Have Allergy Shots Helped with Dog Allergies?

I'd get a hypoallergenic dog before I put myself through all of that. I think there are several breeds that fall in that category.

I'm allergic to practically everything and nothing seems to help so I just deal. And I did try the shots too.

That being said, I don't know if I'm allergic to dogs unless I touch them. And if I am, I will immediately break out in hives. So I don't touch dogs anymore. lol

However, last year we got a dog from an adoption agency. He is part Chinese crested/white westie terrier. Chinese crested are hairless so I'm not allergic to him at all and he doesn't really shed.

Why don't you see if you can get a non-allergenic but also see if you can do a 'trial run' to see if there are problems before you commit to one? That's what I would do. Good luck.

there's no way anyone can answer this for you. the allergy shots are an emerging and still-experimental technology. they're a life saver for some folks, and do absolutely nothing for others.
my younger tested allergic to almost everything, including cats and dogs and horses, all of which we have, and pretty much every plant under the moon, and we live on a farm. we got the shots for years. they helped minimally, making the animals bearable for him, but did nothing for the environmental allergies AND caused him to develop a fruit allergy he hadn't previously suffered.
it certainly can't hurt to try the shots, but they're very time-consuming and depending on your insurance expensive.
instead of getting a dog right out of the gate, you might try contacting a local rescue and see if you can foster some hypoallergenic dogs that come into the shelter. that might give you the opportunity to see a) if your son reacts to the dog and b) if being a dog owner is really for you both.
it would suck for the dog as well as your son to get one and then have to re-home it.
khairete
S.

Interesting question. You might work it out with shots but if you are allergic why would you then do it and potentially get sicker from the side affects or trigger other sensibilities you might get fighting with your immune system.
It is like you are diabetic and you will ignor your condition.

I am really sorry for your son and you being allergic but you just have to be realistic.

D., let me ask-- how old is your son? Is he of an age where he can (and WILL) help care for the pet? Younger kids, esp. have an idealized version in their minds of 'what' having a dog is like. I think it's great your son likes animals, and I agree with the idea of letting him pet sit. My son walks the neighbors dog when she's out of town and really, that right there is 'enough' for him after a few days. The novelty wears off pretty quickly.

For me, personally, having to get shots to have a pet seems extreme. We actually got one of our cats because the owner remarried and when the families blended, one of the stepkids had allergies. There are sometimes side-effects to allergy meds as well. I take an allergy pill at night for other allergens (not my cats, fortunately), and it knocks me out.I would be very cautious in going forward with this for the pet's sake as well. It's hard on animals to be re-homed. And remember that your insurance may not cover the allergy shots, so that might be an out of pocket cost. It would be an entire shift in how you live now: shots, plus the responsibility that comes with owning a dog.

So consider how willing you are to do this indefinitely... dogs live for quite a long time.

Everyone in my house is allergic to dogs but we have two hypo-allergenic dogs which means their hair does not shed but they still have the dander that other dogs have. I find that my allergies are not as bad with them as they are with other dogs.

We chose against the allergy shots because some people have really bad adverse reactions and it really just depends on each individual. If we find that the dander starts to bother our allergies, we just either drink allergy tea or taken a 24 hour allergy pill.

Yes, the grunt work of picking up poop and caring for the dogs does usually fall on the parents, but I love my dogs and the happiness it brings the children. Their place in our family is priceless and worth it. I won't get the shots though. If they do work, it takes years for them to actually make a difference anyway.

Why would you go thru all that and the shots potentially not work? Get a hypoallergenic dog like a golden doodle. We got a golden doodle. He is so lovable, smart, doesn't drool, awesome with kids, NO SHEDDING!!! Ours is almost 2, 80 pounds. They do have mini golden doodles, so flipping cute.

Every dog has dander, even those dogs which are thought not to provoke an allergic reaction. So, if you and your son are hypersensitive, that should be a consideration.

Not totally on topic, but something I've observed: Ultimately, the work of having a dog falls to mom! Our son begged for a dog,, but when it is 5 a.m. on a winter's day, I'm the one out with the dog for the morning potty run!

Our allergist said even if we got the shots, he would still strongly discourage us from getting a dog. Even hypoallergenic. He says that's a misleading term. It's not just dander, it's protein in hair and skin that is the allergen, and also saliva. My neighbor told me yesterday he has a doodle mix and he still reacts because the puppy will nip him in play.

For us, it was also the time commitment and possible adverse reaction. But we strongly considered it at the time but ultimately chose against. No pets though :(

I had allergy shots for years but can't say they really helped. I stopped getting them when after one injection I went into anaphylactic shock. It was a terrible experience.

If you get shots, make sure you follow your doctors instructions and sit in the office after the shot. It's a medical emergency if you go into shock.

Btw...I have never met a dog I don't react to. Even hypoallergenic dogs.

How bad are your allergies to dogs? Mild or severe? I'm not sure but I do know I tried doing the shots for my very bad pollen allergies and they did not work at all for me. It turns out at the smallest amount I have a severe reaction to the shot. It felt like I was having a heart attack combined with the flu combined with being beat up. The doctor said I am one of the highly sensitive people who can never reach a maintenance dose with allergy shots. I would also try asking around to see if anyone you know is allergic to dogs and got one of the "hypoallergenic" dogs like a standard poodle. My sister tests allergic to cats but she refuses to not have a cat...she just got used to it. (So she must have mild cat allergies)

My husband had years of treatment with shots as well as medications, and got nothing except a thin wallet. I was okay with dogs but not cats. A friend and her son were highly allergic to pretty much everything and were about to give up their cat. She did shots and prescription meds, and still carried a box of tissues with her all day long. The child spent a year on a nebulizer and got nowhere. We all got much better results with immune system support and now I am totally allergy symptom free (both seasonal and animal). It's not overnight but it works if you are consistent, and it's easy with many other benefits.

You could consider a dog with a low incidence of reaction, unless you are both so highly allergic that there's no point. We've done well for my husband and son with a Cairn terrier or Cairn mix (2 different dogs, some minor shedding but no double coat), and friends have done well with even more low-allergy breeds like Havanese, poodles or poodle mixes (e.g. Goldendoodle, schnoodle), Tibetan terriers and so on. You can go large or small dog depending on the life style of your family, the age and temperament of your son, whether you're around a lot in the day or not, how much you enjoy the outdoors (important for a big dog that needs exercise), and so on. We work at home and we were willing to take a rescue dog - we found a really good shelter that helped us match dog to family, and you might explore to see if there's one that can let you spend some time with a possible adoptee to see if you react. What you don't want to do is get a dog for a few weeks and then return it - it's very traumatic for the dog (especially a rescue animal that's already been given up at least once), and it's really hard on the family as well.

I don't have experience related to dogs, but I am allergic to almost everything outdoors (grass, trees, weeds) plus indoors I was allergic to dust mites. I had terrible allergies year round.

Allergy shots have been life-changing for me. Before shots, I took an antihistamine every day AND used a nasal steroid every day, year-round. I am to the point where I only have to go once a month for a shot, and I don't take any allergy medicine at all most days, even in the spring when everything blooms.

Talk to your allergist about rapid desensitization. I started out on the 'traditional' path with increasing doses weekly. That would have taken me about 2 years of weekly shots just to get to a monthly maintenance dose. With rapid desensitization, it's one bad day (they do almost the entire ramp-up in 1 day, shots every hour). But you get to your maintenance dose in about a month this way, instead of years. It was so much easier than weekly shots for me. Allergy shots are a long-term commitment either way (my doc says at least 5 years of monthly maintenance dose before I could try to wean down to less frequent), so be prepared to really follow through if you go this direction.

A different route is to look at less allergenic dogs. One of my siblings is highly allergic to dogs. They got a Bichon Frise, which is less allergenic. He does fine with the Bichon. To test it out, he spent an afternoon at the Bichon breeders interacting with the dogs. Then went home. After 24 hours, when he didn't have a reaction, they moved forward with getting the dog.

Maybe he should pet sit others pets.
We went through phases when we'd wish for a dog - but in the long run we were happy Mom said "No".

Extended family has severe cat allergies. And asthma. He got shots for it and has two cats and is fine.

I don't know about adults, but for children, yes indeed. It helped my sister immensely. She was allergic to the dander. Cats would put her in the hospital.

She had shots for several years. As an adult, it has been a lifesaver because she hasn't always had medical insurance and can't afford to end up in the hospital because a cat crosses her path. Now, not only do they not make her sick, but she has pets and no trouble.

This isn't just about having a pet. It's about him being able to live his life without having to worry about places he goes and people he does things with making him sick. Even though you've done it, doesn't mean he should have to. Investigate the possibility of shots for both of you.

My dad was allergic to cats and dogs, among other things, and got allergy shots weekly when I was a kid. He did just fine around our cocker spaniel.

We got a Miniature Schnauzer a little over a year ago. My husband and daughter are VERY allergic to cats and some dogs. My husband also has asthma which is related to the allergies - he used to get allergy shots for a number of his allergies, but gave it up after marginal results.
This breed (schnauzer) does not shed and I usually rinse him off if he gets into field grass or other allergy triggers. Many times I don't use shampoo, just water. He is very used to being bathed and actually likes it.
So far, absolutely no problems. When I brought this breed up on this forum, I was bombarded with negative responses about how difficult and sometimes nasty these dogs are - also people said that there is "no such thing" as a hypoallergenic dog. I totally disagree.
He's been a wonderful loving addition to our family - my husband and daughter play with him, he licks them...no problems with allergies.