When will I be able to tell if my kids are allergic to pets?

[liliaceae]

As a child, I tested allergic to cats and dogs, and I started (but never finished) taking allergy shots in college. I also lived with dogs my entire childhood, and cats my entire life. My allergies to pets have been pretty mild, and right now they seem to be pretty much gone.

We have a cat now, and I would like to get a dog in the near future. My kids are 3 y/o and 6 months old. If they're allergic, when would they start showing signs of it? They're more likely to be allergic since I am, right? I've been considering getting a hypoallergenic dog, but that narrows down the options quite a bit.

[liliaceae]

Is this a stupid question? Sorry, I don't know much about allergies.....

[kjbrown92]

You can take them to someone's house who has a dog, and see if they react. That's an easy way to do it. However, just because they don't react then, doesn't mean they wouldn't react after repeated exposures. My DD2's cat allergy didn't show up until she was about 6yo.

[mrforbes]

Agree with the PP. We had 2 dogs and 2 cats and as we eliminated DS's food allergies, his dog allergy surfaced (he had tested positive for it, but we hadn't seen it yet) and we had to ultimately get rid of them.

Also please note that there are no 'hypoallergic' dogs - there are breed that shed more or shed less, but dog dander is still always there.

You can look at whether you or your family has a history of dog allergies, but this isn't certain either - my DH and I are both not allergic to our dogs but our son definately is.

[Drummer's Wife]

I assume my DS is allergic to cats b/c whenever we go to my mom's house, his face gets a bit red and blotchy, he rubs his eyes, his nose runs and the worst is when we have stayed over night, he got really wheezy and seemed to be struggling to breath. As soon as we left, and spent some time outside in fresh air, he was back to normal.

My DH gets itchy eyes, and a runny nose when around cats as well.

FWIW, we won't stay at my mom's or anywhere that has cats now. It wasn't something we noticed until he was 3+. Before that he stayed at my mom's w/o issue.

[liliaceae]

Originally Posted by mrforbes

Also please note that there are no 'hypoallergic' dogs - there are breed that shed more or shed less, but dog dander is still always there.

There are hypoallergenic dogs; as I understand it, they shed less so they're less likely to cause allergies. I realize there are no dogs that are non-allergenic.

I guess we'll go with a hypoallergenic breed and hope for the best. I grew up with cats and dogs with mild allergies, and I don't regret having pets. My kids haven't shown any signs of allergies with the cats, so I think I'll just be sure to expose them to the breed we want to get beforehand.

[JessicaTX]

We had dogs and cats when my third was an infant, and he always had a runny nose. One day when he was a little over 6 months he grabbed a kitten my aunt was bottlefeeding (it's mother was a stray that had been killed) and then rubbed his eye, that side of his face immediately turned red and puffed up. So we got rid of our cats at home, and he no longer had a runny nose. So it might be obvious, but you might be as oblivious as I was =D

[kjbrown92]

We have an "non-allergenic" dog. She's an American Hairless Terrier. Some people do still react to them, but not often. My DH has allergy-induced asthma to cats and dogs, and he's fine with her. For that breed, they recommend finding someone who has that kind of dog near you, and spending a few hours there to see if there's an issue.

[kjbrown92]

But the main thing is, at least what doctors have told us, is that you pass down the "tendency" to allergies in general (meaning that if one or both of the parents have any kind of allergy, the child is more likely to have an environmental or food allergy or food intolerance) not the actual allergy. That being said, both DH and DD1 are allergic to cats.