Many people want a dog that is hypoallergenic. So many people love dogs but do not want a shedding dog in their home. Lots of dog lovers have allergies. So what is the solution and what is the truth behind all the allergies and hypoallergenic dog breeds? There is no such thing as a hypoallergenic dog breed. Every dog produces dander and loses its hair somewhat. The poodle is the closest dog breed there is to being hypoallergenic, yet some people are still allergic to them. As a retired dog groomer and poodle breeder since the nineties and poodle owner since the eighties, I have seen first hand many different types of dog coats and even poodle coats. I knew about poodle allergies from customers over the years past. Then my own granddaughter became allergic to every type of animal we own. First she reacted to our cats, then our bunnies, and occasionally even our dogs. She does better when our dogs are freshly bathed. This makes a huge difference!
If you are allergic to dogs but want to test your allergies against a poodle, be very wise about how you do so. Do not visit a kennel or unclean home full of dogs. You will react quickly if your allergies are pretty severe. You need to test in a neutral environment with a clean dog. Somewhere no other dogs have been so you do not have their hair and dander floating in the room. If you can hold, play, and snuggle a clean poodle without a reaction, give yourself several hours before showering to be sure. Remember, the dog must be on a strict schedule to stay clean or may cause a reaction. Another theory we have personally tested is raw fed poodles. There is a difference in dander from a raw fed dog and a kibble/canned food fed dog. More discussed on this topic below.
Other breeds that are similar to a poodle as far as dander and shedding (less allergy reactions) are Bichons, Yorkies, Schnauzers, Maltese, and probably a few others. Be aware of Doodles, Shih Tzu's, any shedding or double coated breed as they are no where near the hypoallergenic category. Shih Tzu's have two coats (one sheds), and doodles being a mix breed are typically mixed with a shedding breed (not always). This does not remove a shedding coat. As beautiful as most dogs are regardless of breed or mix, please do your proper testing before jumping in head first on what could be a twenty year commitment. This is part of our over crowded shelter problem today.
How to be sure you can live with a poodle allergy free
Schedule your grooming appointments ahead of time. Put them on a maintenance schedule with a good groomer. If you are capable of bathing your poodle yourself, give him/her a weekly bath. This will reduce the dander that causes allergic reactions. I cannot stress bathing enough. You can bathe a dog as often as you feel it is necessary as long as you use proper shampoos that are formulated for canines.
Wash dog bedding often! This is very important because bedding holds the same dander and debris that your dogs coat can. Most of us all have some sort of environmental allergies. Our sweet little poodles love to run and play outdoors. They carry in things on their little feet and can roll in the grass and track it right in where we live and breath. This is why not only cleaning your dog is important but also areas where they spend most of their time (furniture and bedding).
This might sound absolutely crazy but I have heard this second hand and then witnessed the truth to it! Dog food makes a huge difference in allergies. Not only can your dog have allergies to food but what they eat can and does affect a person with allergies. I cannot explain this but want to share the info. The story I was told many years ago was from a distributor of my dog food. I sold Nature's Variety dog food in my Grooming spa years ago. I was told by one of the delivery people that he had a huge allergy to cats. At that time, I did not own any indoor cats. The topic was brought up because we were discussing the benefits of raw food. He told me that he went into a facility that had cats in it. Normally he would be sneezing and his eyes would be very itchy and watery. The man told me that he had no reaction and the owner of the facility told him that she fed her Bengal cats raw food and had five generations of raw fed cats. This was something I always remembered. I believed him because I am a huge advocate for feeding raw. I do not push it because I understand the inconvenience and expense. However, lets fast foward twenty years and my granddaughter had a slight reaction to our cats the day they were deliveed to our home. We had imported three Maine Coons and the first night they were home, one of my granddaughters had a swollen face. We wrote it off because she is a drama queen and thought she had been crying over something to do with being tired or fighting with siblings. The cats were put on raw immediately and two of them were kept strictly in the granddaughters large shared bedroom. She slept with them and played with them daily and did for years. We moved, had issues with our raw food supplier and had to switch to kibble for a while. During this time, this same granddaughter had a massive reaction. The cats were in a separate room so she was not sleeping with them or spending as much time with them. We were grooming and taking pictures when this episode happened. So the first thing in my mind at the time was, oh no...they are off of the raw food. This is an assumption but it seems to really have an affect on my granddaughter and her allergic reactions when around our animals. I have no way to give you any solid proof but after many situations with raw vs kibble feeding to all of our animals, it has been a big enough difference for me to think that raw fed DOES indeed prove to me less dander and allergic reactions in our family.