[JoeyH]

Hi,
After a long wait we finally got a puppy and my wife and I could not be happier. When we met him we immediately connected and finally picked him up last week.
After couple days having him, I developed an allergy against him. I tried most of the over the counter medications but that didn‘t help much. Since we live in an apartment it‘s really difficult having him around me. I have been around dogs and did never show any symptoms.
I get an itchy nose and eyes, sneezing, but worse is that because of that I can‘t sleep (frequent awakening because) of symptoms. We gave him baths and vacuumed the apartment all the time but this seems also to only help for a short time.
We had to bring him to a board and train program where they take really good care of him so we can figure out what to do and for my to take an allergy test.
I‘ll try again when we pick him up and want to see if anyone has any advice.

My wife is not ready to give him up but we have to consider this as an option. I feel really bad having to think about rehoming when he was really the best dog. He‘s now 9 weeks old and already reacts to his name and can stay in hin crate without whining for about an hour, we barely had any accidents with him and he is the most gently and playful dog.
Am I a bad person for thinking to give him away especially because he has been so good? Most people do not understand why we are considering this And it has been really hard on me.

Does anyone here had to regime their dog and has any advice? We try to keep him but if it really doesn‘t work I need to make sure it‘s really best for the dog.

 

[storyist]

So you didn't get him from the kind of breeder who has a contract and wants dog back if you can't keep it for any reason?

 

[Lillith]

Some people are allergic to some dogs, but not all, and it can be almost impossible to tell unless you spend quite a bit of time with them. If allergy medications are not working and cleaning the apartment isn't helping then I wouldn't blame you for wanting to rehome. There are prescription options that can be helpful, such as an injection that I now forget the name of, but it may or may not work and I'm sure it isn't cheap if insurance doesn't cover it. Allergies are miserable, especially if symptoms are disrupting your sleep cycle and making you feel unwell.

Your pup is 9 weeks old so likely won't have any issues finding a new home. If you feel this is the best decision for your health and wellbeing, you should contact the breeder or shelter. If anyone gives you grief about it, just ignore them. They've obviously never dealt with severe allergies.

 

[Toedtoes]

Even if adopted, most shelters and rescues will take the puppy back, and prefer that, rather than having you rehome it.

Many rescues and shelters have at least a two week "return policy" where you can even get your adoption fee back - because they know that sometimes things don't work out for reasons that can't be controlled. Developing an allergy, when you did not have it prior, is a "legitimate" no-fault reason. You have done nothing wrong and everything right. As a rescuer, I would never give you a hassle for that. It happens.

I have a friend who takes the allergy shots due to her cat allergy (she had two for years). It worked well for her. But as mentioned it doesn't always work and may be cost-prohibitive.

I suggest you contact the breeder/shelter/rescue and let them know what's going on. You can tell them you'd like to try the shots and keep him and see how they feel about it. Often, they will work with you so you can keep the puppy rather than immediatelt take it back.

 

[JoeyH]

Thank you for the responses. I‘ll give it another try with the allergy shots and contact the breeder to see if he can go back to her if the allergy shots don‘t work Or if it‘s just too much to handle. It‘s the worst thinking about the possibility that we can‘t keep him.

 

[DaySleepers]

Managing pet allergies can be extremely difficult in a good sized house, let alone an apartment. It absolutely sucks that this happened, but your health is important, and rehoming needs to be on the table. It won't be fair to you or the dog if you stick with it even though you're miserable, possibly resentful.

If you want to explore further options, absolutely get a referral to an allergist. Allergy shots are a long-term solution, and can take months to see any effect at all, and years to reach peak effectiveness (after that they typically remain effective for a good amount of time, like a decade or more). And there's some percentage of people they just don't work for, so you may be getting shots regularly for a year+ with no effect. There are likely other options an allergist could help you with to try to get more immediate relief, but there's no silver bullet guarantee for allergies.

Here's what I'd suggest in the meantime, if at all possible, to reduce your exposure (based on what I've had to do when living with cats):

• No puppy in the bedroom, and limit access to furniture you use as much as possible; wash puppy bedding regularly
• Dog has no access to clean clothes or linens (a little easier for dogs than cats, at least!)
• Vacuum at least once a week, preferably more, with a S-class or HEPA filter vacuum bag
• Try bathing the dog regularly with an anti-allergen shampoo like AllerTech (okay, I didn't do this for the cats and don't know how well these products work, but it's worth a try)
• If the puppy needs to be brushed or trimmed regularly, either pay a groomer, have your wife do it using a DIY grooming service (this is where a pet shop or grooming salon has baths, clippers, dryers, etc. you can pay to use for less than a professional groomer charges), or find some way to be out of the home when it happens, and make sure the area is cleaned and vacuumed thoroughly before you return
• If you can afford it, invest in at least one air purifier that has a filter meant for removing airborne allergens (again, HEPA filters are good to look for, but do your own research!). I recommend setting it up in the bedroom or the place in the apartment the pup spends most of its time. This is a pricy option and I wouldn't recommend it if you aren't confident you're at a point where you can make keeping the puppy work.

You might not have to do all of this to reduce your symptoms, or you might find that none of it works at all. If you do work out something effective with your allergist, you probably won't need to be as strict once your symptoms are better managed. It definitely sucks to keep up with, and I wish you lots of luck.