Wish us luck! Allergy test this Fri.

[Jen D]

After lots of conversations with our son's allergist and testing a bunch of other dogs, we are heading to visit a labradoodle breeder this Friday to test our son's allergies with a litter and their mom to see if he reacts.

We are both SO hopeful!

For those curious, our son is apparently allergic to dog saliva but only reacts to some dogs (he's actually only really reacted to one specific dog so we're hopeful this isn't a general allergy and could have been triggered by that one dog's diet). The allergist thinks this is actually unique to each dog (or genetic line of dogs) and that it won't change significantly over the dog's life (like a coat/dander allergy would) so we should be able to tell if he will react to a puppy (which is not the case if he were allergic to dander).

Learn something new every day, ha.

Anyway, this Friday is the big day to find out if we get to bring home a little pup in a few weeks so send luck vibes please!

[F, Calla & Luca]

Good luck.

[Nancy & Echo]

Best of luck, Jen!

I found this in Pubmed: "Greater number and diversity of IgE-binding proteins was found in saliva compared to dander extract and varied among dog breeds"http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23464525

I know this is a really small study, and I'm not an allergist at all, but maybe different dog breeds TEND to have different saliva allergens? 

[Jessica, Loki and Moose]

Other people on this site are much more knowledgable than I but I think it's a specific protein that people are allergic to and certian breeds are known to have less of this protein. I think non shedding dogs tend to not distribute this protein around so much because it stays on them. If that makes sense. I have friends who have allergies and with them and dogs it's a combination of how reactive they are to the protein and how much of it the dog has. Maybe it's more concentrated in the saliva? Hope this helps and I wish you luck!

[Nancy & Echo]

I agree, I think that's what this paper says: that it seems (in this small study) that there may be more allergens in dog saliva than dog dander.

It looks like there are several different proteins in dog saliva that may cause allergies in people.

"Our results reveal that there are at least 12 protein bands in dog saliva that are recognised by IgE of dog-allergic patients. Furthermore, based on biochemical behaviour, electrophoresis and immunoblots, we conclude that dog saliva has a greater potential than dander as an allergen source...

It didn't test doodles or poodles, but it did say

"When investigating saliva from different dog breeds, we noted that there is a great variation in the IgE-binding profile. Interestingly, we found fewer IgE-binding proteins in saliva from some dogs, including the Golden Retriever and Dogue de Bordeaux, than in saliva from other dogs. Even though the number of samples is limited, the results indicate that some dogs could be better tolerated by allergic subjects than others. In several studies, it has been shown that the presence and quantity of Can f 1 can differ among dander extracts from different dogs [8, 27]. One study showed that Can f 1 is absent or less abundant in some common breeds including Golden Retriever [8], while another study showed that Can f 1 levels in Labrador Retriever dander extracts were significantly lower than in extracts from other breeds [27]. It is well established that gender, age and eczema status influence the concentration of Can f 1 quantities in hair, but it is not clear if individual differences are more relevant than breed-specific factors [8, 27]. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/all.12130/full

Obviously, this is a tiny study, and needs to be replicated, but I do find it interesting that it sounds like in at least some dogs there may be more allergens in dog saliva than dog dander, and that possibly some breeds may be less allergenic than others.   But they didn't test poodles or doodles.

In my own case, my  (non-dog, non seasonal) allergies can be on for several years, then off for several years.  I think allergies are weird.

Best wishes, Jen!

[Adina P]

That's interesting.  I wonder what the variability might be within a litter.  Seems like you'd almost have to have a different puppy lick you every day to tell which, if any, were problematic.

[Jessica, Loki and Moose]

Awe! Just thinking of a litter of puppies licking someone makes me smile! I'm sure the puppies wouldn't mind the licking :) puppies kisses are so precious!

[Jen D]

Thank you all for the well wishes :)

And Nancy, that is a GREAT find. I actually think that must be one of the studies our allergist found. She was definitely talking about IgE proteins and how different dogs (and breeds) can have very different profiles which determine how allergenic they (and their saliva) are. Her theory was that, for purebreds, they tend to have a few hundred years of shared genetics so they are all about the same level of "allergenic" but she wasn't sure about labradoodles since they are a relatively new breed. Her theory is that some genetic lines are probably very low allergen while others might have more high allergen proteins. She was cautious about it as a theory since, as she said, she's not a geneticist nor dog breeder, but sounds reasonable to me (also, coincidentally, neither a geneticist nor a breeder, ha). I pretty much hate allergies and all things related.

Adina and Jessica, that is exactly our plan! I think the breeder will probably have it narrowed down to a few puppies and so we will test all of them. There will be LOTS of puppy licking :) I'll take photos. To be honest, we also plan to rub some spit in my son's eyes which he is all for it since he might want this puppy more than I do (a total lie).

I'm hoping to do a little behavioral testing since I'm planning to train this pup as a therapy dog as well but obviously the allergy issue is the most important.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Jen, just remember that doodles have a coat change which can change the allergy situation.  I can't wait to hear about the results.   Good luck!

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Looking forward to hearing results.  Good luck!

[Jen D]

Well, our son had zero reaction to the puppy so we are going for it! I'm going to buy some allerpet to wash the little guy in and we are all hoping for the best. We've since then been around at least 3 other dogs and no sign of allergy so I'm optimistic.

Which means we will be picking up our new puppy in two weeks! Can't wait to introduce him here.

[Laurie, Wally & Charlotte]

You must be beyond excited!  Congratulations to you and your family :o)

[Jen D]

We are SO excited, thank you :)