Life With Kids And Dog Allergies

If you have kids and dog allergies in your home, and giving up the dog is not an option your family can bear, you’ll need to make an effort to manage both kids and dog allergies.  Keeping both kids and kids with dog allergies in the home can be a challenge, but it is possible to effectively control dog allergies in children enough to have both allergic kids and dogs.  That’s good news for families, since having a dog is often considered a hallmark of childhood and since it is so very hard for kids to give up dogs once they’ve grown attached to them.

The Cause Of Dog Allergies

Dog allergies are caused by proteins produced by the dog.  These proteins can be excreted with dog dander (skin flakes), in urine, and are present in dog blood, but the most offending dog allergen is the protein Can f 1, which is found primarily in dog saliva.  While the common perception is that dog fur causes dog allergies, this is not really the truth and dog fur is not generally allergenic; it is the substances that are sometimes carried in the hair that are the problem, but even that is not always a problem for kids with dog allergies.

Managing Kids And Dog Allergies

Allergy medications can give relief for kids with dog allergies, but if you plan to keep your dog, you’ll need to do your best to control dog allergy symptoms in your allergic child without the constant use of medication.  Also, allergy medications may not prove effective in homes with multiple dogs.

Allergy shots are options for some kids with dog allergies; discuss this option with your child’s doctor.

Since dog saliva is the most allergenic dog allergen, limiting contact between your child and the dog’s saliva is the first step.  Train the dog not to kiss or lick people (all people, since the dog won’t likely single out your allergic child) and teach your child to do their best to keep dog saliva off of them.  You can minimize exposure to airborne dog allergens by taking the following steps as a course of management for kids and dog allergies.

• Spay or neuter your dog—hormones impact allergen production in dogs
• Limit the dog’s area of the house and keep dogs out of children’s bedrooms if they are allergic
• Use encasing dust covers on mattresses and upholstered furniture
• Wash child bedding frequently in hot water
• Let your dog spend as much time as possible outdoors
• Bathe the dog every week
• Brush dog 1-3 times per week
• Use an allergen-reducing pet grooming product, such as an emollient that helps clean away pet allergens trapped in the dog and its fur
• Wipe the dog down on non-bath days with a wet cloth
• Vacuum the house daily using a HEPA filtered vacuum cleaner
• Use household air cleaners/filters
• Steam clean furniture and carpets
• Remove wall-to-wall carpeting and replace with hard flooring
• Keep dogs off furniture and never allow them to sleep on your child’s bed
• Replace filters in heating, cooling, and air conditioning units regularly
• Have child wash hands and face after playing with the dog, and change clothing when practical

Allergy-Free Dog Breeds?

There is some debate among veterinarians as to whether any dog breeds are truly more hypoallergenic; it does appear, however, that some dogs are easier on kids with dog allergies.  The reason some breeds are better than others is that

• They shed less fur
• They require frequent bathing and grooming
• They salivate less

If you are trying to manage kids and dog allergies, you might try one of these breeds of dogs: poodles or poodle mixes and relatives such as the Portuguese water dog, Irish water spaniels, schnauzers, Soft-coat Wheaten Terriers, Yorkshire Terriers and Kerrie blue Terriers, Maltese (does not shed), Shih Tzu’s, or Lhasa Apsos.

Life with kids and dog allergies can be manageable, but the emphasis must always be kept on your child’s well-being; if symptoms worsen, control cannot be achieved, or symptoms affect the child’s ability to breathe well, you may need to reevaluate measures with the help of your child’s doctor.

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