 as the First Pet. )
NO ALLERGIES? The Obama family is considering getting a goldendoodle (half poodle, half golden retriever) as the First Pet.
Image: Fooferkitten via Flickr
Barack Obama has promised the future First Daughters a dog, and his eldest, 10-year-old Malia, has zeroed in on a so-called hypoallergenic breed to accommodate her allergies. Her top pick is a goldendoodle, a cross between a golden retriever and a poodle, though the future prez has hinted about adopting a rescue dog, noting that "a lot of shelter dogs are mutts like me."
We asked Bernadine Cruz, a spokeswoman for the American Veterinary Medical Association, to explain the hypoallergenic concept. Cruz is a veterinarian in Laguna Hills, Calif., and in 2006 was also a paid spokeswoman for Allerca, a company that claimed to have bred a hypoallergenic cat. For an update on Allerca and its research, see this story in The Scientist.
This is an edited transcript.
Why are some people allergic to dogs?
For many people, being allergic to dogs is a matter of having a sensitivity to a protein in their saliva which also exudes through their skin.
Would a hypoallergenic dog be a good option for people who are otherwise allergic to pooches?
There is no such thing as a hypoallergenic cat or dog. One cat has been bred that's considered hypoallergenic: A company called Allerca in San Diego found a line of cats considered hypoallergenic because of a naturally occurring divergence (mutation) of the protein Fel d 1. The protein is (normally) found in cat saliva, urine and exudes from their skin. I've found people who are extremely allergic to cats who are able to play with them and not have the sneezing. But in dogs, a mutation in any similar protein has not been found.
What types of dogs might be better for allergy suffers?
Every person will have his or her own degree of reactivity to certain dogs — their saliva and proteins in their bodies. Those dogs that are more universally less allergenic come from more specific breeds such as Poodles, Kerry Blue Terriers, Schnauzers, Bichons and Lhasa Apsos. [They] don’t shed a lot or they go to the groomer frequently and by getting their hair washed and trimmed, get the allergens off their skin. When those dogs mate purposely or accidentally with breeds outside of those breeds, their offspring may be less allergenic.
But some people can have allergies to a Poodle and then be playing with a German Shepherd and have no problem.
What about the Peruvian Hairless Dog, which that country has offered to the Obamas? Is it better for allergy sufferers?
They're not going to be shedding a lot, but (allergenic) proteins will exude through their skin so that’s not always going to be the answer.
Are purebred dogs healthier than other dogs?
There's no difference.
Are purebreds available at shelters, or only through breeders?
Many times you will find them in shelters. Going to shelters or breed rescues is a great way for the Obamas or anyone to get a pet.
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7 Comments
Add CommentI'd heard that there was one protein carried by cats which provoked an allergic reaction; if you were allergic to one cat, you were allergic to all. Not so with dogs, went the explanation: the were dozens of different proteins responsible, and one might respond very differently to a variety of breeds.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhat, then, is "dander?" Do cats and dogs have different "dander?"
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisЛечить надо ребенка, а не думать как удалять аллергены. Имеются достаточно надежные и безопасные способы перерегулировки иммунной системы. Если господину Президенту хочется подарить ребенку собаку, пусть выбирает то что понравится ребенку. Если у ребенка появятся признаки аллергизации на что либо, пусть обращается на мой адрес. Это уже давно не проблема.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAlexandr Kyrylloff.
I don't want to say this, but hypoallergenic means "not so much allergenic". A thing that doesn't produce allergy will be "anallergenic". Regards
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDander is just flakes of dead skin cells. Should that be 'dander is' or 'dander are'? Grammar failure!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisJgrosay - If it is true then say it with pride. Sure it annoys everyone but the truth is the truth.
Dander is dried saliva, stright from the mouth of my kids allergist. When someone is allergic, its not skin cells or hair they are reacting to. Its when the pet licks it's self clean, the saliva dries, and does flake off like dead skin cells into the air, on your skin, onto your carpets and furniture... you get the jist. It is true that different people react to different breeds. The Allergist said the more a person is in contact with the animal, the more thier immune system will eventually accept the dander as not a foriegn enemy. (NOT TURE WITH FOOD THOUGH, THE MORE CONTACT, THE WORSE THE FOOD ALLERGY GETS!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGood article, but one correction. Purebred dogs are almost certainly, on average, less healthy than first-generation crossbreeds. There are two reasons for this:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this1) hybrid vigor (increased heterozygosity of hybrids). Due to widespread ignorance of basic population genetics among dog breeders, line-breeding and overuse of prestigious sires are rife. This means the gene pools of many breeds today are extremely small and inbred, resulting in a very high incidence of recessive genetic disorders. However, because different breeds often suffer from different genetic disorders, crossing two breeds often results in a pup that doesn't express the disorders of either parent breed.
2) selection for show performance. Traits that make a dog show well don't make it healthy. Often, purebred dogs are chosen for breeding because they have extreme traits. The natural shape of the dog is something like a Dingo, Kelpie or pariah dog; other shapes don't evolve without human interference, because they are less healthy. Crossbreeds are often better in this respect because they usually average out the extreme traits of their parents, resulting in a more normal and natural shape.