Can we overcome this dog allergy?

[canthelpitt]

My daughter (6) seems to be allergic to dogs. Particularly saliva. Her skin reacts if she touches a dog ball/toy. Mainly labradors as that's what we have in the wider family. Has anyone had any experience of this? Is there any way to live with an allergy and a dog? Can certain foods help reduce allergens? Any particular breed better/worse?
My daughter's well being is paramount but it would be great if she could be around dogs a bit more.

I have a friend that has a dog allergy. She got a cockerpoo as they’re meant to be ‘hypoallergenic’ and it’s not. So she has to give it to a rescue centre (specific spaniel one) - and they said it’s not unusual. Lots of ‘hypoallergenic’ dogs actually aren’t when they’re crosses. And sometimes even pedigrees aren’t either. Food makes no difference and neither does grooming.

Honestly, I’d stick clear of dogs both for any future dogs own wellbeing and your daughters! Sorry as that’s probably not what you wanted to hear…

If your daughter is so allergic that even being in contact with a saliva covered toy causes a reaction, it would be incredibly unfair to make her live with a dog 24/7. You could make her very unwell.

I have a severe dog allergy.

Thetes nothing you can do. They get worse with more exposure. Keeping it separate from her doesn’t make any difference. The allergen molecules are in the air and are sticky. So they stick to things for a long time.

With that level of allergy you can’t have a dog sorry. Even putting her on antihistamines 24/7 won’t help. With an allergic reaction you make 100’s of mediators and antihistamines only block the effects of some, they don’t stop the alllergy. They also have their own side effects and I promise the low level feeling ill with an allergy like that will really affect your daughter if you bought a dog

I was severely alllergic to dogs as a child. Similar to your daughter.
As I got older I began to spend time around short haired and wore haired dogs, to the point where I have a dog of my own ( border terrier). As a result I am less allergic to longer haired breeds. The only thing that has remained is a reaction to saliva so if my own dog licks me I can sometimes get a rash but I put up with that.

*wire

My skin reacted for weeks after we got our lab. It's settled now 3 years later. I just took Piriton for flare ups.

I think there's a difference between an adult choosing to live with an allergy (and all the symptoms that come with it) and a child being forced into it by their parents.

I'm allergic to dogs and I have 2 of them.
I take antihistamines daily and use a beconaise nasal spray.
I have no symptoms

My sister struggled when she was young but seemed to just get used to our dog and it stopped being an issue. she would still be allergic to other dogs though.

In my opinion you shouldn't purposely expose a child to a known allergy unless part of a specific desensitisation programme done for their benefit by health professionals.

An adult with a dog allergy can choose to get a dog if they so wish, and deal with the consequences, but to be honest it's a gamble not just with the person's health but also with the dog, because if things were to worsen, think severe asma attacks, then you wouldn't be able to care for the dog any more. It's not the same as something that you can just stop doing entirely like eating certain foods.

Your child is allergic, full stop. You may love dogs but don't make her feel sad that because of something out of her control you can't have one as a family pet.

I grew out of a severe dog allergy and just have minor sniffles around dogs now, which is manageable with anti-histamine. I'm fine with my own dog.

However, I also thought I'd grown out of my cat allergy so we got cats. It was a total disaster, the allergy came roaring back after a couple of years and developed into allergic asthma which was miserable and actually at a couple of points very dangerous.

I think meticulous hygiene on the side of the owners and anti-histamine before exposure could mean your dd can spend a couple of hours with your family's dogs more comfortably, but there is absolutely no way you should consider getting one in her home. This stuff can turn very bad very quickly, and you're also setting up a really difficult situation if you then have to rehome - your DD will feel that it's her fault.