Two months ago, we had to have our CKCS put to sleep, she was a good age - 14 years.  We were all very upset, especially my two children ages 10 and 13.  I said to the children we would look for a pup  nearer to christmas or early spring.  So I started to investigate on how to purchase a new little puppy, started reading this website to get new ideas on how to train it etc.  Three weeks ago I managed to track a pup down from a  breeder and made arrangements to go a see the pup this week-end.

Last week my daughter said to me that whenever she went into our new neighbours house, who owned two cats and my friends  house who just recently rescued two cats, her nose started to itch and started to get snotty. Then last week end she went for a 'sleep-over' at her friends house who has two dogs and said how snotty she was, especially when she was near to the bearded collie.

Oh no, this can't be happening...........panic.......... took her tonight for a road test at my friends who has a cocker spaniel, only there 30 minutes and guess what...........started to sneeze, and get snotty.  We just can't believe it......., had to ring the breeder to cancel appointment and now in a dilemma, can she really have an allergy to dogs after living with one for all her life.

I know the dogs she has been in contact with are not CKCS's which is what we would get, but I have no friends who own one to do a road test, and I don't want to buy a pup, and then have to give it up.  That just wouldn't be fair to the little one. Obviously I have had a night of tears from my two children.  

Any suggestions.......
Do any of you guys out there have allergies to pets and how do you control them?

Has anyone bought one of these low risk allergy dogs or is this just a myth?
Should I get her allergy tested, has anyone had one done?

annabelle

I think you should explain to the CKCS breeder the situation and go round to visit, taking your daughter with you.  She should sit next to the dogs and cuddle them and you should see if there are any reactions she has.  It seems strange to me that you have have had a CKCS for 14 yrs with her having no ill effects and yet now you assume that she will be allergic the puppy, when she was fine with your old dog.  I think you've over-reacted a bit...

To be fair, allergies can start at any time.  Some breeds of dog/ cat//flower/grass/husband ;) can cause a sudden reaction.
As the Other Poster has said, spend time and talk to your breeder...........*pass the tissue* ;)

two of my sons are allergic to cats but have lived with one all their lives.  The allergy lessens and their immunity improves (one of them also has asthma which has improved over the years).  Children who live with their animals have less allergies than children who don't.  It was on a TV documentary a couple of years ago.

We have Beardies as well with no adverse effect.

I hope it works out for you.

I have a shar-pei and a Tibetan Mastiff - so that's a medium sized not so hairy dog and a BIG hairy monster of a dog! Neither my own dogs or my friend's many shar-pei bother me in the least, but if I go to visit a friend who has German Shepherds, within 5 minutes I'm wheezing and my eyes/nose are itching and running. I can say hello to these dogs outside with no problem. I have recently developed asthma and have had eczema all my life which comes and goes.

She might be okay with the puppy and develop immunity to him/her. It could also be that the people she visits use stuff like shake n vac or plug in air fresheners - these always start me off. I'm now on an antihisthamine a day and both the preventer and reliever inhalers, but if it's damp outside it affects me more than the dogs do.

Top and bottom is I don't know what to say. Maybe go to the breeder's house and see how she is? Some dogs affect people more than others. My mum is worse than I am and her chest is fine when she looks after her friend's CKCS for 2 weeks at a time and she doesn't affect me when I visit.

Hi,
I dont know if this will help you but Poodles are good for people who have allergys. They dont mault - this is a fact. I have one you can test drive lol!

It is often the dander which causes allergic reactions rather than the fur so there is no guarantee that even the non-moulting breeds won't trigger allergies.

I developed eczema and a whole host of allergies when I was about 11 or 12. I became severely allergic to our pet cats but was fine with our dog, a BC. As time has gone on I have found that some dogs will cause my allergies to flare up yet I am fine with my own two dogs and most dogs that I meet. The ones that I have reacted to have always been shorthaired, although not every shorthaired dog causes a reaction.

When we got our first dog, I suffered with more frequent attacks for about a month and then they settled down again. The addition of a second dog had no effect whatsoever. I take an anti-histamine daily and use a nasal spray when the syptoms flare up.

It would really be best if your daughter could spend as much time as possible around the dogs to see if the symptoms will persist. A good breeder will encourage families to visit on a number of occasions before taking a puppy home to try to ensure (as far as is possible) that their pup is suitable for the family and vice versa, so multiple visits should not be a problem as long as you have pre-arranged a convenient time with the breeder.

>It is often the dander which causes allergic reactions rather than the fur so there is no guarantee that even the non-moulting breeds won't trigger allergies.<

True - and the saliva, which is why cats cause more allergies than dogs as they 'wash' themselves. I wonder if the traditionally clipped/non moulting breeds often cause less trouble as they are bathed more often than a lot of other dogs?

Strangely enough they reckon Tibetan Mastiffs are non-allergenic despite being so large and hairy. I can attest to the fact that I didn't react to my own puppy, his parents when I stopped for the weekend at his breeders or when I was in a smallish hall with 70 of them. Mind you, I wouldn't advise one if what you wanted in the first place is a lovely little CKCS!

It would be a shame to be dogless if you don't have to. One thing I would recommend though if you get a puppy is don't let it upstairs so at least your daughter has a portion of the house dander free. It can help minimize the symptoms a lot as we spend a third of our day in bed, over which time she won't be exposed. You can also nowadays get a special solution and shampoo for the dog with that minimizes the allergens, not to mention some fantastic Vacuum cleaners with HEPA filtration etc...

Hi, i would say dont panic, i am very alergic to cats, dogs and especially.
I had my first cat aged 5, when i moved out of home at 23 almost overnight i became allergic to her. I then got a kitten to start my new family off. It was awful, i snotted and sneezed eyes streamed, asthma got worse etc. But i hung on in there and after 3 days i was fine and lived happily alongside him for 8 years until he was knocked down :(.
A couple of years later i got a kitten for my daughter as she missed Jake so much, the same thing happened again, but after 3 days i must have become immune.
Now getting to the point:), 6 months ago i got my first dog (Boxer puppy) the same thing happened again but not as bad as the reaction to the cats, i just sneezed and snotted for 7 days. But that went away as well.
Clearly in my case it takes a few days to get immunity from them.
It may be the same for your daughter. I really hope this is the case. Take care.:)

Thank you all for your comments, Its made me feel a lot more positive. I think I would agree with onetwothree, I may have overreacted a bit.  Unfortunately the breeder I had arranged to see was going to be a 3 hour round trip,(kids wanted a pup sooner rather than later) so my daughter wouldn't have been able to go and see the litter on a regular basis. Our local CKCS breeder, who I spoke to initally won't have any pups now until early summer, so I think we are going to aim for that now.  In the meantime my friend who is away on holiday over christmas said I could have her dog for the week, I would do her a favour as her dog hates the Kennels and we could test my daughter out, it was my old dogs walking buddy, and my DD is used to her.

I would also agree with phoebe's comments.  Our CKCS went to the groomers alot, she loved it, and she was always clipped very short (I will make cav owners cringe, I'm sure my groomer gave her a number one), but thats how we liked her, she looked just like a pup, and my kids think my hobby is cleaning so possibly we didn't have a great deal on dander in the house.  I am not going to give up, my hubby thinks we should get her allergy tested, we have plenty of time now to get on NHS waiting list.

Thanks again
Annabelle

I GOT SPANISH WATERS AND BREED a litter in may a friend of ours was looking for a dog as a family pet and that the kids didnt get a reaction to,
so they came to look at gollie and play with her  and walked her the whole lot,then they came to look at the flatcoat retrrievers and this was april /may time out side in the fresh air with in sec the boys were rubbing their nose and snezzing to,

they had one of gollie pups and had no problems with the boys but as soon as the boys go training with mum and pup iin a hall the boys start up again,

so a spanish water dog was for them which has bought great fun and pleasure into the family again

My hubby is alergic to animal fur. We have 4 dogs and 3 cats.
He just goes through alot of hankies.

Hi Guys

Just thought I would post an undate.  Took everyone's advice and decided to try her at the breeders. She was ok, puppy arrived 10 days ago, and she is fine.  Just a few snuffles the first few days, but as she never puts the poor pup down it was'nt surprising. (her nickname over christmas has been 'the kennel maid').  She has even been better with the cats next door

We are now enjoying a wonderful tri CKCS who is now 10 weeks, and so looking forward to taking her out for walks.  Thanks again for all your advice

That is good news! Good luck with your pup :)