy when they find out what he actually is . I've started calling him a mongrel so I don't get any stupid remarks or looks.

Obviously can't guarantee allergy free.

I was a dog groomer for a few years. A golden retriever is defo up there with the worst dogs to get for allergies unfortunately! I wouldn't get a poodle cross either because you don't know what their coat will be like til they are older and some do still shed a lot! Best breeds for allergies: Bichon, Westie, Poodle, Maltese, Shih Tzu.

I didn't know about people being down on crossbreeds til I read this post. Why is that?