Family with allergies
Submitted by EPrinz on April 6, 2011 - 8:58amAs I continue my quest for "my bullie" would anyone have any knowlege or experience with a family member with allergies and bulldogs? My husband has asthma and has been known to be allergic to dogs. Although we had a cat for 15 years the affects of her did not seem to bother him as much as when he is around dogs. Now that my children are not around and my husband works 15 hours a day I am seriously wanting to add a bully to my family but obviously not if it will have ill affects on hubby!!!! :) Thanks again for all the help out there!
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Elaine
Allergies
I have a son with Asthma but he is allergic to cats and not Dogs. Thank God!!
Anyway, last year he was very very sick and missed a lot of school. And a few trips to the er .Turns out the teacher owned 2 cats and he was sensitive to the dander she carried to school on her clothes!! So even though your husband will be away for 15 hours a day, the dog dander will be making him sick when he is home.
We do all the usual stuff around here, vacuum and dust often, sheets and pillows are incased, an air filter runs where my son sleeps. And he takes daily Advair checks his pulmonary function daily and uses a rescue inhaler when needed.
If I were you, I would look into a hypoallergenic breed. You have to understand that by bringing a dog to your home that your husband is allergic to, he probably will get very sick. My son can't even go to play dates with families that own cats. They always say they will lock them up while he is there but it's not that easy to contain the allergens.
I don't know how bad your husbands asthma is, my sons is well controlled, but with cats, it can be a matter of life and death.
i'm sure this isn't what you wanted to hear, but from my experience with asthma, I wouldn't bring a known allergen into my home. Sorry.
I agree- If he is allergic to dogs then most likely a bully
will not be a good idea. If you want to see you could always seek out someone that has a bully and have him spend some time with it to see his reaction. But most likely having one in the home will intensify the allergy,
Good Luck
Thanks for the info....you're
Thanks for the info....you're right though its not what I wanted to hear. I guess deep down I know it is the reality that the dog will bother his asthma. It is very well controlled but I have seen him around family dogs and usually can only last a few hours before he's all sneezy and itchy. Wishful thinking on my part that it could become a reality. I am very sad. I guess I have more research and thinking to do!
Elaine
One of the main reasons why bullies come to rescue...
is because someone is allergic to them. It is very sad but I would test those waters first. See if you can find someone with a bulldog and see what the reaction is. The last bully we adopted out to a family who turned out to have an allergic member of the family, within hours the family was in the ER with a severe allergic reaction.
So, seriously, check into this because the last thing you want is to get a bully, fall in love and days later have to return him/her or give to rescue.
Thanks Annie...I don't even
Thanks Annie...I don't even have one yet and my heart is broken just knowing that it probably won't become a reality. I guess I'm glad I asked this question...:(!
Elaine
Maybe you could volunteer with a local bulldog rescue and get
your bully fix that way.
That is a GREAT suggestion
you could help out or even foster and see how your hubby is short term, while helping a bully in need =D
That is a great idea...but I
That is a great idea...but I wouldn't even know how to go about that! I really am NEW at this!!! I'm in Syracuse NY area if anyone knows who to recommend!
Elaine
Here you go =)
Either, Mid Atlantic Bulldog Rescue out of New Jersey http://www.midatlanticbulldogrescue.com/ Ask for Cathy Kittell and say that you were referred by Lisa James
or Heavensent Bulldog rescue out of New York. http://www.heavensentbulldogrescue.com/ Ask for Kara Gordon and say that you were referred by Lisa James.
Call them, they are both awesome people. Ask them what is involved and tell them you might be interested =)
I am with Long Island Bulldog Rescue....
and sadly, most of the people we have upstate are volunteers who foster bulldogs for us. Sometimes short term, sometimes long term. But that does not sound like a good avenue to persue if the dog is going to be in your house.
Forgot about
LIBR. There are lots of ways she can help though, isn't there? I wouldn't think the only help rescues need is fostering..............
I don't foster.....not since I kept my last one (Cain).....
but my main function is office work on Saturdays. I go to the main office and answer the phone, do emails, work on newsletters and events that are coming up....so yes there are many more things you can do than just foster.
Remember, the rescue's that are mentioned are the big rescue's in the Northeast....that does not mean is there is not a smaller rescue close by you that you can help out. I just googled bulldog rescue in Syracuse NY and found this
Maybe you can get in touch with them and see if you can help them in anyway.
Good Luck....but before you rule it out, look into the allergy issue, maybe it will not be an issue.....
Again thank you all...my
Again thank you all...my husband told me that as a kid growing up his family always had a dog...he just had to have allergy shots once a month...I'm not gonna give up yet but will not make any hasty decisions...for everyone's sake! You are all awesome!
Elaine
My honey is allergic to our bully
In our case, he is worse with cats. He is in LOVE with his bully girl so deals with his reaction to her. But he definitely reacts.
Sorry...
My husband is on singular and
My husband is on singular and uses an inhaler when necessary...is yours on any special meds to help?
Elaine
My dad has severe asthma induced by allergies.
And he has TWO big dogs that he won't part with, he loves them to pieces. He just controls his asthma by controlling his allergies. You know, there is something that can be done to lessen the dogs dander and thereby lessen the allergy to it. I will email my dad and ask what all he takes to control things. He always has a in haler available, but he doesn't always have to use it. He is one of the worst asthmatics I know. My nephew is deathly allergic to cats and has to do breathing treatments to control his asthma, but his mom has cats and he survives, not sure how. He takes an inhaler as well as medication to control it, and he has gotten better. So much so that my brother got a dog, which my nephew is slightly less allergic to, and he does fine.
Don't rule out getting a Bulldog until you talk to your family doctor about human and pet remedies for the allergic reaction that causes the asthma. You might find out you can have your cake and eat it too!
Amy and Sophia
Thanks Amy...I feel better
Thanks Amy...I feel better today!! We are going to do all the things you recommended....so I'm really not giving up!
Elaine
Good:-) Never give up!
Keep researching, you might just find a way to make it work.
Amy and Sophia
Ok, this is what my dad said....
He is on his way to a big presentation today and could only briefly tell me things, but this is what he said.
1. Remove the carpet. Wood floors, tile, etc, are much easier to keep clean and dander is easier to keep up with. He has wood floors, he vacuums them every other day, wet mops them once a week. He recently moved from a place with carpeting to this new place with all wood floors and his asthma is nearly gone! For my dad, that is amazing, he has been a severe asthmatic since I was a very young child and we actually moved from Virginia to Arizona in 1966 to see if that would help his chest some. He did a lot better there, but his asthma came back with a vengeance when he moved to Colorado about 7 years ago. He struggled to control it and finally got it settled down again a few years ago.
2. He has an inhaler of Proventil. He uses it mostly when he is outdoors and it is breezy...blowing around all those nasty allergens. He uses it when he exercises. He doesn't hit it at home nearly as much though since moving to his new place 6 months ago.
3. He takes Singulair, and told me my extremely bad asthmatic nephew does as well. My nephews allergies/asthma are almost gone since starting Singulair.
4. He bathes his dogs monthly. Not weekly, that can dry them out too much and actually make things worse. There are wipe down type towels that you can use on your dogs to keep them clean every day or every few days if you want to go that route.
5. Mainly he just keeps his sheets washed, his floors vacuumed (not swept, that just pushes the dander around), and wet mopped weekly. It is more work, but well worth having his two big dogs....one of which I gave him in 2009 that I rescued off the highway. She is a heavy coated Lab girl that he adores....he would rather die from his asthma than ever get rid of Cue:-)
Amy and Sophia
Don't give up....
that is why I said test the waters on this one. Maybe allergy shots/meds is all your husband would need. Chances are he is going to love that bully as much as you do and will gladly do whatever he needs to have this awesome breed in your lives!!! : )
If he isn't opposed to meds...
may I suggest Allegra-D 24. I'm allergic to dogs & deal w/the physical reactions (welts/itching) w/long-sleeves & blankets on my lap (after all I have 3 lap dogs!). For the breathing, closing of throat, itchy eyes, etc I take Allegra-D 24. It's honestly my saving grace. My regular MD kinda poo-poo'd on it this last time, but sans getting allergy shots (which I honestly don't have the time to work through) it's the only thing I've found that works for me. It has to be the 24 though, 12 doesn't cut it for me.
Good luck!
Jen
www.bluelinebulldogs.com