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I think I''m allergic to my puppy =(

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gingerBcookie

gingerBcookie

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I''ve been coughing non-stop for a week now. FI and I can''t get a decent nights sleep because I can''t stop coughing, and I mean coughing to the point I have to sit up or choke. I have asthma, and allergies in general, so we thought, oh maybe its just springtime and there''s pollen everywhere. But honestly, I''ve never had ANYTHING like this before. And to test, last night I slept on the one horizontal surface Chewy is NEVER allowed on, and it was the first decent nights rest we''ve had in a week.

WHAT DO I DO?!?! I;''m so sad at the thought of giving him up...do I have to? Is there anything else that can be done?
 
OMG, that''s awful! Well, there''s still a chance it could be other allergies - I thought I was done with spring allergies for the season and then this week they were back with a vengeance. Aren''t you in Houston, which is one of the worst places for allergies? So I hope it is just that...

But if it''s is sweet Chewy causing the problems, you could try Zyrtec, which does help with pet allergies, and/or consider allergy shots. Do you have an allergist? YOu might start there and get allergy tested to see if you are actually allergic to dogs and if it could respond to shots. I know they helped me a lot when I was getting then. In the case of Zyrtec I''m not sure I would feel good about having to take a medicine indefinitely just to be able to tolerate living in my own home.... but it might be worth it, I know I could never give up my dogs either!
 
Ginger:

I understand: I have severe reactions to Cats, and lessor reactions to other things - along with my asthma.

Your health is too important for you not to figure this out, and what you are describing is more on the severe side of a possible reaction.

First thing, get away for a few days to a place without dogs and see if this clears up (have someone puppy sit).

Be sure to wear only freshly washed clothing on your trip.

If it does - and then reappears when you return that is pretty good evidence of the problem.

Allergie testing can supply supporting evidence.

for minor allergies medication often works.

Allergy shots take many months to many years to work.

Since you have asthma as well, in your case if this checks out then you would probably not only have to get rid of the puppy - but also thouroghly clean your house, carpet, furnature, etc with a special solution that kills the allergens left behind in the dog hair and other dog generated particles.

In my case, ultimately I bought a house with hot water heat - tore out the carpet, got rid of my furnature, and double encased my mattress/boxspring in dust mite proof covers (and encased my new pillows as well).

I wish you the best of luck here:

Perry
 
what kind of puppy do you have? I am allergic to dogs but got a schnauzer because they don''t shed and the only problems I have are when she lies right up next to my pillow in bed.
It is raging allergy season in general so it may be seasonal outdoor allegies. I hope this works out! Good luck!
 
Don't worry, tons of people have allergies and keep dogs that are much worse for their allergies than your little guy. Yorkies don't shed and don't have an undercoat like so many other dogs do. I personally have a TON of allergies and am an asthmatic and own two very non-hypo-allergenic dogs. I take Zyrtec once every two days, and sometimes not at all. (Singulair is also good). The good news is that if it is your pup that's causing you problems, most people I know have adjusted to their own dog to the point where they are no longer bothered. However, this year has been particularly bad pollen-wise for me and most of my friends...I have a couple friends that have never had allergy symptoms before and are suffering badly this year. Who knows? Hang in there, you'll find a solution. You pup is too cute, BTW!
 
I''m allergic to cats, to the point where I sneeze, my eyes itch, and I break out in hives. One Zyrtec a day keeps all my allegries away LOL.
 
I understand your dilemma, FI and I have a hamster and we were worried that we were allergic to it (more worried that we''d have to live miserably for the next year because I just can''t give up any pet, even if it''s a hamster), but it turned out to be bad fall allergies. We both are allergic to dogs but both of our parents had them while we were growing up, and taking an allergy pill/shots will def help and also not letting the dog in the bedroom at all helps alot. Frequent (although not too freq which is bad for the dog) baths are good as well as vaccuuming and keeping your house dander and fur free.

I''d schedule an appointment with an allergist asap to test you for dog allergies. It is the beginning of pollen season, so it''s likely just spring allergies, but it''ll settle your mind to know.

Good luck!!
 
Ginger,

I would suggest taking an allergy test to see if you truly are allergic to Chewy. They usually poke you with all these needles that have a little bit of whatever it may be and see if you react to it. It doesnt really hurt, just stings.. Thing is, my allergist told me that this test is not always so accurate, the true test is a blood test.

What about shaving Chewy''s hair down a little bit? It may be his hair that''s causing you to cough and since it''s getting summery, it may be better for him too.. :)
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yep, don't delay, go to the doctor and have them run allergy tests on you, they will probably check for more than just dog allergies which is good anyway since it's important to know what you are allergic to in general.

i am horribly allergic to cats but not dogs for the most part, but some of the real shedders can get to me after a few hours. westies are actually somewhat hypoallergenic dogs as they don't shed like most other animals so i think dander is kept to a total minimum. i'm not sure about other terriers but yorkies are so similar to westies that i would be surprised if they aren't the same kind of dog. i can take a zyrtec when we travel to friends houses with pets and it lasts 12 hours so that's good.

anyway, even if you are allergic to him, you can take pills, get shots etc. it's not that bad, my mom is allergic to dogs and a few other things after a horrible bout with pneumonia which scarred her lungs so now she gets an allergy shot once a week (same time, each week so it's just part of her schedule) and she is fine around all the stuff that made her feel badly once before.

so don't despair!!! chances are there is a way to fix it so you can keep your precious darling. i would take 20 shots a week if it meant i could keep portia.
 
I''m like Mara...terribly allergic to cats! I''m not allergic to dogs, supposedly and I have a Lhasa Apso which isn''t supposed to shed, but are long haired dogs. I notice that if I don''t bathe him when I immediately go to my parent''s house to visit (my mom is bad about bathing him) I get really sneezy and cough a whole lot. Plus he makes my eyes water. For me, I''ve found that if I bathe him regularly (1-2 baths a week in a gentle oatmeal shampoo) and keep his hair short I''m fine.

How often are you bathing Chewy? I think an allergy test is a good idea as well. Even if I were very allergic to my dog Minko, I''d take allergy shots or pills just to keep him around. I hope everything works out
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I''d go to an allergist and get tested. The pollen is very bad right now. We take Zrytec, and it really helps. My son has bad allergies and asthma. He is allergic to cats but not to Bichon''s. A golden retriever he''d be allergic too, or any dog with silky hair. Getting Chewy groomed or bathing him should help too. Good luck!!
 
I had an allergy panel done recently because I got an allergic rash that keeps reappearing but don''t know why (I do know I''m allergic to something that makes me sneeze, but I don''t know what).

Anyway, my doctor prescribed the ''itch'' and ''achoo'' tests (that was funny)...and do you know, they can do that with one vial of your blood! No need to scratch you with anything or whatever.

They test for all kinds of pollen, trees, dander, food allergies, even things like cockroaches (blech!). Anyway, it was painless, just had to get blood drawn. The bad news for me was that whatever I''m allergic to (sneezing AND rash) was NOT on that fairly comprehensive list. So nobody still knows what I''m allergic to, but the tests definitely rule out all the common stuff.
 
FG my friend also had some odd rash that was appearing on her arms and legs and stuff, they haven''t figured out what it was but thought maybe stress related? Anyway, i''m sure they asked you this already but did you change detergent or soaps or anything like that recently? Any big changes in the household like bringing something new in? Like maybe a new rug or something else? Have you tried any new types of food lately that you could be consistently eating?

Portia got a funky rash recently under her skin (totally creepy large bumps UNDER her skin) but it turned out to be an allergic reaction to the antibiotic they gave her!! They asked me those questions also though too, then gave her a cortisone shot, changed her meds and told me if it came back 2 weeks later (after the shot wore off) that it was something in the household. But it didn''t come back a few weeks later so I guess it was the antibiotics!
 
I too am allergic to cats but non shedding dogs work for me. I''ve had a poodle and now have a Yorkie with no problem. I do keep her bathed very regularly and her hair fairly short. Dogs can carry pollen in from the outdoors too so I don''t let her go too long between baths.

In allergy season, I take Zyrtec everyday. If not, I get terrible post nasal drip that makes me cough.

Before you throw the dog out with the bathwater, see an allergist. Then you''ll know for sure what you are dealing with and how much you can deal with. Then, if God forbid, you had to find a new home for the dog, you would know you had done everything possible.

I''m like Mara though - I would do just about anything to keep Chloe! She is just one of us and I would make almost any concession in the world to have her. She is Momma''s baby - and she knows it!
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My bf''s allergic to cats, but loves them and has learned a few tricks to help.
First off, don''t let your dog on the bed. Bf has the hardest time at my place since my cat sleeps on the bed for about 18 out of every 24 hours. Buying him his own bed with a fleece blankie helps keep him off.
Keep Chewy well bathed and groomed. Bathing helps keep the dander down (there''s also special stuff you can use), and grooming helps minimize shedding (groom outside btw). Try and see if Chewy has dry skin, perhaps something like avoderm food might help.
And learn to love swiffers. We swiffer dust the entire house every week (including door frames, pictures, books, etc), and swiffer vac every other day. We also vaccum or sticky roll the furniture every few days. With two cats and a part time fluffy dog at his house and one cat and the dog at my house, it''s a lot of dander and fluff. Even with the tidyness he still has to use an asthma inhaler.

I agree that it could largely be the pollen. In my region at least, this is one of the worst springs I''ve had in a while! The news actually said that people shouldn''t exercise in the mornings if they have allergies since the pollen is even worse in the mornings. It''s possible that Chewy is sort of the last straw for your overstressed immune system, and once the pollen dies down it''ll be better. And people do adjust to their pets.
 
Thanks for all the advice ya'll. I've gotten allergy testing due to my severe asthma as a child. I did the whole gamut of allergy shots, 2 shots a week for 3-4 years. I'm allergic to trees, ragweed, pollen, etc... and cats and mites, but not dogs. So when we were looking for dogs, I still kept my options to hypoallergnic, which yorkies are.

We made the mistake of letting him sleep in our bedroom. We moved him, but its too late now. My friend is taking him for a month so I can detox for the wedding and de-dander the house (I don't want to be like this on our big day..."I take you lawfully ...") Then I think we're going to do another trial run. I'm going to do all the above mentioned:

1)Buy Zyrtec (I'm taking alavert and its not helping)
2)Renew my albuterol inhaler (haven't used it in 3 years, started using it again two days ago)
3)Install HEPA filters in our A/C and vacuum
4)Install babygates so he can't get into carpeted areas of the house
5)I'm washing and vacuuming anyhting and everything he's touched, chewed on, etc...
6)Planning on a bathing and brushing once a week
7)I wanted to keep his hair short anyway so regular grooming is def part of the plan
8)Be real careful about changing my clothes and washing immediately after I play with him.

I have two months after my wedding before I start residency (when good night's sleep is essential, as well as not constantly coughing in your patients face) to do a trial with him. Hopefully it'll work out ok and we can keep him. Luckily three of my dog-loving friends have offered to take him if I can't handle it, which is nice cuz it means we can still visit.

My friend just picked him up to take him for the month.
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FI and I are really down right now. We've only had him a month but he's completely ingrained himself into our lives. I'm just thinking about how confused and scared he must be feeling right now.
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He's going to be staying over at an extremely dog loving home, so I think he'll be ok until we can work things out and have our home ready for him. Also hopefully spring will be winding down and the pollen will not potentiate my allergies.

So that's the game plan. Wish me luck that everything wil work out and Chewy can come home!
 
can you get yourself re-tested to see if your allergies have changed?

i also bathe portia once a week, you aren't supposed to bathe westies that often, but i notice she seems to feel better (less itching or biting herself) when she gets a bath once a week and then we know she's cleaner that way too since she does have run of the house. also you should consider getting rid of the carpet, it harbors all sorts of icky things...our carpet is going this year and we are putting in either laminate or wood in two main areas, primarily the family room for her but the flow is into the dining room so we're doing it in there too. we may also do the stairs as they just bug me and i'd like to make it easier for them to clean.

you will find that even though the yorkies/westies etc don't shed that much, they still do drop hair, i just cleaned the kitchen floor, and was vacuuming up little portia hair/dust balls just from last week...also i just did the lint brush on our two rugs in the kitchen and it was pulling up tons of her hair (she likes to lay on these small areas rugs in the kitchen) with it. so even though she doesn't shed like alot of dogs, she still does drop hair, which if that is happening to Chewy as well it may be irritating your allergies (and also spring is bad this year too...for pollen for us too) even more.

when we had our carpets cleaned last time, the guy told us he pulled out tons of grass and dog hair. the grass is from the park outside the house but the interesting thing is we didn't see any grass in the rug (and it's light colored). so that stuff will totally ingrain itself into your rugs. part of why we can't wait to have wood/laminate in the main areas so that it's healthier as well. carpets are gross.

i'm so sorry to hear that he's gone even for a temporary timeframe...i know you have alot going on but i'm so anal about anyone watching portia, i could never hand her over for a month...are you going to visit him? dogs are so used to routine, i hope he does alright, the dog friendly home will be a distraction to him for sure. i hope it all works out!!
 
Ginger, i have almost no knowledge about allergies, but i have heard that some owners of both cats and dogs had allergies for their intact pets and after having them spayed/neutered allergy was gone. I would ask your vet about possible hormone reaction.
 
Date: 4/15/2006 4:59:09 PM
Author: Pricescope
Ginger, i have almost no knowledge about allergies, but i have heard that some owners of both cats and dogs had allergies for their intact pets and after having them spayed/neutered allergy was gone. I would ask your vet about possible hormone reaction.
Click to expand...
never heard of that...i''ll def ask my vet. worth looking into.
 
Date: 4/15/2006 5:01:15 PM
Author: gingerBcookie

Date: 4/15/2006 4:59:09 PM
Author: Pricescope
Ginger, i have almost no knowledge about allergies, but i have heard that some owners of both cats and dogs had allergies for their intact pets and after having them spayed/neutered allergy was gone. I would ask your vet about possible hormone reaction.
Click to expand...
never heard of that...i''ll def ask my vet. worth looking into.
Click to expand...
Interesting, I''ve never heard of that either?? Anyway Ginger, good luck with everything. Chewy will be well taken care of I''m sure.
 
Date: 4/15/2006 4:27:06 PM
Author: Mara
can you get yourself re-tested to see if your allergies have changed?

i also bathe portia once a week, you aren''t supposed to bathe westies that often, but i notice she seems to feel better (less itching or biting herself) when she gets a bath once a week and then we know she''s cleaner that way too since she does have run of the house. also you should consider getting rid of the carpet, it harbors all sorts of icky things...our carpet is going this year and we are putting in either laminate or wood in two main areas, primarily the family room for her but the flow is into the dining room so we''re doing it in there too. we may also do the stairs as they just bug me and i''d like to make it easier for them to clean.

you will find that even though the yorkies/westies etc don''t shed that much, they still do drop hair, i just cleaned the kitchen floor, and was vacuuming up little portia hair/dust balls just from last week...also i just did the lint brush on our two rugs in the kitchen and it was pulling up tons of her hair (she likes to lay on these small areas rugs in the kitchen) with it. so even though she doesn''t shed like alot of dogs, she still does drop hair, which if that is happening to Chewy as well it may be irritating your allergies (and also spring is bad this year too...for pollen for us too) even more.

when we had our carpets cleaned last time, the guy told us he pulled out tons of grass and dog hair. the grass is from the park outside the house but the interesting thing is we didn''t see any grass in the rug (and it''s light colored). so that stuff will totally ingrain itself into your rugs. part of why we can''t wait to have wood/laminate in the main areas so that it''s healthier as well. carpets are gross.

i''m so sorry to hear that he''s gone even for a temporary timeframe...i know you have alot going on but i''m so anal about anyone watching portia, i could never hand her over for a month...are you going to visit him? dogs are so used to routine, i hope he does alright, the dog friendly home will be a distraction to him for sure. i hope it all works out!!
Click to expand...
he''s going to austin. my friend is honestly THE BEST dog owner I know. Extremely conscientious and honestly,prob more picky than I am about doggie care. I know he''ll be in good hands. Unfortunately, she lives in Austin, so I can''t visit him as often as I''d like. However, we''re in Austin so often and they come down to Houston often, so I''ll prob see him about once a week or so until the wedding. She promised to keep me updated and send tons of pics while he''s away. Then he''ll be home again. I hate uprootng him like this, bu it was the only solution we could think of for now. We''re pretty desperate after a week of sleepless nights for both of us and constant headache and lost voice due to constant violent coughing for me. Trust me, I wouldn''t do this if my coughing hadn''t goten to the point where I''ve thrown up twice because I was coughing so hard.
 
Oh, Ginger....I''m so so sorry! I can just imagine how badly you two feel about this!

Of course you have to do it, and get this straightened out.

I''m so glad you''ve a good place for Chewy to go while you work this out. Chewy will be JUST FINE...it''s you my heart goes out to!

(((hugs))))
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I''m a little late, but I recommend Zyrtec as well. I didn''t take it last night and I''m suffering!!! It makes me very drowsy so take it at night. I also split the tablets in half as I''m small and the entire thing made me tired and cranky. As soon as my dog started sleeping on the bed my allergies have gone haywire! I don''t have the heart to make him get down so I just get through it. Although when we move and get a new bed we are starting a NO Dog On The Bed policy! Good luck with your pup!
 
There is also a product I have seen advertised that you can apply to your dog''s skin/hair called Allerpet-D
http://www.allerpet.com/products/product2.htm

to help reduce dander and reactions to the saliva that gets on their hair/skin from licking themselves. Does anyone have any experience using this?
 
OH MY GOD Punchie, that picture of Molly is priceless in your avatar. Nothing like a white wet rat!!! Speaking of, Princess P is going about to get her weekly bath (well actually it's a shower) right now..tee hee.
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Don't worry Ginger, I am sure it will all work out...and Chewy will be home in no time!
 
Hopefully all will be okay Ginger.

I think it is a good idea to get retested for allergies - they can change. I was never allergic to anything, not on the east coast, and not for the 5.5 years I lived in Houston either (everyone said I would develop allergies there, but I didn''t.) Ironically, I moved to CA and I''m definitely allergic to something here! I have sneezing fits every few days.

Mara it''s very odd - the skin thing developed a year ago, 3 years after moving here. I haven''t changed detergents or eaten anything new I can think of....just spontaneously got a rash on the backside of one arm, and the dermatologist keeps prescribing things but nothing really works - it just goes away and then a new one appears in its place! I wish I knew what it was! It doesn''t itch, just bothers me that it''s there. The doctors don''t seem to care, but I''d like it to go away someday!
 
Ginger, I been coughing my head off recently too and having a hard time breathing at night. It's been over a week now and it's slowing getting better. I'm have a dog too and he's actually shedding his undercoat right now. But I went to the doctor and she told me I just have a cold. I'm pretty sure you have a cold and not allergic to your puppy.
 
Ginger:

You are doing the right thing. A couple of notes: Allergy testing is not 100%. A combination of the skin test and the blood test may be a good indicator - but they can have false positives (indicating that you are allergic to things you are not) - and false negatives (indicating that you are not allergic to things you are).

Many people have mild allergies - and can get by with medications and/or paying attention to general cleanliness and your bedroom. I find that most of these people do not "really" understand that things can be much worse than that. Afterall - these things work for them - why wouldn't they work for you.

In my case, Zytec and other antihistimins are not very effective because some of my key allergy issues are not caused by the histimine release (when a mast cell fires it dumps 26 or 27 chemicals into your bloodstream - and histimine is only one of them - admitedely the largest quantity). Many people with the more severe allergy issues have symptions from those other 25 or so chemicals - and Antihistimins have no effect on those other chemicals released. You can now get an AntiLukitrine to go with the Antihistimins; but that only blocks most of the reactions from 2 of those chemicals.

In my case - my cat allergies are so bad that my face starts swelling in about 10 minutes, and I have to immediately get out of the area - and it takes hours for the swelling to go down. I have no idea how bad it could get if I was exposed to cat for a long period of time - and have no intention of finding out.

Concerning the "nutered" cat/dog stratagy. I am skeptical. People do not generally react to hormones - but things in the cat and dog sliva.

I wish you the best. Be sure to have a good series of HEPA filters (and change them as appropriate). I have 6 large HEPA filtration units in my house. Get healthy - stay healthy.

Perry
 
obviously Ginger knows herself best and yes I think most people do know there are forms of more severe allergies that are not just calmed by a pill, HOWEVER, I think the general vibe is not to immediately assume the most dire of circumstances, because she may be able to get it all under control with what she is doing. If not then I''m sure she will seek other methods of fixing the situation...
 
G...my friend, whose family has no issues with allergies, got a portuguese water dog which is supposedly hypoallergenic...and they coughed and sneezed for the first couple weeks. she then put allergy control filters in her vents and they are all fine now...zyrtec is also good...
 
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