Author Topic: Let's make it perfectly clear...  (Read 1181 times)

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Offline DeeDee

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Let's make it perfectly clear...
« on: March 01, 2014, 02:15:16 AM »
If you have pet allergies, there is NO SUCH THING as an "allergy free" pet unless Allerca made it in their lab. People can call certain breeds of dogs "hypoallergenic" all they want, but it doesn't make it safe for certain people with allergies. Not even fish tanks are "safe" for people with mold allergies. Yep, fish tanks help molds grow in households & strict cleaning practices/maintenance has to be observed. Some types of tanks and filters are better than others in these cases.

Too many people assume it's the hair in the dog or cat that's the problem when it isn't. What causes allergies is the proteins in the dander, saliva, and also urine. People like me DO ignore their allergies and find ways around them to manage to live with their dogs, but there is a lot of extra work done to manage it. http://www.isitallergyblog.com/do-hypoallergenic-dogs-exist/ is one of the sites that tells the truth. The AKC has a very short list of dogs that seem to produce less allergens than others, and they are: Bedlington Terriers,   Bichon Frise, Chinese Cresteds, Irish Water Spaniels, Kerry Blue Terriers, Maltese, Poodles (Toy, Min, Std),   Portuguese Water Dogs, Schnauzers (Min, Std, Giant), Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier, and the Xoloitzcuintli.

Quote
http://www.akc.org/about/faq_allergies.cfm
“Designer dogs,” often mixed with poodles, are not recommended for allergy suffers due to their unpredictable coats. There is no way to guarantee a litter will produce puppies with equal Poodle coats, making the high prices unjustifiable and the claims of these dogs being ideal misleading at best.

No person with severe allergies should EVER try to get along with pets without the help of a good allergist. ALL allergens have to be determined through testing to know what the best practices are for that particular person. A person COULD be fooled into thinking they're allergic to their dogs or cats when what they're really allergic to is the pollen and dust brought in from the outdoors on the pets' coats.

For people like me that refuse to give their pets up, allergists with a lot of experience with pet allergies can give patients a long list of things to do that will help a person live better with pets, but for people without the time to do the extra work, it's not advisable since continued exposure to large amounts of allergens can worsen the patient's health. There's also a product on the market that can help some, but it MUST be used as directed or it won't work right. http://www.allergystore.com/allerpetC-allerpetD.htm There's a version for dogs and another version for cats. Using Allerpet still won't work if the other steps given by an allergist aren't observed as well. It's a helper, not a cure. We've used this product for MANY years, and I CAN tell a difference if it's not used on our Corgi.

For the truth about "hypoallergenic" dogs:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-karen-becker/allergy-dog_b_1917329.html 
(Dr. Becker gives a partial list there of things to help, but my allergist [back when I was 24] gave me a much longer list of things to do in the house. Much of that list is at: http://www.allergystore.com/article-love-pet-not-pet-allergies.htm)

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/11/the-myth-of-the-allergy-free-dog/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/08/hypoallergenic-dogs-not-a_n_893244.html

If you want a TRULY hypoallergenic pet, you're going to have to pay through the nose to afford one: http://www.allerca.com/ One type of their cats is approximately $9K and another type is approximately $30K for a 14-week old kitten. http://www.lifestylepets.com/

Allerca Lifestyle is the only place I know of that has hypoallergenic pets. I'd heard they were working on hypoallergenic dogs, but I don't see sales of them at their page. However I DID find this information for the dogs (Take a drink before you open this page and see their dog-prices.):
http://www.ereleases.com/pr/lifestyle-pets-introduces-the-titan-family-protector-a-uniquely-trained-family-protection-dog-priced-at-85000-11892
and this page has other press releases on the company: http://www.ereleases.com/pr/author/allerca-lifestyle-pets

If you have been to an allergist, and you KNOW you're allergic to certain pets, don't take the word of a breeder that a pet is hypoallergenic. I've heard claims of over 50 different breeds being hypoallergenic. It's just not true. Above all, do NOT mistake "hypoallergenic" for "allergy-free."

And should any breeders (claiming to have "hypoallergenic" pets) read this--SHAME ON YOU! Quit propagating lies and confusing the masses!
"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog." Edward Hoagland
"Thorns may hurt you, men desert you, sunlight turn to fog; but you're never friendless ever, if you have a dog."

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