Pets for people with Asthma?

arctic lemur

Hi i live with my fiance and his brother Jimmy (who has asthma). We can't have any pets with hair or anything too big (as we've no garden as such). We have two goldie fish at the moment, Seán óg and Greville and i'm wondering is there any suitable pet out there that wont cause Jimmy to have an attack and that wont harm the goldie fish?

Sigma Force

It depends, small animals can cause allergies to people who have a sensativity and their hay and bedding can too so can cat and dog hair, reptiles or more fish might suit but reptiles require a long term commitment so might not suit. Was going to suggest a bird but some asthmatics can be affected by them. It's a tough one. Mabey a pair of gerbils housed in a well ventilated tank and use carefresh as bedding woodchips can be irritating to the gerbils and to owners. My cousin suffered from bad asthma but had a gerbil he had no reactions to her.

Irish-Lass

I have asthma but thankfully pets don't affect it that much. So we have 3 cats and 2 dogs and 2 foster pups and a new foster kitten coming tomorrow

gypsygirl

My Partner also has asthma and when we met he was allergic to dog and cat hair, We found the only dogs that didn't cause an attack were Bouviers & Poodles as neither one sheds hair (but they do need to be brushed) if you don't have a garden a Bouvier is not a good choice as they are a huge dog (very very gentle) but you could opt for a toy Poodle (still needs excercise) just remember to brush it regularly as its the dust that can trigger an asthma attack and try to brush outdoors if possible.

luckat

Has the asthmatic had pets before?

Main thing is to test it out by borrowing the desired breed, because you don't want to give a home to an animal, then have to rehome the poor thing because it makes someone sick.

I assume you're doing all the other stuff - no carpets, curtains that can be washed regularly, no wallpaper, sanded or tiled floors, something like a Dyson for hoovering (emptied by a non-asthmatic well away from the person with asthma), nothing that attracts mould, and if possible an ioniser or something to suck the pollen and dust out of the air.

If you have a duvet on the asthmatic's bed, replace it at least once a year, and get cheap polyester-filled pillows, and replace them every three months.

If this is too expensive an option, put the duvet and pillows in black plastic bags whenever you go away on holidays and stick them in the freezer while you're away - this kills the dust mites. Though replacing them is better, since it's not the mites themselves but their poo that actually makes most asthmatics wheezy.

Some asthmatics do fine with dogs and cats. An awful lot depends on the individual.

Sometimes, too, a change in lifestyle can help - definitely no smoking, and no smokers around the asthmatic either, and going for walks and eating more greens and grains (though sometimes not wheat) can help.

If you're buying a place, some asthmatics do better by the seaside.

FranknFurter

I have asthma too and use an inhaler.
Im not somone who plays by "the asthma rules" tho as I smoke, and pretty much do the opposite to all the advice, so any suggestion I make take with a bucket of salt

I found with hamsters, gerbils etc, it wasnt really the animal that affected me , it was much more the bedding I used for said animal. Woodchip etc definitely a no-no.
There are low dust (and no-dust) beddings, I just cant remember the names, one was like pellets made of wood that were dust-free, the other was also pellets but made more of a tissue-paper type substance.

And reptiles and aquatics are always a good choice, just MAKE SURE you do your reading first.

Maybe google "no-dust bedding" +Animals and see what you find.

b

krankykitty

Labradoodles are used in some cases as guide dogs for people with allergies - they're a cross between a lab and a poodle but don't shed apparently.

You could always get one of those bald cats

arctic lemur

luckat wrote:

Has the asthmatic had pets before?

Main thing is to test it out by borrowing the desired breed, because you don't want to give a home to an animal, then have to rehome the poor thing because it makes someone sick.

I assume you're doing all the other stuff - no carpets, curtains that can be washed regularly, no wallpaper, sanded or tiled floors, something like a Dyson for hoovering (emptied by a non-asthmatic well away from the person with asthma), nothing that attracts mould, and if possible an ioniser or something to suck the pollen and dust out of the air.

If you have a duvet on the asthmatic's bed, replace it at least once a year, and get cheap polyester-filled pillows, and replace them every three months.

If this is too expensive an option, put the duvet and pillows in black plastic bags whenever you go away on holidays and stick them in the freezer while you're away - this kills the dust mites. Though replacing them is better, since it's not the mites themselves but their poo that actually makes most asthmatics wheezy.

Some asthmatics do fine with dogs and cats. An awful lot depends on the individual.

Sometimes, too, a change in lifestyle can help - definitely no smoking, and no smokers around the asthmatic either, and going for walks and eating more greens and grains (though sometimes not wheat) can help.

If you're buying a place, some asthmatics do better by the seaside.

Yup we've done all you recommended as regards the house, the lads had a cat when they were younger and it set him off every time. we have a very bare minamilist house to make sure he's o.k.

SCI

I would go with a reptile.Here is a pic of my snow cornsnake fizz named by the kids .She is so tame and dead easy to look after.She eats 1 jumbo mouse per week when at breeding size/weight.

arctic lemur

Thanks Krankykitty. I'll look into the labradoodles, the guys would love a dog and weve a really big house and live across from a big park so he'd have loads of exercise. Just have to convince the future mammy in law (who dosent like animals!). The goldie fish are nice but theres not much action out of them!

doodles6

Poodles, irish water spaniels, portuguese or spanish water dogs, bichon frise and broiard all should be non shed as are the labradoodles (sometimes)

I am asthmatic myself and I find dust and cat hair the worst or old carpets.

I keep poodles and have no problems with them though in general I am not allergic to dogs. From time to time I breed doodles. I did a litter of golden doodles for guide dogs last year and this year have labradoodles due.

The labradoodles may be non shed but may not as they may take after the poodle rather than the labrador or vice versa. Poodles have wool rather than hair. The doodles can have either. In general if they have hair it is low shed

Non shed hair means grooming and maintenance. This in Dublin can be expensive

Labradoodles are big intelligent lively dogs that will need plenty of exercise regular grooming and an owner that can be round most of the day. If you have not kept a big dog before try borrowing a friends for a few weekends and see how you cope. It can be a lot of work

pwalsh

Iv'e had asthma all my life and had the same problems with pets; birds, hamsters, guinea pigs and cats have caused the worst alergic reaction, dogs have always been fine though and tropical fish.

arctic lemur

Water spaniels are nice but hard t get in Ireland (my next door neighbour in Cork breeds dogs). Met a couple on the train friday and they breed labradoodles for Irish guide dogs so i'm leaning towards that option!

condor

I have got asthma but that has never been a problem for me with having pets. I had all kinds of animals already, curently a dog and a cat. I am also in a lot of contact with cattle and horses.
But I know that I am mildly allergic to some animal hair. Did you think of having an allergy test done? That might give you some idication of what to avoid.

Rigsby

I have a tibetian terrior (which is simular to a shih-tsu). While I have no allergies myself, I read in a dog magazine that they are great for people who suffer from them. There is never any hair in her bedding or on the carpet. The down side is they need almost daily grooming ( as stated above ) as they are a long haired breed. As also stated above, see if you could get a dog on a trial basis. A lot of shelters will take back a dog within a week if you explain the situation.

peasant

As also stated above, see if you could get a dog on a trial basis. A lot of shelters will take back a dog within a week if you explain the situation.

Rather than shifting the poor animals around like clothes in the sales, I would suggest that you obtain a hair sample from your possible future pet and get a proper allergy test done on that at your doctor's ...and leave the animal where it is until you are sure that you can take it and keep it!

Saw an interesting programme about this on the telly recently. apparently the allergy/asthma is not triggered so much by the kind or amount of hair that the animal may or may not shed, but mostly by the skin and saliva particles (and certain proteins therein) that are attached to the hair.
It further expalined that most people are not allergic to a certain breed of dog, but because of the individual proteins react to some dogs and not to others ...regardless of their breed.
Based on that I would recommend individual allergy tests over generic breed recommendations.