F1B Mini Goldendoodle shedding and I'm allergic!!

[Alisha T.]

Our little Lola is about 8 1/2 months old and now she has begun to shed and I have no idea why and worst of all I'm allergic.  She has always had straight hair more like a golden than a poodle but being an F1b I didn't think it was possible for her to shed.  My son wasn't brushing her as well as he should and then we went on vacation for four days the family watching her also didn't brush her and as a result we had to get her totally shaved.  It was horrible and I swear when I went to pick her up from the salon I thought at first they were giving me the wrong dog until I was close enough to see that it was my Lola except that she looks like a bald I don't know what.  They did leave her tail long and now all of the sudden I am noticing her hair on the couch.  I'm also having my eyes get red and itching and all the other issues that come up when you have an allergy to dogs which I do.  What can I do?  She has a healthy diet and I give her coconut oil so what the heck is going on? Is it common for the Golden coat trait to pop out this many generations away?  She is only 1/4 Golden retriever for crying out loud and we got a doodle this far removed for this very reason, I AM ALLERGIC TO DOG HAIR!

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Besides the obvious ( not such guarantee Doodles do not shed)  could it be your eyes are red for other reasons right now?  This is the height of the Spring Allergy Season.   My entire family, spread across the country, is sniffling.  

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

I will add that my f1b, very NON SHEDDING, does leave hairs on his car seat that I actually have to take a vacuum to occasionally.   A doodle that is not brushed, will lose some hair. 

[Alisha T.]

I'm glad I'm not the only one.  I am going to give the brushing a go.  It makes sense, I know if I don't brush my hair really well after I shower, my hair is long, I put Lola to shame in the shedding contest hands down!

[Alisha T.]

Oh yes, she is one of many allergens running wild at my place!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that any generation doodle will not shed, regardless of what percentage Golden retriever is in the mix or how far back they are. Genetics are funny that way. You can have 90 red marbles and 10 blue marbles in a jar, and if you reached in blindfolded and pulled out two marbles at random, they could both be blue. That's the way genes work. There are purebreds that are guaranteed not to shed. With mixes that have heavily shedding breeds involved, all bets are off. It's a shame that you weren't aware of that before you chose a dog.

Diet plays no role in shedding and coconut oil has been shown to have no benefits for dogs whatsoever. 

There's really nothing you can do to stop a dog from shedding. Hair goes through cycles that are governed by nature and genetics. And the shedding will generally get worse when the dog is an adult. So I think you need to decide if you can live with Lola provoking your allergies for the next 12 to 15 years, maybe by taking medication, because it isn't going to stop. 

(Regarding dog allergies, it's a protein called Can F1 (KNF1) that causes the symptoms, and the protein is in the dog's dander and saliva (and blood, for that matter), not just in the hair. Different dogs have more or less of this protein in their genetic make-up.) 

[Alisha T.]

That's a good point with genetics.  My Grandma had a son who had flaming bright red hair and there wasn't a single red head on either sides of she or my Grandpa's family tree that they knew of but obviously someone did.  She had a nosy neighbor who kept asking about the hair because both she and Grandpa had brown hair.  Finally she had had enough and when the lady said it again her reply was, "Well you know the mail man has red hair."  This was in the 1930's and that neighbor was so shocked by the insinuation that she never even spoke to my Grandma again!  So, yep you are right and little miss Lola is proof that even buried gene's can pop out.  As for the solution, the Dyson, Kirby and a bit of the zyrtec.  I am also going to take care to brush her well every day but there is no way I would toss her aside and just get a new one any more than I would do that with one of my kids and trust me they can be horrible little monsters!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'm glad to hear you say that. :)

People with dog allergies usually have allergies to other things like pollen, too, and spring and fall are the worst seasons for most allergy sufferers, so it's possible that your symptoms won't be as bad at other times of the year. Dogs also bring the pollen in on their coats, so wiping the dog down before she comes indoors may help. Using a furnace filter with a high allergen rating and changing it frequently may also help. And it's possible that once Lola completes her coat change, the shedding will be less, although I don't think it will stop completely.

[Alisha T.]

:-)

[F, Calla & Luca]

Right now your dog might be losing her puppy coat so extra shedding is the norm. Keeping her well brushed and using some conditioner when you bathe her might keep the dander down a bit.

[Laurie, Wally & Charlotte]

Could you be allergic to one of the products that they used on Lola at the grooming salon?  I'd try bathing her using a non-scented shampoo and conditioner, and see if that helps.

[Shari Becker]

I'm chiming in here because I am an allergy sufferer with a doodle who does cause allergies to some folks, including me. First, as folks have already mentioned, I think doodles can frequently cause allergies depending on your tolerance to retrievers. My sister wheezes whenever she is in the same room as my "hypoallergenic curly, 70% poodle doodle." She does not react to pure bred havanese or poodles. But that's irrelevant because you have a dog who you adore and love now.

Even my curly puppy has done some shedding during different times in her life. She shed a lot around 8-9 months as her coat changed. I actually think my allergies got a bit better when her adult coat came in. She also shed at the end of winter, but we aren't sure why.

My allergies to the dog are worst during allergy season when she is carrying pollen in her fur. I think it is the pollen combined with the dog dander that sends me over the edge. We keep Lexi super short from April until October. I take meds seasonally - mostly in the late summer and fall. Do you have seasonal allergies? If you do, I'd say, your dog is just a pollen carrier now. Don't panic. I did. I totally panicked during my first allergy season with her.

Another suggestion is to get an air purifier and run it in your bedroom all the time. Keep your door closed and don't let the dog sleep with you. That's what my allergist told me to do. It worked for about a year, but then we were on vacation, and the dog had to sleep in our room... The air purifier still runs, even with a dog cuddling me. I really think it helps. Esp. during allergy season. 

Scented soaps and shampoos can definitely send my allergies off, too.

My neighbor has a non shedding cockapoo, and she has bad allergies. She has found that she can't let the dog lick her, and she can't nuzzle her face in fur. As long as she does those two things, she is fine ...

Good luck! I feel like I've developed an immunity now, and I hope the same will happen to you.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Shari -- One other thing you could both try is to keep a box a baby wipes by the back door.  Every time they come inside just wipe them down really good from head to toe and get any pollen they picked up off of them.  That might help some as well.