Dear Dander: First and foremost you have to realize that no breed is truly “hypoallergenic.” Some people think that dogs with “hair” versus “fur” or certain “non-shedding” breeds don’t cause allergies. It is not the fur that causes sneezing and watery eyes but the dander or dead skin flakes that accumulate in the living quarters when the dog sheds. In order to minimize symptoms, allergy sufferers who want to get a dog look toward the single-coated breeds rather than the double-coated breeds like Siberian Huskies, Corgis and other northern breeds which shed twice as much and produce twice as much dander.

Some of the single-coated breeds that are better tolerated include the Basenji, Maltese, Bedlington Terrier, Miniature Schnauzer, Bichon Frise, Poodle, Chinese Crested, Portuguese Water Dog, Giant Schnauzer, Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier, Irish Water Spaniel, Standard Schnauzer, Italian Greyhound, Xoloitzcuintli and the Kerry Blue Terrier. Go to www.akc.org for more information on these breeds and locating breeders.

Testing and Cleaning

Many times a sensitivity test to a certain breed is helpful in your selection. Contact a breeder (or pet owner) who has only the breed you are interested in. Go directly to that home and stay there for 30 minutes. Then return directly home and wait for a few hours to see if your daughter has an allergic reaction. Sometimes it’s instant and other times there maybe a delayed reaction. Also make sure the house doesn’t have any other breed of dog living there.

Once you have selected a breed appropriate to your lifestyle and allergy level there are a few more tips to keeping dander at bay. The best thing you can do is remove any wall-to-wall carpets. Go for hardwood or tile floors using throw rugs that can be tossed into the wash on a weekly basis and follow-up with a good vacuuming and mopping of the floor surfaces. Also, give the dog his own bed and wash it regularly to remove dander. Daily brushing also aids in dander removal.

Never let the dog sleep with your daughter on the bed or sit on upholstered furniture. Use leather sofas and chairs to minimize dander accumulation. That’s if you let your dog on the furniture in the first place. With a single-coated breed and good housekeeping practices your family and your daughter in particular should be able to enjoy the benefits and love of dog ownership. 

Lisa’s Pick of the Litter

And this just in from the American Kennel Club, the top 10 most popular dogs:

“For the 14th consecutive year, the Labrador Retriever is the most popular purebred dog in America, according to registration figures released by the American Kennel Club. Nearly three times as many Labs were registered in 2003 as any other breed.”

Golden Retrievers were a distant second, with Beagles, German Shepherds and Dachshunds rounding out the top five spots. The top five breeds are the same as in 2002, with the exception that Beagles moved ahead of German Shepherds into the third position.

The Top 10

  1. Labrador Retr.  144,934

  2. Golden Retriever              52,530

  3. Beagle               45,003

  4. German Sheph. 43,950

  5. Dachshund        39,473

  6. Yorkshire Terrier               38,256

  7. Boxer                34,136

  8. Poodle               32,176

  9. Shih Tzu            26,935

10. Chihuahua         24,930

At the other end of the list, the least-registered purebred dog (19 registrations) is the English Foxhound. The other four most rare breeds are Otterhound (34), Harrier (45), American Foxhound (52) and Komondor (69).

In 2003, the AKC registered 150 different breeds, including the newly recognized Toy Fox Terrier, German Pinscher and Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. In total, nearly one million dogs (915,671) and 423,761 litters were registered with the AKC in 2003.

A complete listing of 2003 registration statistics is available at www.akc.org.

Lisa Peterson, a breeder and exhibitor of Norwegian Elkhounds, is a Delegate to the American Kennel Club. Lisa can be reached at www.lisa-peterson.com or Dogma Publishing, P.O. Box 307, Newtown, CT 06470.