What Is a Dog Allergy?
A dog allergy is an allergic reaction to various proteins found in a dog’s skin cells, saliva, and urine. Common symptoms include rashes, a runny nose, and itchy eyes.
Causes of Dog Allergy
Allergies occur when the immune system mistakenly identifies a harmless substance as a threat. It then produces antibodies that constantly watch out for that specific substance.
With dog allergies, it’s usually not the hair itself that causes a reaction, but tiny proteins from skin cells, saliva, or urine that stick to the fur, even though they are completely harmless in themselves.
Most people with a dog allergy react when they are around dogs indoors, but if you’re very sensitive, you can also have an allergic reaction to dogs outdoors. You can develop symptoms from direct contact with a dog, or from allergens spread through the air and via dog owners’ clothing.
It isn’t fully understood why some people develop a dog allergy, but both genetics and environment are likely factors.
Dog Allergy in Children
Dog allergy can develop at any time in life, but symptoms often start in childhood. Dog owners easily carry dog hair and allergens on their clothes, which can then spread in schools and other public places.
Children with dog allergies may feel tired and unwell at school if they constantly have allergy symptoms. It’s therefore important to inform school staff so they can help. For example, they can make sure that children with dog allergies don’t have to sit next to or hang their clothes beside classmates who have dogs at home.
Symptoms of Dog Allergy
Common symptoms of dog allergy include:
- coughing and sneezing
- runny nose
- nasal congestion
- itchy, red, and swollen eyes
Some people develop asthma-like symptoms, such as shortness of breath, a hacking cough, and wheezing in the chest. If the symptoms are severe, sleep can be affected. Some people with dog allergies also develop skin symptoms with direct contact, such as hives, eczema, or itching.
Can I Reduce Dog Allergy Problems?
If you are allergic to dogs and don’t plan to live with one, you should avoid direct contact with dogs. If you know you’re going to be around a dog, over-the-counter medicines can offer temporary relief. These are the same types of medicines used for pollen allergies.
If you’ve decided to live with a dog despite having an allergy, you can try taking antihistamines, such as desloratadine, which works well for some people. In some cases it may be enough to take these tablets every other day. A good tip is to buy allergy tablets containing desloratadine, which is an antihistamine like other allergy tablets, but tends to cause less drowsiness than standard loratadine tablets.
There are also special dog shampoos that reduce the allergens released from the dog’s skin and coat. Regular bathing—about once a week—with such a shampoo, combined with taking allergy tablets, can significantly reduce the risk of troublesome allergic reactions.
Treatment for Dog Allergy
If your allergy symptoms are severe, a doctor can prescribe stronger medications.
For severe dog allergies, a treatment called allergen immunotherapy, or allergy vaccination, is available. This can reduce symptoms for a long time. If the treatment is successful, you may tolerate dogs better, but despite being called a “vaccine,” it does not cure the allergy and it doesn’t work for everyone.
You receive injections containing small amounts of the allergen, which are gradually increased to slowly desensitize your immune system to the substance you react to. The treatment lasts for at least three years and helps you gradually become less sensitive to the allergy-triggering substances.
Reducing Problems from Dog Dander and Skin Flakes
A dog’s skin is the main source of allergen spread. Allergens are released through dander and skin flakes. By washing dogs with allergen-reducing shampoos and taking good care of their skin, you can significantly decrease the amount of allergen they release and thereby reduce allergy problems in humans.
Bathing also helps remove airborne allergy-triggering substances—such as pollen—that can get caught in the dog’s coat. In addition, the dog’s skin benefits from being kept clean from irritants.
Reducing Problems from Dog Saliva and Fur
Saliva on the floor can easily be wiped up, and you can largely avoid contact with saliva by training your dog not to lick.
Keeping dogs out of the bedroom helps the allergic person’s immune system rest and recover during the night.
If you are allergic, you should avoid intact (unneutered) male dogs, because a particular allergen (a prostate protein) is present in their urine. When the dog is taken out to relieve itself several times a day, some urine often ends up on the coat, and when it dries, the allergen can become airborne.
Reducing Allergens in the Environment
Wet-dusting the home allows you to remove allergens without stirring them up into the air, where they could be inhaled by the allergic person. Wipe surfaces that can be cleaned with a damp cloth.
Vacuum hard-to-reach areas with a vacuum cleaner that has an allergen-proof filter. Allergen-proof filters (so-called HEPA filters) capture the tiny particles (allergens) that trigger reactions. With a regular vacuum cleaner, there’s a risk of spreading allergens into the air, since these small particles can pass through a standard filter. Vacuum carpets and textiles that cannot be washed very thoroughly.
A central vacuum system can also reduce allergens in the home, as it sucks up air and dust and then vents the air (after collecting dust and particles) outside the house.
Ventilation – Helpful for Both Pet and Pollen Allergies
Good ventilation and airing out the home can help reduce the amount of allergens in indoor air. However, if you are allergic to multiple airborne allergens, such as pollen, the pollen season can be especially difficult because your immune system is then exposed to several allergens at once and the allergic load increases. During pollen season, you should therefore keep windows closed.
If you have a pollen allergy, change clothes after being outdoors and rinse pollen out of your hair before going to bed. The same applies if someone in the family has been in a stable with horses or in contact with other furry animals—such as cats—when you are allergic to those animals.
Replaceable air filters built into the ventilation system help reduce allergens and particles in the air and are common in newer detached houses. Newer apartment buildings may also have ventilation filters, but they are not always well maintained. Consider installing your own air purifiers at home (especially in the bedroom, so your immune system can rest at night).
Washing Advice
Wash anything that can be machine-washed—ideally at a minimum of 60°C (140°F)—and avoid materials and upholstered furniture that are difficult to clean.
7 Steps to Reduce the Risk of Dog Allergy Problems
Whether it’s your own dog or someone else’s dog that triggers your allergy symptoms, you can reduce the effects of your allergies in seven simple steps:
- Wash dog bedding regularly.
- Change air filters often.
- Use a high-efficiency HEPA air purifier.
- Create an “allergy-free” zone in your home and strictly keep dogs out.
- Bathe your dog at least every four weeks with a hypoallergenic shampoo.
- Brush your dog 4–5 times per week with a proper brush.
- Consider taking regular allergy medication yourself to relieve your symptoms.
