I went to the kennel adoption place, and I had a really severe
allergic reaction. I know I am mildly allergic to most dogs, but for
the greyhounds it was really nasty and I had some bad problems
breathing (I have asthma).

My question is: Is this strong allergic reaction due to there being
30-40 dogs all in cages in a confined space? Can I expect to have the
same reaction to just a single greyhound?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

"Nick_Stone" wrote in message
om...
I went to the kennel adoption place, and I had a really severe
allergic reaction. I know I am mildly allergic to most dogs, but for
the greyhounds it was really nasty and I had some bad problems
breathing (I have asthma).

My question is: Is this strong allergic reaction due to there being
30-40 dogs all in cages in a confined space? Can I expect to have the
same reaction to just a single greyhound?


i would imagine that one *clean* greyhound wouldn't be nearly as much of a
problem as 30-40 dogs in a shelter environment.

is there any way you can meet one somewhere else to find out?

-kelly

Nick_Stone wrote:
I went to the kennel adoption place, and I had a really severe
allergic reaction. I know I am mildly allergic to most dogs, but for
the greyhounds it was really nasty and I had some bad problems
breathing (I have asthma).

My question is: Is this strong allergic reaction due to there being
30-40 dogs all in cages in a confined space?

Yes, it very well could be.
I'm mildly allergic to dogs. I have three of my own (a double order of
border collies with a Jack Russell terrier on the side) who actually
sleep in bed with me with no problems, am able to go to twice-weekly
flyball practice where I am exposed to about a dozen dogs, again with no
problems.
But when our flyball team travels to tournaments and I am in an
enclosed building with several dozen unfamiliar, wound-up dogs, all
barking and flinging micro-droplet-ized saliva and dander into the air,
I definitely feel it. Sneezing, sore throat, red eyes and, by the end
of the weekend, the start of some asthmatic symptoms.

Can I expect to have the
same reaction to just a single greyhound?

It's hard to say. My allergist says that dog allergies can be at least
somewhat breed-specific (something about minor variations in the
proteins produced by the dogs). So I guess it would depend if your
reaction was due to being exposed to 30 or 40 *dogs* or to *greyhounds*
specifically. The only way I can think of to find out would be for you
to foster a single greyhound for a week or so to see how it goes before
making a commitment.

Kathleen Hansen
Z-Control Skid Boots
Leg armor for gonzo dogs!
http://webpages.charter.net/dhfm/ZControl.html

Nick_Stone said in rec.pets.dogs.breeds:

Is this strong allergic reaction due to there being
30-40 dogs all in cages in a confined space?

Probably, although there could be something else in the kennel
environment that you were allergic to, like dust or mold.

Can I expect
to have the same reaction to just a single greyhound?

Possibly - Greyhound hair is short and can get everywhere.
Also, like any dog, they have dander. So it all depends on your
particular allergy. Are you allowed to take a potential adoptee
home for the day?

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

Is this strong allergic reaction due to there being
30-40 dogs all in cages in a confined space?

Probably, although there could be something else in the kennel
environment that you were allergic to, like dust or mold.

Can I expect
to have the same reaction to just a single greyhound?

Possibly - Greyhound hair is short and can get everywhere.
Also, like any dog, they have dander. So it all depends on your
particular allergy. Are you allowed to take a potential adoptee
home for the day?

I'd like to thank everyone for their responses. I appreciate it. I
plan on calling the local adoption place and asking them about
possibly testing out the dog and so forth.

It's really been hard for me lately. This dog allergy thing has come
on in the last couple of years (I am 20 years old). Our family had a
chocolate lab that lived for some 12 years or so. I am really a dog
lover and it pains me to find out that, after not being allergic to
our lab _at all_ for my whole life, I've grown allergic to dogs during
the 2 years or so without a dog at all.

Has anyone else had this problem? Frustrating, to say the least. If
I hear one more person tell me that turtles and snakes make great pets
to replace a dog, I'll knock them out.

True dog lovers go to great lengths to be with man's best friend, no?

Cheers.

Nick_Stone said in rec.pets.dogs.breeds:

Has anyone else had this problem?

Do a news google for rec.pets.dogs.* posts by Janet Boss using
"allergy" as a search term. She has a fairly severe allergy to
dogs and has dealt with it successfully.

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

Nick_Stone wrote:
Is this strong allergic reaction due to there being
30-40 dogs all in cages in a confined space?

Probably, although there could be something else in the kennel
environment that you were allergic to, like dust or mold.


Can I expect
to have the same reaction to just a single greyhound?

Possibly - Greyhound hair is short and can get everywhere.
Also, like any dog, they have dander. So it all depends on your
particular allergy. Are you allowed to take a potential adoptee
home for the day?


I'd like to thank everyone for their responses. I appreciate it. I
plan on calling the local adoption place and asking them about
possibly testing out the dog and so forth.

It's really been hard for me lately. This dog allergy thing has come
on in the last couple of years (I am 20 years old). Our family had a
chocolate lab that lived for some 12 years or so. I am really a dog
lover and it pains me to find out that, after not being allergic to
our lab _at all_ for my whole life, I've grown allergic to dogs during
the 2 years or so without a dog at all.

Has anyone else had this problem? Frustrating, to say the least. If
I hear one more person tell me that turtles and snakes make great pets
to replace a dog, I'll knock them out.

True dog lovers go to great lengths to be with man's best friend, no?

Some things that can help a

1) Reducing your overall "allergic load". This may allow you to
comfortably tolerate a dog in your home. This means eliminating sources
of other allergens in your environment, for example, making sure the
basement of your home is dry and mold-free, getting rid of houseplants
(another source of mold in the potting soil), banning smoking in the
home, and getting rid of your carpeting and replacing it with wood, tile
or Pergo. Carpeting is really nasty stuff if you have allergies - it
holds all sorts of contaminants which get blown up into the air during
vacuuming.

2) Prescription antihistamines and steroid nose sprays, which can help
to damp down the allergic response.

3) Allergy shots, to actually cure the allergy. This works best for
seasonal allegens, like pollens, although it can certainly improve your
reactions to year-round problems like dust, old and dogs. However, not
every allergist is willing to attempt desensitization to allergens that
are easy to avoid (like dogs). You may have to shop for a doc who's
willing to help you try. It's also expensive. Many insurance companies
will not cover the cost of the initial skin testing, and some won't
cover the cost of the shots, which must be done twice weekly, tapering
off to once a month over a period of a few years.
Allergy shots do work, though. My daughter was severely allergic to
multiple allergens. The poor kid lit up like a Christmas tree when she
was skin tested. She had been on three types of oral medications plus
nasal steroids and was still miserable. She has been on shots for four
years now, and is now able to get by with a single pill once a day
during her bad seasons. She experienced significant relief of symptms
within six months of beginning the shots.


Kathleen Hansen
Z-Control Skid Boots
Leg armor for gonzo dogs!
http://webpages.charter.net/dhfm/ZControl.html

Quoth Kathleen on Sun, 16 Nov 2003 11:28:37 -0600,

Some things that can help a

1) Reducing your overall "allergic load".

Definitely this always helps! Not always enough to allow you to live
with a dog, but it very well might.

getting rid of your carpeting and replacing it with wood, tile
or Pergo. Carpeting is really nasty stuff if you have allergies - it
holds all sorts of contaminants which get blown up into the air during
vacuuming.

Pergo (or other laminate) or tile. Wood is nice, but the wood laminates
look really nice, and they are SO much easier to clean. Experience
speaking here!

As an allergy sufferer (footnote), I heartily second all of these
suggestions.

Footnote: cats (I live with six), german cockroaches (none live here,
but years in the "student slums" at college probably sensitised me to
them), some molds, and almost all pollens from trees in the spring to
grasses in the fall. Aaah-choo! All of these suggestions have helped me.
Getting rid of the cats would probably help even more, but we are SO not
going there.


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Only know that there is no spork.