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pet dander and allergies

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DeacHoops

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so i have a dog that sheds...a lot (a sheltie, if it matters). deachoopstoy appears to be allergic to her (getting tested next week, but we're 98% confident we know how it'll turn out). giving her away is NOT an option, nor is turning her into an outdoor dog. so i need recommendations on how to make my house less miserable for him.

anybody have recommendations on any of the following:

-air filters
-vacuums that actually remove dander rather than just stirring it up
-whether or not brushing her more often will help
-effectiveness of allergy shots
-shampoos/sprays/anything else that would help

thoughts? most everything i'm finding online just says something along the lines of "get rid of them. if that's not an option, put them outside." she's already not allowed in the bedrooms, which are the only rooms in the house that are carpet. every room she's allowed in are hardwood or tile, which is helpful. but what else can i do?
 
It's a losing battle that will end badly.

Time to make a decision. Boy vs. Dog.
 
dyson-dc-25-animal.jpg


Dyson Animal. Its pricy but well worth it. I cant tell you how well it cleans, because you'd never believe me until you see it yourself.

I'm highly allergic to cats, and mrstsy is allergic to dogs. We have two dogs, and just try our best to clean the house every week to minimize shedding. As long as the dogs dont sleep near her face, she is fine. I know some couples who take benadryl daily to help, and even some that take monthly allergy shots.
 
I'm allergic to cats. We don't have any, so it is not something we are concerned with daily, but the in-laws do and is a concern when I stay there. My parents have dogs that are inside and my cousins used to be allergic to them. Below are some of the things we noticed that worked.

I would recommend changing the air filters once a month. This makes a big difference. It supposedly will also lead to a lower power bill.

Wood/Tile floors are better than carpet. You can get the hair up better and quicker. We would swiffer once a day to keep the hair up.

One of my parents' dogs sheds a lot. If we keep her groomed regularly, she doesn't shed nearly as much to the point that any shedding isn't noticeable. There is a shampoo called the Furminator that is designed to reduce shedding up to 90%. Many groomers use this shampoo.

I've never tried allergy shots for my cat allergy, since I'm not around them all the time. For my cousins, benedryl helped them.
 
tsywake said:
dyson-dc-25-animal.jpg


Dyson Animal. Its pricy but well worth it. I cant tell you how well it cleans, because you'd never believe me until you see it yourself.

I'm highly allergic to cats, and mrstsy is allergic to dogs. We have two dogs, and just try our best to clean the house every week to minimize shedding. As long as the dogs dont sleep near her face, she is fine. I know some couples who take benadryl daily to help, and even some that take monthly allergy shots.
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i think you've mentioned this vacuum before, and i really want it. but, as i'm sure you're aware, it's REALLY expensive. where is the cheapest place to get it? and amazon apparently has some refurbs. would that be an awful idea?
 
DeacHoops said:
i think you've mentioned this vacuum before, and i really want it. but, as i'm sure you're aware, it's REALLY expensive. where is the cheapest place to get it? and amazon apparently has some refurbs. would that be an awful idea?
Click to expand...

Sometimes they have them on woot. Or at least a version of it.
 
DeacHoops said:
i think you've mentioned this vacuum before, and i really want it. but, as i'm sure you're aware, it's REALLY expensive. where is the cheapest place to get it? and amazon apparently has some refurbs. would that be an awful idea?
Click to expand...

I got a Dyson refurb from Woot years ago and I've not had any trouble with it, though it isn't this exact model.
 
We got ours at Costco, and it was 50% of the retail costs I just saw online. I have no idea about the refurbs.
 
It really just depends on how allergic he is. Allergy shots definitely work, but take a year or so before you really get any resistance. Otherwise you should plan on that vacuum cleaner being a permanent extension of your body.
 
If you use regular cheap AC filters, you should change them once a month no matter what. The expensive non-allergen kind say to change every 90 days, but that's probably too long.
 
HeavyPetter said:
It really just depends on how allergic he is. Allergy shots definitely work, but take a year or so before you really get any resistance. Otherwise you should plan on that vacuum cleaner being a permanent extension of your body.
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dang, really? is there ANY benefit before that year? that is a really, REALLY long time for him to continue being miserable :(
 
Dyson Animal is pretty amazing. Highly recommend. But other than that, over time he will just get immune to it. I was ridiculously allergic to my cat when I first started hanging around my now wife 10 years ago. After a few months of constant contact with him my body just adjusted and I'm was no longer allergic to him at all.
 
I'm deathly allergic to cats. we got an air filter & it has been better since then.

if you do go the air filter route, you must get the HEPA certified ones. they remove 99.7% of allergens. all non certified ones remove like 70%
 
We have one of these http://www.kaz.com/kaz/air-purifiers/products/honeywell-true-hepa-allergen-remover-17000/ and one of these http://www.kaz.com/kaz/air-purifiers/products/honeywell-50250-n-true-hepa-air-purifier-50250-n/, as well as a Dyson (not the one posted above). We have 2 dogs and a rabbit, I'm not allergic to anything, but my wife is a good bit. She can really notice when the air purifiers are off (often I turn them off if we leave town for a few days), so I'd say that they help. We all us the Furminator on the dogs, gets rid of excess hair.
 
DeacHoops said:
dang, really? is there ANY benefit before that year? that is a really, REALLY long time for him to continue being miserable :(
Click to expand...

I guess it depends on the dosage. But you start with a small dose and then the dose becomes bigger and bigger as you build up a resistance to the allergen. Eventually you just go and take maintenance shots once a month or so. The allergist will probably put him on a daily dose of Allegra or something too.
 
HeavyPetter said:
If you use regular cheap AC filters, you should change them once a month no matter what. The expensive non-allergen kind say to change every 90 days, but that's probably too long.
Click to expand...

This is what we do. I've tried the expensive non-allergen kind, but for me they too need to be changed every month. I get the same results with the expensive ones as a do with the cheap ones, so we just go with the cheap ones and change on the first day of each month.
 
i use the furminator on my dog regularly, but is it actually helping the allergies? i mean, i know it helps the hair, which, from a cleaning perspective, is worth it. but is it helping the allergies? dander is what causes the allergies, not hair, right?
 
DeacHoops said:
i use the furminator on my dog regularly, but is it actually helping the allergies? i mean, i know it helps the hair, which, from a cleaning perspective, is worth it. but is it helping the allergies? dander is what causes the allergies, not hair, right?
Click to expand...

For dander, we bathe the dogs with an oatmeal based shampoo. Ask you vet what they recommend. Then go to amazon and find it online (cheaper that way and the same product).
 
Knight said:
Totally serious: you could shave your dog.

Not buzz cut, but bring it down to a half inch or so.

My little brother was really allergic to everything, but after years and years of hundreds of shots he can function like a normal human being. We had our long haired cats trimmed back. They REALLY seemed to like it for two reasons - 1) they weren't constantly panting and hot as balls during the summer and 2) we cut them short enough that it gave them that "short hair" feeling when we petted them (you know, like when a guy gets his hair cut with a #2 buzzer and you run your hand over it and it's all prickly/awesome).
Click to expand...

again, i'm curious how this helps. hair isn't the problem. dander is the problem. how does getting rid of the hair help? i mean, if it does actually help, i'm all for it (though i have not yet found a groomer in charlotte who is willing to do it. shelties have super sensitive skin, so shaving them is just mean). but it doesn't seem to me like it would help anything at all.
 
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