Doodle and a 2.5 year old toddler

[UggaMugga]

I'm looking for advice from those with younger dogs. We are considering adding a doodle to our family. Kids are 2.5, 9 and 11. The youngest is allergic to dog saliva. Only saliva. Doesn't have other symptoms. We have explored numerous dogs. Today she interacted with a doodle. Doodle licked her eye. It got red, itchy and watery. We gave her some Zyrtec and it resolved. We visited for about 90 minutes all together. She pet the dog, crawled on the floor.
Of course with a puppy or any dog really this age child would never be left unattended. Even with our old dog I had concerns baby might hurt the dog. Is it unreasonable to think we can keep a puppy away from a toddlers face?
It's been 13 years since I did the puppy thing. We never had issues with our older dog.

[Kaitlin and Ludo]

Two things: With mixed breeds like doodles, your child might react to one but not the other so I'm not sure you can say that he reacted to this dog but it resolved so he'd be good with all doodles. Someone else might be able to give you better advice on that, but I'm pretty sure that's true.

I have a 5 month old puppy and a 4 year old niece who I see daily. I've said this here before, but the hardest part of having a puppy is also having a toddler. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that is has to be nearly impossible to keep dogs and kids out of the other's face. Kids will inevitably have food on their face attracting the puppy and the kids will want to show the dog love by kissing and hugging. I have to watch my niece's every interactions with Ludo and work with each of the daily (constantly) to understand how to interact with the other. It is a REALLY big undertaking and with a 2 1/2 year old, it's going to be a REALLY big job for a long time.

Of course, only you and your family know if you're up to the challenge, but that's my two cents. :)

[UggaMugga]

Thank you for your honest feedback.  I guess that is maybe how far I'm willing to work to get a dog.  I wrote the post after visiting an older dog and felt that the visit was a disaster!  I think part of it was the dog wasn't really accustomed to toddlers. The dog seemed stressed.

On Friday, we had visited another doodle (only 6 months old) and the interaction was beautiful.  Pup had such a lovely way.  Lots of hugging.  No licking.  I couldn't believe the doodle was only 6 months.  I felt very confident I could make it work.  That's the thing with pups though, you never know what you are going to get. 

I have visited soooo many dogs in their homes and mine.   I'm starting to question the method to my madness.  We are seeing a ALD Friday after the Zyrtec is out of her system.

[Laura and Angus]

Unfortunately, if your child has the saliva allergy it means they will be allergic to every dog. And having a dog in the house means saliva on things. Toys they chew, surfaces, hands, faces, arms, etc. If your child eats something awesome (like peanut butter or something) and they get in on their face and hands, even the least lick-y dog will likely lick. We have a VERY kissy dog and he's all about licking. Of course you can't guarantee how your pup will be, I would say that sometimes the more you come in contact with the allergen the worse the reaction can be....if it were me, I probably wouldn't risk it because puppies have their mouths and tongues on just about everything - especially doodle puppies...

[Diane D]

I think you are setting yourself up for failure. As stated before, each doodle is different as they are a cross breed and they are like "boxes of chocolate, you never know what you're going to get". 

It would be a shame to get a puppy only to have to rehome it. 

Best accept the fact and hope the child will outgrow the allergy.

[UggaMugga]

She probably will not outgrow it.  I am allergic to pretty much everything.  Dogs, Cats, Dust mites, the whole environmental panel they perform except mold even stuff we don't see in New England like Bermuda grass.  I lived without major symptoms for 13 years with a lab.  She even slept in my bed for a number of years.  She passed in September and that is when all the allergies really became apparent for both of us.  It was when we were exposed after a break we became symptomatic.

An older dog would maybe be a better match for us but we don't look like great candidates when filling out applications (toddlers, allergies).  We tried fostering but they never contacted us. I'm sure we look like terrible candidates. 

We would pretty much never rehome a dog unless it was a life threatening situation after exhausting all medications. 

[Missy]

what fun ages of children!!  So frustrating to have pet allergies. sorry for your loss of loved pet!!  If you have been tested you know how reactive you and daughter area and know what your limitations will be. 

Can you teach a dog to never lick? I am of the opinion, you can teach your dog to do anything!  I have a no lick policy in my house and our pup knows it.  My hubby doesn't correct on the licking, so he always gets licked. 

our pup was 9 weeks when first exposed to children.  of course they were supervised to make sure the pup wasn't harmed, but as he aged, he learned to give me cues as to when he wanted a break from the kids.

our breeder let potential owners come over for a playdate as she deals with allergy prone customers. She rubs a blanket all over certain pups and takes that out to the car to see if child reacts. Then lets child in the house around the pups, slowly working her way to letting the child play touch the pup. Since they are hybrid pups, each one will be different.  our breeder did hair testing to see if they carry the curly (poodle) gene or flat (retriever) gene.  I have dog allergies, so I had to be sure to get a doodle with curly hair gene and I don't react to my doodle. Any other pup with shedding hair, I take Zyrtec and wash hands.

I think all problems are solvable.  You have to visualize what you expect and then just work towards that goal.  If you do not want the puppy in your toddlers face, what do you visualize for your daughter and pup interactions? These pups grow very fast, so another thing to be concerned with is height of pup vs height of 2 year old and growth patterns. 

These doodles are very lovable dogs.  And they love children!!  Don't forget that these pups are like children too, and require parenting as well.  you have great ages of children for pups and most are old enough to help with all the responsibility stuff.  I can vote yes as I love this breed!!  Just realize it will require work from you as far as training the pup to do as you want and lots of research on breeders to get the right dog for you!! best of luck. 

[UggaMugga]

Thank you for this. I appreciate the time everyone puts into their posts helping me work through this. I really would like my children to have the experience of growing up with a pet. I truly think I'm at place in my life that I can dedicate self to making this work.
Of course, I as people have pointed out I would hate to place myself in an impossible situation.
I recognize a standard size dog goes from tiny puppy to huge boisterous adolescent very quickly.
My old lab didn't lick much except for food and only if it was offered, however we had been very strict during the mouthing stage about play biting.
This allergy is just very frustrating. She played at a home today(dog went out when we got there) Very brief interaction with the dog. She was practically on the dog's bed and has no symptoms.
Tomorrow we visit a dog who I know she has never reacted to before but she hasn't seen him in months. I'm curious to see if she reacts to his saliva. Wondering if I could ever find a dog whose saliva she doesn't react to.

[Laura and Angus]

It's definitely a good question if the saliva allergy extends too all dogs/pets. I read recently that if someone is allergic to the saliva it means there is no dog they won't react to...though that was reading and not discussing with a doctor, so who knows. Have you spoken to your child's allergist about treatment options and severity? If you are dead-set on getting a doodle (and I totally get that because they are really wonderful dogs - after their bitey and adolescent stages and with lots of training HA!), I would definitely know if your toddler's allergy will allow them to even touch the dog without having a problem. If yes, then you can definitely work on discouraging licking and perhaps your puppy won't be lick-y. But if they can't touch the dog, your plan will have to require that the toddler be separated from the dog (maybe not the dog bed and toys) at all times, which I feel like will be challenging for one family member. I have a cousin who grew up with a dog in her house and she has very severe allergies. She had to take serious medication her entire life and would break into hives if she ever even touched the dog! I think it'd be important to work with an allergies during this process to know your child's condition best. Good luck and hopefully you find a dog/treatment that will work!

[UggaMugga]

Thank you. I thought I replied earlier but my post isn't here. I emailed the allergist to see if there is some guidance she could offer.
I read the same thing about being allergic the all dogs if you are allergic to saliva but I read a Swedish study from 2013 that looked at saliva of different breeds. All breeds don't have the same amounts of allergens in their saliva. I'm not set on a doodle. At this point I would happily take a dog that would fit in with our family safely.
Today (our 4th home visit this week with different dogs) she interacted with a 2 year old ALD. Kissed him. Hugged him. No symptoms.
If she hadn't lived problem free with a dog until September I wouldn't be going to heroics to try and make this work. It just hasn't been that long to give up.
I'm somewhat at a point in my life that I can go to heroics. I'm mostly a stay at home mom during the week and work on the weekend. I just hate to give up on all the benefits of dog ownership if I can find a solition.
Our current plan is to see the puppies next week. Get some saliva on her and see how she reacts. She doesn't react to all dogs all the time.

[Laura and Angus]

Definitely makes sense. It's certainly hard to know and plan when the allergy is so new. Sounds like you're doing lots of research, which is going to be the most helpful thing. I'm sure you could make it work as my family made it work for my cousin for like 15 years! So it's certainly possible...and I honestly don't remember her allergies being so extreme when she was younger. As she got older they seemed to get worse, but when younger I think they just treated the allergies with daily meds. It's certainly something many people deal with everyday, so I'm betting you could figure it out to make it work! Random question..since this only just started, is it possible the dog that licked your daughter's eye had eaten something recently that she was really reacting to as opposed to the saliva? 

[UggaMugga]

So here is the back story:
Our dog died in September. In December we are planning to get a puppy. Go to tree farm. Kid gets licked by a dog. Few hives. Fine. Then....eye swelling. Severe. Kid is allergic to peanuts. Owner of the dog report dog ate hickory nuts and other treats before our arrival. In abundance of caution we give her the epipen thinking it is a nut reaction. The whole thing bothered me for days. Decided I needed to explore more. Brought her to my neighbors house who has a lab. Covered her face in dog saliva. 2 hours later a cluster of hives and a watery eye. CRAP! To the allergist. Confirmed. Positive dog. Negative cat. Didn't get the new dog. Since then driving myself crazy exposing her to every dog I can seeing how she reacts. We went as far a borrowing a dog for the night.

[Laura and Angus]

I'm sorry you lost your pup this year. I still feel sad about losing our family pet after 15 years and it's been almost 3 years. Thanks for sharing your back story...it sounds like you have pretty definitive information about your kiddo's allergies. The challenge of a doodle is that they're a mixed breed and you never know what you're going to get or how your child's allergies may develop over long exposure to a pup. Getting licked in the face will definitely tell you, but sometimes the longer you're exposed to an allergen the worse the allergy becomes. Below is some helpful information about how to manage allergies with a pet in the home (which I'm betting you already know since it sounds like you're very familiar yourself, but figured I'd share). I wish I could be more help, but it sounds like you've done a ton of research/testing already! Good luck with everything!

http://acaai.org/allergies/types/pet-allergy

http://www.aafa.org/page/pet-dog-cat-allergies.aspx