What dog breeds are suitable for allergy sufferers?

Question

I'm asking this for a friend whose family are desperate for a dog but one of them is allergic to animal hair (fur!).

Answer 1

Ummm...a hot dog?

:-)

Answer 2

I am an allergy suffer, clean freak, and the proud mother of a Yorkshire Terrier for 1 year. They have hair not fur as the breeder said. They shed in the summer only slightly; it is like a human losing hair in the shower. I am very happy with him from an allergy/cleaning standpoint and all other points as well.
I suggest they get a larger Yorkie, rather than a "teacup" so that it is more compatible with children and has less chance of breeding health problems.

Answer 3

This really depends on how bad the allergies are for this person. If they suffer pretty bad, it is likely that no breed will be good for them. If the allergies are mild enuf, they can possibly consider getting regular allergy shots and go with a breed less likely to affect allergies, such as poodles.

This person should talk to their doctor about the degree of their allergies and what they might be able to do in order to keep them in check, or if they even can do so. A family member has such a severe allergy that she can't be anywhere near anthing with fur, at all.

Answer 4

Tell them to look into poodles (all sizes) and portuguese water dogs. Other breeds that can be good for allergy sufferres include single coated breeds like shih-tzus and yorkies and terrier type coats, like Kerry Blues or airdales or soft coated wheaten terriers.

There is a really neat book out there called "Sneeze Free Dogs" that is a guide to finding the right dog for people with allergies

Be wary of breeds like labradoodles and other novelty "poo" dogs. Just because a dog is half poodle, doesn't guarantee its going to have the poodle trait hair. There are some labradoodles that shed like crazy and are TERRIBLE for allergy sufferers. Its a genetic crapshoot what traits will be inherited from which parent

Answer 5

I suffer allergies to animals as well. We tried a bichon frise and that was awful...sweet dog but allergies were awful. The best thing for me has been shih-tzu and of course my shih-poo has been awesome (mix of shih-tzu and poodle). They don't shed and because the dog only gets to 10 or 11 lbs is probably why it's much better for allergy sufferers. Both the dogs listed above are GREAT with kids too. :)

Answer 6

My mother is VERY allergic to dogs, but could not live without them. She got a Portuguese Water Dog a few years back and simply adores him. In fact, her allergies were not sparked by this breed of dog. Not everyone is the same though. There is NO hypoallergenic breed because the dander and sometimes saliva is what causes the allergic reactions. PWDs dont shed and have less dander than a considerable amount of the canine population. They dont drool and are the cutest darn things you would ever see! They are great family dogs, and I have two of my own!

here is a picture of a puppy! http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.bluegrace.com/hana10mo.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.bluegrace.com/&h=481&w=555&sz=57&hl=en&start=4&sig2=JVrQA5qgAHkBKSMFL40-EQ&um=1&tbnid=vTR_kNx-jrGRaM:&tbnh=115&tbnw=133&ei=4rE0R8vEBoysiwH_4LDqCQ&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dportuguese%2Bwater%2Bdogs%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26sa%3DX

this is an adult http://www.mymac.com/img/blog/cade_new.jpg

they come in Black, White and Brown with white markings, or black markings (if they're white) and can be curly or wavy. The puppy in the picture is wavy and the adult in the picture is curly!

Answer 7

Hello Tifferz,

My recommendations are:

American Hairless Terrier
Hairless Khala
Peruvian Inca Orchid
Xoloitzcuintle

As you mention, the fur is normally the reason for dog/cat allergies.

The above breeds are fur-less, or virtually fur-less. The American Hairless Terrier would probably be ideal for anyone with an allergy.

A Search Engine search will give you plenty of information on all these breeds.

However, buying one of the above breeds will probably be quite expensive.

I hope this has been of some help and good luck.

Poseidon

Answer 8

even hairless dogs can cause allergens! I know of someone who had to rehome a few of her hairless dogs because of severe allergies!


Their best bet is to check out adult dogs and find one they do not react to. Breeds that tend to shed less, such as poodles, maltese, bichons, yorkies, cresteds, schnauzers, etc, tend to cause less reactions.

Different indivudual dogs can cause different reactions. My friend who had to rehome some dogs, has a few dogs (same breed) that she does not react to.

It will be easier to tell with an adult. Puppies do not produce much dander and allergens.. that is why you see people giving up young adults dogs who are 6 months to a year old because their kid is "suddunly" allergic.


Its not the hair they are allergic too.. its actually the protiens found in the dander, salia and urine!

Answer 9

My mum is allergic to dogs, she has a minature schnauzer - he doesnt shed and is a lovely dog. He doesnt shed at all - my mum did a lot of research on dogs that dont shed and their temprements and stuff. Poodles dont shed either - but you have to bear in mind that dogs that dont shed do need to be clipped periodically so thats an extra cost to factor in. My mum gets Dillon done every 2/3 months depending on winter or summer etc, and it costs about 20/30pounds a time depending on where you go.
We are both allergic too, but we love staffies so we just got one anyway and we have a hoover with a hepa filter!! It gets a bit sneezy but not too bad!!

Answer 10

poodle or a labradodel which is a cross poodle and labrador these are best as there coats are wool like a sheep and not hair so they wont be allergic or any dog with out hair

Answer 11

I would suggest a hairless dog species instead of a breed that doesn't shed.

Dogs that don't shed tend to be quite greasy and smelly...

Check out this site for hairless breeds:
http://sweet-lucys.com/hairlessdogs/

I suppose a bald dog sounds awful, but looking at pics some are really cute! They're not completely bald in most cases, but still have a very very fine fluff.

Get them to check it out with a doctor too though. I'm sure some children with alergies will never be able to have any kind of dog.