Allergies

[rjw64]

Hi everyone,
I am allergic to cat dander, and I also have asthma and the cat dander exacerbates my asthma. But what about dogs? Are dogs known to be the cause of allergic reactions? And do they throw a lot of dander? I want to get a pet (not from a breeder, I'll get an animal from the humane society, animal shelter or even a rescue dog), but if I'm going to have the same problems I obviously won't bring an animal into this.

I plan to ask my doctor about this, but I was hoping someone here would be able to tell me their experience and/or the answers to the above questions. Thanks for your help!

 

[Dagna]

It's very possible that you are allergic to dogs. I'm allergic to both cats & dogs, but have 3 cats anyways. Singulair works wonders to keep my allergies under control.

Best suggestion to you, foster a dog for a rescue group. Most rescues will do a "foster to adopt" situation. Just let them know that you might be allergic to dogs and would like to foster one before adopting. For a breed, you may want to consider a poodle, scottish terrier, westie, yorkie, cairn terrier or a schnauzer. For some reason many people allergic to dogs can handle these breeds better than others. The terriers especially, with their double coat, tends to keep the dander to a minimum.