Are They Just the Latest Fashion– or the Last Word on Allergy Suffering?

There’s nothing more difficult than being an animal lover and also being allergic to animals.  For these people, missing out on man’s best friend nearly causes as much suffering as the itching eyes, runny nose and sneezing accompanying their pet ownership.  Though there are many claims that certain breeds of cats or dogs are “hypo-allergenic”, this is sadly and empathically impossible.  There are certain breeds than may not be as likely to produce as much pet allergen as others, but there is no completely allergy-friendly variety of cat or dog.

Common misconceptions:

“The less hair a cat or dog has, the less it will aggravate my allergies”.  Unfortunately, the element that causes allergy or asthma attacks is not the fur of the animal, but a protein that is produced in the sebaceous glands in the skin, which in turn is deposited on skin and fur—but this allergen protein is also present in the saliva and urine of animals, too.  So, no matter how much hair a pet does or doesn’t have, it will always be producing allergens.

“Dog breeds with fur that resembles human hair or dogs that do not shed will not affect allergies”.  Many people insist that dogs like poodles or silky terriers will not cause allergic reactions because of the type of fur that they have.  Again, the fur type of a pet has nothing to do with its ability to irritate allergies.  Most of the time, people find that poodles and other “high grooming maintenance” dogs seem hypo-allergenic because they are the breeds than get bathed and brushed more regularly than other dogs.  Bathing washes away the oils from the sebaceous glands as well as loose fur and saliva build-up.

“Siberian, Rex and sphinx cats are naturally hypo-allergenic”.  This question falls under the same reasoning as that makes dog lovers think that certain breeds are hypo-allergenic.  People feel that the amount of allergen produced corresponds with the type or amount of fur the cats have, but again, it is not the fur that is the problem as much as it is the protein (called Fel d1 in cats) produced by the cats’ body.  Because cats groom themselves fastidiously, they stimulate the production of oils from the sebaceous glands at the same time that they smother their fur with saliva.  This might be part of the reason that cats trigger 70% of pet allergies.

“I wasn’t allergic when I first got my puppy/kitten, but as he got older, I developed an allergy".  In many cases with young pets, your allergies have not changed—but your pet has.  Puppies and kittens are too young to produce the amount of dead skin cells (dander) that older pets do.  As your pet grows up, your allergies may kick in as a response to an increase in dander.

What to look for in a pet

Hypo in the term Hypo-allergenic means “below normal” or “slightly” allergy-causing—though there are no allergy proof pets, you still have some options.  If you have mild to moderate allergies, you may be able to have a furry pet in your home, but there are some guidelines that you should use in order to find the best pet match for you.  All pets produce allergen proteins, but there are several factors that could affect the amount of allergen a particular animal produces.

• Male pets will produce more dander than females.  There is also evidence that altered pets (neutered or spayed) will produce substantially less dander.

• Find a 3rd generation Poodle Hybrid.  Dogs that have been interbred with poodles to reduce the spread of allergens via shed hair (poodles do not shed), such as goldendoodles, labradoodles, cockapoos, etc may not have as great an impact on allergies as a full-blooded shedding variety.  It is important to pick a puppy that is at least a third generation hybrid breed, because it usually takes a few generations before the poodle’s non-shedding fur characteristics are expressed in the puppies.

• Light-colored cats might have an advantage.  A research project in 2000 suggested that dark-colored cats tend to produce more allergen than light-colored ones.  (A more recent study found the difference between colors and dander production to be negligible, but the subject is still under investigation).

Breeds that may produce minimal symptoms (no scientific research has ever found one of these pets to be hypo-allergenic):

Dogs:

1.  Smaller “toy” breeds (Miniature Poodle, West highland white terrier, Shih Tzu, Bichon Frise, etc)

 2.  Breeds with little or no fur (Peruvian Hairless Dog, American Hairless Terrier, Chinese crested, shorthaired Chihuahuas, Mexican hairless, Whippets, etc)

3.  Breeds with low shedding fur (Bichon Frise, Maltese, Havanese, Silky and Skye Terriers, and Yorkshire Terriers, etc)

4.  Breeds with no shedding fur (Komondor, Puli, Poodle,etc)

 Cats:

1.  Siberian cats (these are long haired cats that are claimed by breeders and owners to be 90% less allergy aggravating than other cats.

2.  Rex Cats (both Devon Rex and Cornish Rex are breeds of cats that are missing the outer layer or guard hair layer in their coats so that their fur resembles velvet.  The missing layer of fur substantially reduces their shedding and allergy aggravating qualities.)

3.  Sphynx cats (These cats have no hair.)

 Additional relief techniques:

• After playing with your pet, make sure that you thoroughly wash your hands—especially before touching your eyes or face.

• Bathe your pets monthly.  Regular bathing cuts down on the amount of dander cats shed by 85%!  The same applies to your dogs.  Be sure to use a high-moisture, skin conditioning pet shampoo—or better yet, an anti-allergy formula.  There are even moist clothes and foam products so that you can “sponge bathe” you pet if they hate the idea of getting in the tub.  Some people even suggest using plain water to relieve dander.

• Keep your pet out of bedrooms.  Keep the door closed when you are not in the room, and try not to share your bed or sofa with pets.

• Run a HEPA filter in your bedroom or other rooms that you spend most of your time in.  There are even whole-house air filters that fit into your existing furnace filter slot.  Dynamic Air Cleaners makes both filter for individual rooms and for whole house coverage.

• Visit an allergist.  Most allergists will suggest that you avoid exposure to an allergen, but you can also check to see if allergy shots may improve your symptoms.