We may have to get rid of our dog due to my son being asthmatic and having allergies. For 4 year he had no issues with a dog in the house but this last winter was brutal for him. It's usually a cold he picks up at school that triggers his asthma flair ups, but I'm wondering if the dog is making it worse.

The issue is, what are the best options in the Tidewater area? My dog is a 3 1/2 year old black lab. She's house broken, doesn't chew on things, great with kids, etc. Nothing wrong with her and she doesn't deserve this at all. Well, nothing except she barks at squirrels. And cats. As well as people she thinks are too close to the house.

Not to mention that if getting rid of her doesn't help, my son will never forgive me. Hell, I won't forgive myself.

This is what I've done in the house so far.

Dog stays in the kitchen.
Kitchen vacuumed minimum once a day.
Dog bed vacuumed minimum once a day.
Dog bed washed once a month, also replaced every few months.
Dog is brushed outside once a week.
Hardwood downstairs
New couches
Just installed hardwood in my son's room
HEPA filter in my son's room
No curtains or stuffed animals in my son's room.
Central air filters changed once a month.


Any ideas on things to do in the house, or options for my dog would be greatly appreciated.

I almost forgot, this is Daisy.

Question, have you always been in VA? I noticed your tank icon and wonder if you have recently moved here.  Virginia is pretty bad allergy wise. A family member of mine is basically a sneezing, coughing, stuffed up mess for a month and a half around this time of year. If they were asthmatic it would be extra bad.  

ETA: we don't have any pets currently

My son was born here and has lived here for 11 years. His asthma and allergies were getting better until this last winter. Now they are worse than ever.

1. Have the kid allergy tested before you do anything.
2. When I was 14 I chose immunotherapy (allergy shots) over getting rid of my dog. That dog lived for almost 14 more years, and was a huge part of my growing up.

It sounds like you have an awesome dog, and you son is very attached to it. I would move mountains to keep them together.

If you need info on allergy testing from a kids perspective, I am happy to help.

-shooter

See if removing the dog from his environment for 2 or 3 weeks improves things. Does he get better after spending a length of time in a different environment (like spending a week with grandma & grandpa)? The scientific method works well in these cases. I highly doubt it is the dog causing this, or I'd be surprised if it was. I went through a time in my teens when I used to get bad asthma. I grew out of most of it. Was terribly allergic to strawberries for 2 years, and then was OK with them the rest of my life. It is tough stuff to figure out, and could possibly be not environmentally caused. It would be a shame to separate from the dog when not actually needed.

You, per chance don't have a recently built home (20 years or less)? Anyone else in the family having similar but less intense issues?

shooter,

As far as the medical part, we have that covered. That's all been done previously.


eta: She is an awesome dog. This post is a precautionary effort. In reality hoping that if worse comes to worse, someone here would adopt her.

We are both allergic to dogs. I have worse allergies than my son and my dog doesn't bother me. Even when I used to nap next to her I never had an issue.

SR,

The last time my son spent any amount of time in a different area was 2 summers ago when he went to New Mexico for about 6 weeks. He stayed with my brother who has 3 dogs and a cat. He had no issues.

The reason I was thinking that the dog is now causing the issues is that a child's physiology can change as they age. Not that the dog is the sole allergen effecting him. More that he has become more sensitive to pet dander and it is an allergen contributing to his allergic reaction. Here is my train of thought on this issue and how I came up with the possiblity.

When he comes home, he doesn't get a break from the allergens when there's a pollen bloom. Also, when he picks up a cold form school, his asthma is exacerbated. Then when he stays home from school, he's then exposed to the pet dander constantly.

There's one med left to try and he started last week. Hopefully we'll see results next month. If not, then the dog will have to go.

The house was built in '07. (eta: and he's lived here since) I was thinking about the chinese drywall issue. I have worse allergies than my son, but I have no noticeable issues. I was stationed in TN until 2012 and never noticed any issues from the dozens of times I came home on leave/pass. I've been in almost every wall in the house in the last 6 months. I haven't found any blackened copper wires or tubing.

I hope the new meds work for your boy cause I could never have grown up without my dogs.

If though you do have to find a place for her let me know.  I have one lunkhead now but my folks lost their lab of 15 years the year before last and dad is looking to replace him when they move permanently to VA sometime this year.

She would be queen of the castle (hell my folks fed the dog better than me) and nice piece or property to run on in the country,

It should be a last resort though.

My lunk head...

Displacing a living member of the family on a guess?  Come on, you are better than that, right?

Does that mean that the allergy tests have been done? If there is a confirmed dog allergy, it can't be cured, but it can be managed - and managed with decent effectiveness.

-shooter

Yes, multiple allergy tests have been done over the years. It was done ~3 years ago, and ~6 years ago. In February when we took him off his allergy medication to get an updated skin test, he ended up in the ICU. After that they did a blood lab type allergy test. The only thing they tested for was pollen type allergens so we're not sure on his current pet dander allergies.

My wife is an RN. She previously worked for an allergist/immunologist and a pulmonologist at the local children's hospital. They are the ones that have been treating him for years. His pediatrician specializes in children with asthma and allergies as well. Medically if it can be done, it has been.

It has nothing to do with a guess. It has to do with the fact that my son is allergic to dogs. This allergy was not severe enough to be an issue for years but now may be. We can't conduct a skin prick allergy test now. My son almost died in February due to an allergy triggered asthma attack when we tried to. In the last 8 months he has gotten steadily worse.

I did not post this thread in GD for a reason. I need advice, logical input and possibly help. Not emotional please to not get rid of a dog.

I love my dog and she loves me. The last thing I want to do is get rid of her. However, if it is a choice between my son or my dog, there is no choice. That is not the case as of now, but if it becomes the case, I want options other than dropping her off at the pound.

We have arranged adoptions on this board before. Worse case, I would rather have her go to a good home locally than to a pound and going to God knows who.

That's disrespectful and not helpful in this thread.

No, it isn't.  He didn't say that in the original post.  Sniping at me 24 hours later is intellectually dishonest at best and disrespectful, at a minimum.  Not to mention it was a question to the OP, which he answered.  So, thanks but feel free to not respond any more.  

What's not helpful is abandoning an animal, innocent and absent probable cause.

Of course your son is more important, apologies.  You didn't say that in the OP, or I missed it.  

What I saw was:  Not to mention that if getting rid of her doesn't help, my son will never forgive me. Hell, I won't forgive myself.

Again, it was a misunderstanding.

If it does come down to you having the dog adopted, touch base with me. My wife is part of OPH- Operation Paws for Homes. They are a rescue here in VA that might be able to help. Hoping that this will be the last thing to happen,since dogs are a big part of family. Hope the MD's can figure it out.

Likewise.  I've always wanted a lab and we can talk if something needs to happen.

But don't worry, OP, the adults in this thread understand your situation.

WCTLEGUNSMITH, Lowcash, ridinshotgun,

Thank you. I will let you know if things do not work out.



glock23carry,

No worries.

Seems like you have covered a lot of bases with allergens.  Wondering out loud if your ductwork could need cleaning?  Just trying to help.  Beautiful dog too, by the way.  If the worst case happens and you have to find her a new home, I may be of help.  Hope for your family it doesn't come to that.  Keep us posted.

Edit....The thought on mold in the ductwork is because his problems have flared, but the house isn't brand new neither is the dog.  I would also check for damp or moldy conditions in the crawlspace and tears in insulation on ductwork, wet insulation on ductwork, or holes in ductwork.

The wife and I were talking about the ducting the other day. I was planning on replacing my flexible ducting with rigid ducting to see if it fixes the airflow problem to my bedroom. I'll check as much as I can  them when I pull them out. If I can't see enough, I'll call my friend who does HVAC.

On a slab, so no crawlspace. The last time I was in the attic, 2 months ago, there were no tears in the flexible ducting and no moisture. We switched my son from his bedroom to the guest bedroom for 6 weeks now to see if there was a difference. It doesn't seem to matter.

I'm about to get a fiber optic camera and start drilling holes in my walls.

mkgunz,

I'm over in Lynchburg, and have had Labs my entire life... Is she blowing her coat right now? Before my last girl passed away she was getting bad dander and I used the oatmeal therapy shampoo which helped her greatly.

If you want to try temporarily rehoming her for a few weeks and clean up your house really well to see if it's an impact for the positive shoot me an IM or email. The wife and I would be happy to give her a place to stay with our dogs and see if it helps your son out. At least it would give you a real world test to make  a decision on.

Thanks Cayenne. She was dropping hair like tumble weed so I brushed her out and gave her a bath. Since I ripped the carpet out of my son's room, his asthma has been better. If things back slide, I'll let you know.