Looking for a dog suitable for allergies

Hannibal_Smith

Is it OK to post this in here?

We're looking for a dog. Nothing to do with Christmas or anything like that. We've been talking about it for a while, but the summer was going to be mental so it wouldn't have been a good time to bring a dog into the house.

I always swore I'd never buy a dog, I'd only ever rescue one. So we've been up to <snip> but there are none there that suit. We have two kids 8 and 10 and a husband with allergies. Although I'd love to rescue an older dog, I couldn't let the kids get attached to a dog with not long left. Though maybe we're being a bit short sighted with this?

So we called out to <snip>, who were exceptionally helpful, and so careful about who they release their dogs too. We explained about the allergies and that they were a little hit and miss. Sometimes he could be fine, other times he'd be wheezing and sneezing.

They suggested we Foster, see how my husband gets on with them. We really considered it, but again it would be very harsh on the kids, bringing in a dog that we'd have to give back.

So we decided against it and instead we decided we'd look at hypo allergenic dogs and just buy one. But we were going to be careful about puppy farms with the Internet etc.

We decided on a cockapoo. Because they don't shed as much. All the searches came back with this. We didn't realise they were fashionable dogs or on trend or whatever. We're just looking for a suitable dog.

We found one yesterday, the ad was beautifully written. The owner was so respectful and seemed to really care about the pups. They said they'd call us back when the pups were ready to view. I suggested my husband view the dogs first and meet the mum to see how he reacts. But the owner said no bring the kids and all down. We want to be sure that you suit the dogs too.


At first we thought aw, that's so sweet that they care about the dog so much. We looked at videos online about training pups, how to prepare your house for a puppy. How to prepare for the trip home and when you get there. We were smitten. We looked online in a group we found and the owner wasn't on the puppy farm list, we were set and waiting by the phone for a call to come see the pups.

But something just didn't sit right. Surely you let the person who is allergic view the dogs before throwing kids into the mix, who would fall in love with any pup, regardless of how their dad was suffering

So we searched again, and sure enough there they were. People were named by County, so when they didn't come up in the county they gave us, we were happy. But when we went down through the page, there he was listed in a neighbouring county, where the farm was located with over 100 bitches breeding . What they were going to do we imagine was pick up the dog from the farm. Settle it in at home and call us to view the dog in a loving family environment and we would have been none the wiser.

The way the ad was constructed, they way he spoke was so convincing. I know we were initially going to rescue a dog, and part of me thinks we should rescue one of these poor pups. But all he's going to do is take the money and keep that poor dog breeding away. The sad thing is, someone else will just buy the pups, no bother.

At the end of it all I'm just wondering, with kids aged 8 and 10 and a husband with allergies, is a dog off the table? Or how do we go about it?

Hannibal_Smith

Hannibal_Smith wrote: »

Is it OK to post this in here?

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At the end of it all I'm just wondering, with kids aged 8 and 10 and a husband with allergies, is a dog off the table? Or how do we go about it?

I'm not being smart but imo you go about it exactly as the rescue suggested and you foster a dog to see if your husband can cope. At 8 and 10 I think your children are old enough for a dog and old enough for you to explain that for now you're just going to mind a dog while he waits for his forever family to be ready to take him home. I'd explain that you're doing a very special thing by taking him out of a kennel situation and teaching him how to live in a home and what it's like to be loved and cared for by a family. I'd avoid telling them that you may or may not keep it and if it happens that you can it will be a wonderful surprise. If you can't you won't have let them down.

Rescues and pounds are overflowing with dogs abandoned and surrendered due to allergies, they are 100% right to be reluctant to allow you to adopt and I think it was a fair and very good idea to suggest you foster. That particular rescue is full to the brim at the moment I believe so I'd definitely go back to them.

You learned a good lessons about puppy farmers and don't forget cockapoos, cavapoos etc. are all coming from puppy farm or backyard breeders. There are no reputable breeders of those dogs in this country, meaning at worst puppy farmers, at best a dog without proper health checks and without any way of knowing if the pup you get is more cocker or more poodle. It's the poodle that's 'hypoallergenic' btw so you could consider a properly bred poodle (fab dogs) or a rescue poodle, although I'm not sure how reliable this 'hypoallergenic' thing is tbh.

Hannibal_Smith

Of course we did explain it to the kids fostering would be on a temporary measure and we never second guessed the advice we got from <snip> But we have to look at our family too. And if they find it too tough, we have to consider that as importantly as everything else.

Hannibal_Smith

Hannibal_Smith wrote: »

Of course we did explain it to the kids fostering would be on a temporary measure and we never second guessed the advice we got from dogs trust. But we have to look at our family too. And if they find it too tough, we have to consider that as importantly as everything else.

What was your plan if you bought a dog and your husband's allergies were too much?

I understand of course that you don't want to upset your children. That why I think it would be better to explain your only fostering and how wonderful that is and how much they can teach the dog to help them live a happy life, rather than buy or adopt a dog 'for life' and then have to give it up if it doesn't work out due to allergies etc. Honestly considering your husband's situation and that it not turning out well would be too tough on the kids maybe a dog isn't your best option? Personally I'd foster and hope for the best and hope they at least get something out of it but you have to do what's right for your family.

Hannibal_Smith

Deleted User wrote: »

What was your plan if you bought a dog and your husband's allergies were too much?

I understand of course that you don't want to upset your children. That why I think it would be better to explain your only fostering and how wonderful that is and how much they can teach the dog to help them live a happy life, rather than buy or adopt a dog 'for life' and then have to give it up if it doesn't work out due to allergies etc. Honestly considering your husband's situation and that it not turning out well would be too tough on the kids maybe a dog isn't your best option? Personally I'd foster and hope for the best and hope they at least get something out of it but you have to do what's right for your family.

That's why I posted looking for advice. The allergies are right up there in importance. Otherwise we would have picked up any dog and hoped for the best. We care about the dog too, otherwise we wouldn't have delved further into the people selling the one we were interested in. And further, why we pulled the plug on it.

The ad was so good and claimed the mum was their pet. Not the case at all and we would never have known. There are only 3 left apparently, so clearly others bought not bothering to check further.

Maybe a dog isn't for us as you say. I just thought there were other options out there, but as there aren't we'll just hold off.

I suppose it just comes down to how bad the allergies are. If a dog will even affect him and by how much. How much can he do to limit them? Could you mind a friend or family members dog for a little while maybe and see how he reacts. In truth hypoallergenic dogs don't really exist but some may have less of an effect than others depending on how much they shed etc. Non shed can need a lot of maintenance.

I'm sorry if I seem like I'm criticising you. I'm not at all. Just the only way to know is to try and how can you do that while keeping your kids and the dog safe from disappointment/upheavel.. maybe the borrowing method above?

It's very disappointing that these puppy farmers are allowed to do this. I wish more people explored further like yourselves and stopped lining their pockets. We can give out about them all we want but as long as people are buying they'll keep selling.

Hannibal_Smith

No, honestly I get that it's a sensitive issue. It is for us too. We're not the bad guys and it's absolutely a case of no dog rather than a risk of heart ache for us and the dog.

I was hoping that if we found a dog, my husband would go see it first and talk to the owner and see how he reacts. That's why we asked whether he should go there first.

Similarly with the shelters, again I hoped there would be a meeting period where the allergies could be tested. The two times he's reacted have been within an hour.

Maybe both hopes are naiive. But again when we looked further into it all, it seems to be that proper breeders allow you to meet the mum and the pups at different stages, before they're ready to leave. So I wondered whether that was a standard thing, rather than handing a pup over.

I was horrified when I looked down the list of puppy farms yesterday. All with 50-150 dogs breeding away. Apparently they've timed it just right so the puppies are available for Christmas, . Seemingly you can get planning permission to change a building into a puppy farm and you can registered it as a business name. It's horrendous.

Anyhow thanks for responding. We'll talk it over amongst ourselves again and decide from there..

aonb

Hannibal_Smith, if your husbands allergies kick in within an hour you shouldnt really have a problem - if I were going to buy a puppy, I would be sitting on the floor in the sellers premises, playing with the litter while we saw how they interacted with each other, with us humans, with the owners, with their mother etc. If you are looking to buy from a responsible decent breeder, they should not have a problem with you doing this. If you are buying from a responsible buyer, they will want to check you out too, so sitting in with the litter while you make your choice, and the breeder checks you out too, should give you time to see if your husband is allergic. I work in a shelter, we have an area where any prospective adopters can sit as long as they want with a dog/puppy, we encourage adopters to take the dog for a walk etc, to bring their children or any other dogs to see how they get on etc.

If your husbands allergies are very bad, then I wouldnt consider a dog. Not fair to husband or the dog really - while its trendy to say that some dogs are hypo-allergenic, there is usually some shedding going on. A cockapoo at the end of the day is a mixed breed - poodle/cocker - who knows which breed is going to be dominant in your puppy and how non-shed it will be when its grown.

Hannibal_Smith

AONB, that's what I was hoping for. If we could spend time with the dog we would hope to get an idea.

If the allergies were severe and kicked off everytime, we wouldn't even consider a dog. So I agree with you 100%. Some say it could be the hairs other say it could be the saliva.

Like I say, we searched for a dog that someone with allergies could cope with. Cockapoo came back as high on the list. It's not like we have our hearts set on a breed. We thought that finding someone selling pups their pet had and going to visit them in their home with the mum was a legit move. But it's only through digging we've learned the sneaky way people operate with noobs like us. We nearly missed it and nearly handed over a wad of cash to one of these creeps.

I want to avoid that at all costs, but bearing in mind the limitations of our situation.

Cherry Blossom

Just a reminder that posters are not permitted to name rescues in this forum or discuss their policies. Where you see rescues named, please do not quote the post, report it so mods can remove the name.

Thanks,
CB.

Knine

Look there is no nice way of saying it but nobody Reputable here breeds Cockerpoos etc & you mention breed, they are not a breed.

Also I have what are considered a hypo-allergenic breed. It is a load of Bull. I have 4 here. 3 of them I am fine with but the 4th leaves me itchy & sneezing. So even among the same breed, you can come across issues & you won't know until they live with you. So you got great advice above!

cocker5

A dog is an animal OP and there is no such thing ‘regardless’ of what’s advertised as hypoallergenic.. it’s the dander most people react to not the fur

I have allergies .. developed them 5 years ago .. I had a cocker spaniel for over 14 year .. no reaction .. but I can react to random dogs including a cockapoo (which again is not a breed)

There is no set rule for allergies your husband can react to one dog and not another .. for no apparent reason .. it’s that simple.

Foster a dog .. explain it to the kids their old enough to understand .. mostly importantly it’s he fairest thing on the dog .. go from there

Buying a puppy farmed / back yard breed cockapoo with a person with allergies.. recipe for disaster ... for the dog and for the kids

Foster .. you’ll know straight away

Hannibal_Smith

Knine wrote: »

Look there is no nice way of saying it but nobody Reputable here breeds Cockerpoos etc & you mention breed, they are not a breed.

Also I have what are considered a hypo-allergenic breed. It is a load of Bull. I have 4 here. 3 of them I am fine with but the 4th leaves me itchy & sneezing. So even among the same breed, you can come across issues & you won't know until they live with you. So you got great advice above!

Just to re-iterate we're not specifically after any breed. I'm explaining why we landed on cockapoo and what happened when we landed on it.

Bicyclette

Often if you foster a dog, if it works out well for both of you, you can adopt that dog.

Its known as a "foster fail". This one type of fail that is the best outcome.

Vel

Surely fostering is the ideal scenario here. At least then if it transpires that living with the dog is going to exacerbate your husband's allergies, even if he initially didn't show any in the hour meeting, then the dog can be returned to a safe environment.

If you buy a puppy from a puppy farmer, are they going to take the dog back? Unlikely. And if they do, would you really want them going back to whatever sh*thole they came from.

Greyhounds and lurchers are fab family pets and can often be low shed.

In fairness to the op, they have no intention of buying from a puppy farmer now. They did their research and realized their mistake.

I think the key point is buying any dog from any breeder is bad idea in this scenario because anything could happen re: allergies.

Fostering seems the best bet, not just for the OP but I think it's a great idea for anyone getting a dog. So much can go wrong in terms of allergies, getting on with existing dogs, being able to give them the right amount of exercise and attention etc etc etc. Fostering with a view to adopt just takes the pressure off and allows any of us to give a dog a break from kennels/shelters while seeing out if we can make it work.

It feels huge when you bring a new dog home. Everythings changes (usually for the better) but if we felt less pressure to make it work.. I think more people would make it work! If that even makes sense.

Hannibal_Smith

Vel wrote: »

Surely fostering is the ideal scenario here. At least then if it transpires that living with the dog is going to exacerbate your husband's allergies, even if he initially didn't show any in the hour meeting, then the dog can be returned to a safe environment.

If you buy a puppy from a puppy farmer, are they going to take the dog back? Unlikely. And if they do, would you really want them going back to whatever sh*thole they came from.

Greyhounds and lurchers are fab family pets and can often be low shed.

We have no intention of buying from a puppy farm, and never did.

Similarly we have no intention of taking a dog if there is no way of finding out whether there is an allergic reaction.

We were told by a rescue centre that lurchers are not for us as the 8 year old is too small. They won't even entertain the possibility.

sillysmiles

Firstly OP, thank you for doing the research and walking away. I know it's hard to think of the pup you left behind, but it is more important (imo) that the breeders aren't getting money.

Separate slightly to your post but I'd like to touch on what you said about an older dog

Although I'd love to rescue an older dog, I couldn't let the kids get attached to a dog with not long left

There really is no guarantees how long any dog will last - old or young and personally I think that pets are a good away for children to deal with loss without it being a parent/grandparent/someone (human) close to them. Also, you never know how long an "older dog" will last. A lot of "older dogs in rescues are 8-10 years old. That could meant they have anywhere up to 6-8 years left.

I think in reality though, as you've mentioned, the allergies are the biggest issue and I honestly think fostering with the view to adopting is the best way forward as it give you a get out if your husband reacts and it gives the dog a chance to live in a family home and not is a rescue centre.

Vel

Hannibal_Smith wrote: »

We have no intention of buying from a puppy farm, and never did.

Similarly we have no intention of taking a dog if there is no way of finding out whether there is an allergic reaction.

We were told by a rescue centre that lurchers are not for us as the 8 year old is too small. They won't even entertain the possibility.

That's good re. puppy farmers.

There are loads of rescues who will adopt lurchers to homes with kids, if they are a breed you like. I have three kids 10, 9 and 7 and we have had rescue lurchers all of their lives.

Good luck with your search. Hope it all works out

mymo

I would try the Foster as suggested, there's no breed that no one is allergic to, I have 2 breeds known to be good with people with allergies, my friends daughter with bad allergies has no reaction to either breed, neither does my daughters friend, but another person I know with allergies has reaction to one breed but not the other, someone else the other breed.
So a good rescue will look for the breeds least likely to cause a reaction, and you can try it out. Tell your kids it's being helpful to dogs in need that need to learn about living in a house and making sure you can all manage for when it's time for the real thing.

puppieperson1

A greyhound would be ideal for allergies and gentle for the children you cant imagine how sweet & gentle they are little of no hair on them and by using coats and fleeces easily available they wont grow big winter coats so the wheezing `nd eye watering are reduced to nothing for your husband just my opinion as i have one and hes an angel hardly know hes in the house so happy to have a home and heat and food.

Hannibal_Smith

Hey just thought I'd give a little update. More for self indulgent purposes because I love talking about him than anything

We were invited back to one of the rescue centres to meet a dog they said was low shedding. But she mentioned a couple of issues behaviour wise with the dog, one of them being he had bitten another dog the day before and we started to have some doubts.

As she was talking, behind the glass in another kennel was a little black scruff ball, with a cone over his head. He was the dog the other one bit.

You could barely see his eyes his hair was so overgrown, but I got a small glimpse of them and that was it. He had me I asked about him and she said he is another low shedding dog - a cairn terrier and we could meet him if we wanted.

So we brought him out the back and threw the ball around. He was filthy! His hair was so matted and there was an awful pong off him , but he was the friendliest cheekiest little scamp. He would sit still for nothing, jumped all over us and we left as filthy and smelly as he was .

We have him 2 weeks now, but cant even remember the house without him. He learns so fast. From house training, to crate training, to lead training - we've had to start at the beginning but he's picked it all up so fast. Walks are a pleasure now. I cant believe how friendly other dog walkers are!

He's great in the car, sits in the back (harnessed in) with the kids so we bring him everywhere with us. The whole family comment on how well behaved he is. Its hard to remember the crazy wild nutbag he was in the centre. He's totally chilled now. Has his moments, but he's a dog at the end of the day .

We got him groomed the day after we picked him up and it turned out that there was a schnauzer underneath all the fur, not a terrier!

We're really the luckiest family in the world to have found him. He was worth the wait.

Graces7

Hannibal_Smith wrote: »

Hey just thought I'd give a little update. More for self indulgent purposes because I love talking about him than anything

We were invited back to one of the rescue centres to meet a dog they said was low shedding. But she mentioned a couple of issues behaviour wise with the dog, one of them being he had bitten another dog the day before and we started to have some doubts.

As she was talking, behind the glass in another kennel was a little black scruff ball, with a cone over his head. He was the dog the other one bit.

You could barely see his eyes his hair was so overgrown, but I got a small glimpse of them and that was it. He had me I asked about him and she said he is another low shedding dog - a cairn terrier and we could meet him if we wanted.

So we brought him out the back and threw the ball around. He was filthy! His hair was so matted and there was an awful pong off him , but he was the friendliest cheekiest little scamp. He would sit still for nothing, jumped all over us and we left as filthy and smelly as he was .

We have him 2 weeks now, but cant even remember the house without him. He learns so fast. From house training, to crate training, to lead training - we've had to start at the beginning but he's picked it all up so fast. Walks are a pleasure now. I cant believe how friendly other dog walkers are!

He's great in the car, sits in the back (harnessed in) with the kids so we bring him everywhere with us. The whole family comment on how well behaved he is. Its hard to remember the crazy wild nutbag he was in the centre. He's totally chilled now. Has his moments, but he's a dog at the end of the day .

We got him groomed the day after we picked him up and it turned out that there was a schnauzer underneath all the fur, not a terrier!

We're really the luckiest family in the world to have found him. He was worth the wait.

Wonderful post! And no allergies? Happy!

DBB

Aw come on hannibal_smith... you can't tell us all of that news without also posting a photo or two

volchitsa

Aww that's so lovely to read, I'm delighted for you all, Hannibal_Smith! So lovely to hear you got a dog that suits you so well, and well done for sussing out the puppy farm. It's so sad that there isn't more done to stop them.

Also, I have to echo DBB's post: we need some pics of the little fella!

Hannibal_Smith

I'm not really great with photos, but I hope this works

DBB

Hannibal_Smith wrote: »

I'm not really great with photos, but I hope this works

*swoons*
He is stunning op. With quite the glint in his eye too, it has to be said!

volchitsa

I see what you mean about those eyes, he's gorgeous!

Hannibal_Smith

He's terrible though, he knows well how to work the eyes. I can't resist them and he knows well.

When you bend down to pet him he snuggles right into you. He charms everyone with that little trick!

Myself and my husband fight over who's going to get up with him in the mornings. The first one through the door gets the best snuggles

anewme

Lovely thread and great result. Love him.