Dog grooming and husband's health

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crazybailey

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Since bringing home a third Sheltie, my husband's allergies/asthma has escalated. We were able to keep it at bay, but now with a third dog it has manifested itself once again. What suggestions have you in how we can get this under control? Is there something out there that is good at limiting the dog dandruff? That is the source of his problem. What shampoo should I use (I use a human dandruff shampoo right now), how often should I bathe them and is there a dry product I can put on the dog's coat more often?
 
My husband is the same way. It is worse at different times of the year. He takes allergy medication every day. Sometimes, at it's worst, his eyes are so painful he will put a wet washcloth over them. Luckily, that is not very often.
I find besides keeping the dogs brushed and clean, vaccumning is the most important thing. Keeping the house uncluttered and clean helps him cope physically and mentally, when 7 or more dogs run by him.
 
My husband has mild allergies to dogs. Buffy hasn't really bothered him since the first week or so. He has just gotten used to her. We have two very good air filters (you probably just need one) and the original plan was to vacuum each week and not have Buffy sleep in our room. We now do every 2 weeks and she sleeps on the floor in our room, but we would dial back if his allergies started up.
 
Dont use human shampoo, even if its designed to reduce dandruff, its not ph balanced for dogs and will increase dandruff. Let me see if I can find something for you in the natural range of products.
 
crazybailey said:
Since bringing home a third Sheltie, my husband's allergies/asthma has escalated. We were able to keep it at bay, but now with a third dog it has manifested itself once again. What suggestions have you in how we can get this under control? Is there something out there that is good at limiting the dog dandruff? That is the source of his problem. What shampoo should I use (I use a human dandruff shampoo right now), how often should I bathe them and is there a dry product I can put on the dog's coat more often?
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I would say firstly to stop using human shampoo on a dog, especially dandruff shampoo. Putting human shampoo on a dog is terribly drying for their coats, let alone one that is medicated. The chemical they use for dandruff may be harmful to dogs, I'm not sure. I would even go so far as to say that that shampoo may be whats contributing to your dog's dander, since even Head and Shoulders can be very drying to people hair, let alone dog fur.

I may be wrong, but I believe that human dandruff and dog dandruff are two completely different things. When dogs have dandruff its usually because they have dry skin. Whereas human dandruff is basically fungus of the scalp, which is why a medicated shampoo is needed.

I'd start by getting a gentle dog shampoo for your pups, one that is oatmeal based would probably be good.

Another way to get rid of dog dander is by feeding a good quality food. If the food you feed is already good quality then you may want to consider supplementing the diet with with either a coat conditioning oil (you can get one at most pet stores) or some kind of fish oil.

If you don't already have one, you may want to try purchasing one of those vacuum cleaners with heppa filters specifically for pet hair and dander.
 
In addition to those suggestions made by ontariosheltie, such as the hepa vaccume and the good quality food, Try supplementing with fish oil.
As for good stuff for reducing dog dander, This is the stuff I used to use, works great on dogs, and is Ph balanced for them too

http://www.ryanspet.com/productInfo.aspx?itemNo=BG21208 Oh, after you use that, use a hypoallergenic oatmeal based shampoo in the same bath, helps get rid of the tar smell and doesnt re-dry out their skin. And less often bathing works wonders 2, 6-8 weeks, the more often you brush, the less often you need to bathe.
 
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Have you talked with his doctor? There are shots he can take to moderate his symptoms and some even decrease them permantently. I'm not sure if this is just for cats, though, but it doesn't hurt to ask!
 
I would suggest not allowing the dogs in your bedroom. I would then suggest doing a light vacuum every day in the main areas where the dogs are allowed to roam. Follow that with a brushing of the dogs at least every three days. Then a wash of the dogs every month to keep the dander in control.

In my case I also put in a whole house vacuum system and an electronic filter on the air flow system. For the most part either the heat or air conditioner are running if my allergic son is home. The vac pulls all the dust and actually dumps any excess to the outside. So on regular vacs get some kind that has a filter system to catch the air that it throws back into the room. You have to get kind of obsessive compulsive about the cleaning. This regime started when my youngest son's allergies started turning into asthma. The cleaning, along with filtering the air, made it to where he is classified as just having allergies, no asthma. This is also why we are just a one dog family.

As stated a good diet will also help. Someone on this forum also mentioned that when a dog is spayed that they don't shed hair but once a year. I had always thought it was because mine was a climate controlled dog. So that might help, if your dogs aren't fixed, though I don't know if that is applicable to a male being neutered.
 
When we first brought Tyler home YEARS ago, my husband began having severe allergies from him :dead:. There is a liquid product you can buy and rub it on your dogs fur to neautralize the dander while your husband builds up his immunity. It worked very well for my DH.

I'll try to find it online and tell you where to look into it:yes:
 
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