American Hairless Terriers - Allergy Trials
Suggestions for doing an allergy trial with an AHT
Index:
- Remote Allergy Trial
vs. Live Allergy Trial
- Conducting a REMOTE allergy trial
- How to do a LIVE allergy trial
1. Choose a reputable breeder....
2. Ask to see a
dog that is friendly to strangers....
3. Make sure you see the
dog in 2 places:
4.
If an adult is the allergic person, go ALONE...
5.
What
modifications are you willing/able to make??
6.
Above all, don't kid yourself...
- Live Allergy Trial vs. Remote Allergy Trial
LIVE Trial - We would strongly recommend meeting an American Hairless Terrier in person. That affords you the opportunity to see an AHT in action...see what they are really like. AND you are able to see if just being around them, or touching them causes a reaction. Of course, this requires that you have an AHT near you (or within traveling distance). So what do I do if I can't find an AHT close to me?
That's where the REMOTE trial comes in. A remote trial affords the allergic person an opportunity to test their reaction to an AHT's dander without having them physically present. See below for a description.
- Conducting a REMOTE allergy trial:
Here is
Taylor wearing a little girl's T-shirt for a remote allergy trial (Camryn is covered with
another shirt...that's the black head under the white shirt)
If you can't do a
LIVE allergy trial at first, consider doing a "remote" test. How to do a remote
test...
1) Obtain the AHT owner's address, 2 Express Mail bags, 2 or more t-shirts that
belong to the allergic person, and a 1-gallon sized Zip-Lock bag PER shirt
2) Address one Express mail bag to the breeder and enclose the other
Self-Addressed Express mail bag with postage prepaid
3) Place t-shirts and self-addressed/postage paid envelope into Express mail bag
(addressed to breeder)
4) Breeder will "infect" ONE t-shirt with dog's dander by allowing dog to lay on
the t-shirt and/or by rubbing it on the dog. The other shirt will remain dander
free. However, you will not know which one has the dander on it.
5) Breeder will return t-shirts to you in the self-addressed postage paid
Express mail bag you included when you sent the t-shirts
6) You will wear one t-shirt at a time to see if you have a reaction ....make
note of which one you are wearing if you do! Remember, one has NO dander and
the other one DOES!
7) If you DO react, you'll know the AHT is probably not for you...IF you DON'T
react, you'll still need to do the live trial (see below for recommendations).
-How to do a LIVE allergy trial
1. Choose a reputable breeder.... How do you determine if the person is reputable?? Ask LOTS of questions. Ask for references. Ask to see pictures of their dogs. Ask other breeders who THEY would purchase a dog from. They can also help you locate an AHT near you.
2. Ask to see a dog that is friendly to strangers....During our allergy trial, the first dog the breeder brought to us was very skittish and didn't want to be touched. The second dog was much friendlier and did not mind being handled by strangers. If you can't touch the dog, you'll have a hard time seeing if you're going to have a reaction!
3. Make sure you see the dog
in 2 places:
a) alone after the dog has been thoroughly bathed (make sure you stress this).
The first dog we saw was clean. But b/c he wouldn't let us touch him and kept
nipping at us, the kids were afraid so we didn't get enough exposure to see if
Corbyn (my daughter) was going to react. The second dog the breeder brought was
clearly not clean as Corbyn had a VERY severe reaction within 5 minutes of
having the dog near her. I requested and repeated that we needed the dog to be
clean because the breeder
had lots of dogs, many of them coated. We knew Corbyn
couldn't tolerate that...but...
b) I'd also suggest that you go to the owner's home if possible (if they only
have AHTs). We did not consider that over time, the dander builds up in the
house and can create problems long-term, even if there are no immediate
reactions. I realize that this may not be possible, but if you can do this it
may help prevent some heartache.
Corbyn started having a mild allergic reaction to Conyr, our
first AHT after about 15 days in the house, even though we had been quite
careful to vacuum and bathe her regularly. Also, we had
a special air filtration system built-in to our air conditioner for Corbyn since
she's allergic to many things and we purchased a Hepa-air filter that's
portable, so we moved the filter to the room where
Conyr was...anyway...we had to decide if we wanted to
medicate her or return the dog....Corbyn loved the dog
so much that she decided it was worth the sniffles and the occasional
coughing...to make sure this would not have any long-standing effects on Corbyn,
we went to see a pediatric allergist...he stated that she would NOT suffer
long-term health ramifications from being mildly
chronically stuffy and having a mild reaction continually...he prescribed
some medications to help alleviate the symptoms, though. He also stated (to my
amazement) that he felt the mild symptoms she was suffering from were nothing in
comparison to the many benefits she'd receive from having a dog!
We have since learned that Corbyn was mildly allergic to the young AHTs (under 6 mos of age) and no longer requires ANY medication for her allergies!!!
I do want to add, that IF you have a reaction in the home, and they have many dogs, that too may not be a true test of what would happen in your house, but it might help you see the 2 extremes. In other words, a) dog in isolation, limited exposure time (least likely to react) and b) home with LOTS of dander and dogs (most likely to react). Having one dog at your house where you can clean your home, bathe the dog, and use an air filter may yield different results.
4.
If an adult is the allergic person, go ALONE...
It will be heartbreaking for your children
if they go with you to do
the allergy trial and YOU DO have an allergic
reaction. This happened with a gentleman who came to our house (when we only had
1 dog) to do an allergy trial. He brought his whole family
(wife and 2 children). They loved the dog and were really looking forward
to being able to have one. Unfortunately, he was allergic to the dog [AHT] (if
he touched it) and wasn't sure if he wanted to have one in the house. He did not
have any problems being in our house though, so he could have arranged it so the
kids/his wife took care of the dog and he avoided direct skin to skin contact.
The children were understandably devastated,
and cried the rest of the time they were at our house.
5.
What modifications are you willing/able to make??
a) Medications:
Are you on any medication? Are you willing to take something daily?
Or to increase your current dose? Have you discussed
these issues with your physician? You may want to consider this
before you go to see a dog.
b) Environmental modifications: Do you have special air filtration already in your home? Are you willing to purchase portable Hepa filters to keep in the dog's room and/or in your room? Are you willing to bathe the dog and wash their bedding regularly. Are you willing to put up physical barriers (e.g., baby gates) to prevent the dog from going into your (or the allergic person's) room?
c) Training: Are you willing to train the dog to stay off the furniture, if that's necessary? Are you willing to train the dog NOT to lick the allergic person?
6.
Above all, don't kid yourself...
We purchased our doggie from a breeder out of state. She was wonderful! I
fell in love with Conyr from the pictures that she sent. I knew Conyr was for
us! The breeder was kind enough to allow us to include a "return clause" in the
contract so that we could return the dog to her within 30 days of arrival and
receive all of our money back (less the shipping and handling fees). While that
clause made me feel better about doing the "trial" in our home, we didn't
realize the ramifications of bringing the dog here, loving her, and then having
to consider sending her away. Yes, we told the kids in advance that it was a
"trial" and that she may not stay. Yes, we discussed the "how will we feel
if..." but nothing really prepares you for the ACTUAL decision. All in all, if
you have any doubts as to whether you'll be able to keep the dog, you may not
want to do it in the first place. We are THRILLED with
our dogs. They
have instilled so many excellent traits into our
kids...responsibility, caring about others, independence, etc.
We are happy that we did "it" ...especially now that Corbyn's allergies are not related to the dogs but to the environment!!
ALLERGY TRIAL ETIQUETTE <------ Click here
