Study Shows “Hypoallergenic” Dogs Aren’t Less Allergic
July 9, 2011 by Paris Permenter and John Bigley
Filed under News
A few years ago when the Obama family was searching for a family dog, there was a lot of talk about “hypoallergenic dogs,” breeds that were less inclined to cause allergies or breathing difficulties in family members. The Portuguese Water Dog the family selected was one of the breeds often named as hypoallergenic. Other families often opt for poodles, Schnauzers, and many types of terriers for the same reason.
However, a recent study by Henry Ford Hospital researchers has found that these hypoallergenic dogs do not have lower household allergen levels than other dogs.
“We found no scientific basis to the claim hypoallergenic dogs have less allergen,” says Christine Cole Johnson, Ph.D., MPH, chair of Henry Ford Hospital’s Department of Public Health Sciences and senior author of the study.
“Based on previous allergy studies conducted here at Henry Ford, exposure to a dog early in life provides protection against dog allergy development. But the idea that you can buy a certain breed of dog and think it will cause less allergy problems for a person already dog-allergic is not borne out by our study.”
The study was done by analyzing dust samples collected from 173 homes one month after a newborn was brought home. The dust samples were collected from the carpet or floor in the baby’s bedroom and analyzed for the dog allergen Can f 1. Only homes with one dog were involved in the study. Sixty dog breeds (11 of which were considered hypoallergenic breeds) were involved in the study. Several different tests involved purebred hypoallergenic dogs as identified by the AKC as well as purebred non-hypoallergenic dogs and mixed breed dogs.
The finding: no significant differences in allergen levels between hypoallergenic dogs and non-hypoallergenic dogs. In homes where the dog was not allowed in the baby’s bedroom, the allergen level for hypoallergenic dogs was slightly higher compared to allergen levels of non-hypoallergenic dogs.
While researchers acknowledged limitations in their study – the amount of time the dog spent in the baby’s bedroom was not recorded and the size of its sample did not allow looking at specific breeds – they say parents should not rely on dog breeds classified as hypoallergenic.
About Paris Permenter and John Bigley
DogTipper publishers Paris Permenter and John Bigley are a husband-wife team of full-time writers. The couple has authored over two dozen books and 2,500+ magazine articles.
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