by Dr Pandula Siribaddana

Created on: July 24, 2010

A dog allergy in humans is a well known allergic condition although it doesn’t seem to influence the ones who want the man’s best friend near them. Certainly, the bonding between the dog and its owner cannot be disputed by any means, even though the science proves such bonding does come with health concerns for certain people.

Among the pets in the house, cats seems to be the commonest animal giving rise to allergic reactions for the households which makes the dogs come second in the list. But, not all dog owners will develop allergies to their dogs and not all dogs would cause allergies towards their owners. At the same time, there may be a variation among family members in their response towards one particular dog as well. Taking all these into consideration, the best measure of treatment for dog allergies would be to ‘keep the dogs away’! But, it may not be as easy as it seems, because dogs are much lovable and cared for by pet lovers and they are not easy to be apart.

When considering what cause a dog to be allergenic, it seems like the dogs saliva is the main culprit. This is different to the allergies that would occur in relation to cats, as it is mainly due to the cat dander rather than saliva.

For this reason, we need to look into remedial measures to avoid dog allergies at the same time having our favorite pets nearby. Here are some treatment and preventive strategies which can be highly useful for the ones who develop ‘dog allergy’.

-Give the dog a bath at least twice a week to remove the possible allergenic particles.

-Make arrangements for the dog to stay out of the house or in the garage rather than stay within the house.

-Do not allow the dogs to climb on to the beds or on to the sofa where family members or persons with allergic potential hang around.

-Wipe the dog with a wet cloth regularly to prevent the allergenic particles from being present on the dogs body.

-Vacuum the floor with HEPA enabled vacuum cleaner and make use of a similar kind of air conditioner to get rid of allergenic particles.

-Hard surfaces such as furniture and toys which are present at the site should also be wiped either using a wet cloth, or else vacuumed thoroughly at frequent intervals.

If all such measures fail, it might be a good idea to opt for a potentially ‘low allergenic breed of dog’ from the time you decide to take care of a pet dog.

Lastly, in case the allergenic symptoms are bad and continuous, a decision may have to be made as to whether to keep the dog at home or to find another safe place for your pet.

Learn more about this author, Dr Pandula Siribaddana.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.