hiya everyone just a quick question a friend of mine is considering gettin a siberian husky but her friend who she is living with has asthma and she wants to know if this would cause any problems i know that they do moult alot and i just wanted to know if you think it would be a good idea or should she consider gettin a breed with shorter hair any replies welcome

Length of hair has no bearing on allergy; smooth-haired dogs shed hair just as much, if not more, than longer-haired dogs. The only thing to do is to get the friend to spend several hours in a house where sibes live and see if she reacts to them.

However a dog-allergic friend of mine was okay in other people's houses with a non-allergic breed, but when the dog came into her house her allergies flared up and within 3 days the dog had to be returned.

Huskies tend to have a non-allergic coat. Last year at Paws In The Park in Kent, we were doing a fundraiser for our breed rescue - SHWA(UK) - when we were approached by a lady who loved dogs but was totally allergic to them. She spent the best part of two hours cuddling our huskies with no ill-effects whatever. I would suggest that your friend finds someone local with huskies and spends some time with them to see if she has a similar experience.
If she is in the London area she is welcome to come and visit our pack.

Mick

Hmmmm... Im afraid this raises alarm bells to me on many levels.
There are sooo Many of our breed in rescue and especially young dogs advertised on on-line pup sites that I'd be loathed to jump right in with encouragement. If it didnt work out it would be an awful situation to be in with one or other of the friends moving out? or the dog being rehomed?

Ive lived with Sibes all my life, I have Asthma and am allergic to cats and dogs.
With that hat on and with my Medics hat on, does your freind know what her 'trigger' is for attacks? all asthmatics are different..My trigger is wet cold weather.
My allergy however manifests itself in runny red eyed and runny nose, and occassionally if Ive been rough housing and rolling around with the dog then it does flare up when he's in full blow.(its the undercoat and not gaurd hair that sets me off)

What JG has said is particularly pertinent.Hopefully she will come along soon, but one member on this forum had quite a heartbreaking decision to make when even  having spent time with a certain breed  she brought her puppy home her allergies flared (when previously *visiting* this breed it hadnt happened)
So... spending a few hours with a dog is not testament enough!! especially on such an important issue.

Tough call.

Often it is the 'dander' rather than the coat itself that causes problems. I find my allergies flaring with my cousin's Goldens, but not if they have had a bath before we visit (the dogs not the cousin :-) ) . I have no problems with my own dogs at all and am fine with most breeds but I am allergic to my long haired moggy - but only if I touch him and then put my hands near my face, I can stroke him if I wash my hands afterwards. I've just bought two ragdoll cats, they sleep on my bed but I have no problem with them. You really need to get your friend to spend a lot of time with the breed to see if it will cause problems, she may have asthma without being allergic to dogs. My aunt has severe asthma and has been hospitalised on a number of occasions yet she has no problems living in the same house as the GR's that set off my allergies!

> but one member on this forum had quite a heartbreaking decision to make when even; having spent time with a certain breed; she brought her puppy home her allergies flared (when previously *visiting* this breed it hadnt happened)

That would be me. I am very allergic to cats and some dogs. When I react to a dog I get a rash on my neck and eventually sneezing, runny nose and if exposed long enough I struggle with breathing. I had a GR (fine with him) and was thinking of getting an italian spinone. I spent an hour with them at DD with no trouble so I went to visit a breeder. Hours with her dogs and still no problem so it looked good. I brought my puppy home and on day 2 I started getting an itchy neck. Day three I had full blown rash all over my neck. She was only 7 1/1 weeks old and I only had her for three days so going back 'home' to her mom and sister wasn't traumatic for her - was for me. I was heartbroken. Thankfully she came from a responsible, loving breeder who took her back and found a new home for her (she's grown into a gorgeous girl I must say :)) I felt horrible to put her breeder through that as well. The puppy was booked ahead of time so now she had one back at almost 8 weeks old. She was lovely about the whole thing and I was extremely lucky. When I did get a second puppy I never thought of another breed. I wasn't going through that again so I'm sticking with goldens as I'm fine with them.

But, it could have been far worse. If I had kept her until she was a few months old and very much a part of our family she would have had to suffer losing her home. It can work, I have two dogs and am absolutely fine with them. I would recommend that your friend try to live with a dog that she seems OK with for a couple weeks or at least a weekend.