I just got a house. I want a dog. GF is allergic

I have talked myself into the idea that getting a standard poodle is not so bad (no homo). I am, not surprisingly, having trouble finding one at local shelters. Help me, Tdub. I need to buy a poodle.

I'd like to rescue one, breeders are stupid.

7/1/2010 9:24:20 PM

there are many breeds that have hair instead of fur, like poodles, maltese, yorkies, wheaton terriers, and more.

as far as without dander i dont think there are any, but i know the coton du tulear is supposed to have less i think.

[Edited on July 1, 2010 at 9:33 PM. Reason : oh, shih tzus have hair not fur, and they are awesome!]

7/1/2010 9:33:22 PM

Greyhound FTW.

http://www.greyhoundfriends.com/

7/1/2010 9:34:46 PM

allergy shots ftw

7/1/2010 9:36:06 PM

there is no such thing as a hypoallergenic dog for the record.

7/1/2010 9:42:39 PM

^^ I tried to get her on some herbal remedies to keep it under control, but she refuses to try them.

And I want a reasonably sized dog. Greyhounds I think are the only other one that I saw on the list that were big, but I don't like their shape.

[Edited on July 1, 2010 at 9:45 PM. Reason : They get damn close]

7/1/2010 9:44:34 PM

might i suggest the Bully Whippet

http://media.canada.com/133a26b3-7939-4ba4-b93e-0c570ecf1751/wendy-1.jpg

7/1/2010 9:47:47 PM

No thanks

7/1/2010 9:48:51 PM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_Water_Dog


how about these? you can get the hair cut however you want



[Edited on July 1, 2010 at 9:50 PM. Reason : one with a normal haircut]

7/1/2010 9:49:22 PM

Is that yours, how tall is he?

7/1/2010 10:02:05 PM

not mine, found it on google as one of the ten dogs that causes the least allergy problems. pretty cute though.

7/1/2010 10:12:15 PM

labradoodles

7/1/2010 10:16:58 PM

He is cute. A little short, though

7/1/2010 10:18:45 PM

good luck! i think the biggest you'll find will be a labradoodle or the water dog or maybe a standard poodle.

7/1/2010 10:32:24 PM

Right, finding them is the problem....

7/1/2010 10:37:16 PM

Water dogs are freaking sweet. A friend of mine has one, they're pretty pricey though.

7/1/2010 11:23:51 PM

Get whatever you want. You're not married to this girl and for all you know the dog will last longer than she will. [/CC]

Seriously though, get a dog that's going to match your "dog owner" personality, not a dog that is supposedly hypoallergenic. It would be a crappy situation for everyone if you got this poodle, its personality doesn't mesh with what you want at all, and you decide to keep it because it's supposedly less allergenic than a labrador.

If she wants to come over to your house, she'll learn what Zyrtec is.

7/2/2010 12:22:57 AM

my wife is allergic so we got a wired hair fox terrier FTW

7/2/2010 8:21:27 AM

I wish I was allergic so I could kick our fucking dogs to the curb.

7/2/2010 8:48:54 AM

I am ok with a poodle. The size is good, the personality is dog agnostic. I don't plan on picking up the first one I see or anything, the real problem is that I can't find any. Any suggestions on that?

7/2/2010 9:23:21 AM

as far as looking for a rescue goes, you just have to take your time. check spca website, aps of durham, animal control, petfinder daily. it may take a while but you will eventually find the right one.

7/2/2010 9:30:31 AM

+1 for soft-coated wheaten terriers



if you have to have a "hypoallergenic" dog, anyway

7/2/2010 10:09:26 AM

the wheatens that i have dealt with were not good dogs. at the pet store they were constantly rolling in their poop before i could get it out of there, and at the kennel, none were potty trained. are they just really difficult to train and once you get them trained you are good, or what is the deal with them? i used to love how cute they were until i got to know them.

7/2/2010 10:13:08 AM

the three i've known and had experience with were no worse than any other puppy...one was a friend's (she still has her wheaten after 8 years) and two were clients at the vet/kennel i worked at in high school

i don't recall my friend complaining about her wheaten, but i didn't live there or anything

*shrug*

7/2/2010 10:15:19 AM

hmmm, the two that came to the kennel on a regular basis were just terrible, maybe i just had bad luck and met the two worse ones out there. they are cute enough to be given another chance. ADORABLE as puppies.

7/2/2010 10:17:12 AM

The Wake Animal Shelter has a miniature poodle named Oscar, been there 2 days. ID#36131. Miniature I know, but small dogs have some advatages too. Eat less, poop less, tear up less, and all whatnot.

You can also search for poodle (or any specific breed) rescue groups, like http://carolinapoodlerescue.org/OurAdoptables.shtml

You can find people that breed poodles that aren't stupid too. Basically find someone that bred puppies because they like the breed instead of someone making a living at it and that should keep you mostly in the good.


ETA: the difficulty with getting a rescue dog is that a lot of times they were given up for a reason, like being a dick or having a lot of medical problems or something.

[Edited on July 2, 2010 at 10:27 AM. Reason : []

7/2/2010 10:25:25 AM

carolina poodle rescue is good people!

when i worked at mayfair cary animal control brought in a mop of a dog that had all sorts of things wrong with it from most likely being hit by a car. hip, spine, and pelvic issues. cpr put out an alert for donations and paid for everything! one of my coworkers adopted her and she is doing great.

7/2/2010 10:47:04 AM

Quote :

"the difficulty with getting a rescue dog is that a lot of times they were given up for a reason, like being a dick or having a lot of medical problems or something."

Yep. My friend learned that the hard way with her husky.

7/2/2010 10:50:52 AM

I can tell you right now that most of the turnovers I saw weren't behavior related, but moving related. People need to think long term before buying an f'ing animal. Also, there's a lot of strays.

Also, shelter employees sometimes note when a dog/cat has certain behavioral problems.. but not always

7/2/2010 11:14:46 AM

It's not that I have anything against breeders, it's that there are enough animals in the world that we have to fill up shelters and pounds with them already. Breeding them just seems irresponsible to me. /self-righteousness

I'll check out the carolina poodle rescue, thanks.

No thanks on the mini poodle. I want a bigger dog. I appreciate the effort, though

7/2/2010 11:15:37 AM

^^ We're talking about rescue dogs, not shelter dogs.

7/2/2010 11:23:51 AM

responsible breeders are still important because they maintain the bloodlines of canine breeds

the majority of breeders do not fulfill this role and actually hurt the breeds more than anything

7/2/2010 11:28:43 AM

Oh I see what you mean, like rescue groups... sorry, I consider shelter dogs to be rescue dogs.. my b

carry on

7/2/2010 11:30:33 AM

Quote :

"^^ I tried to get her on some herbal remedies to keep it under control, but she refuses to try them. "

okay, but herbal remedies are not allergy shots. allergy shots work. she could at least try claritin or something real.

[Edited on July 2, 2010 at 11:40 AM. Reason : ]

7/2/2010 11:37:43 AM

^^^agreed. the whole breeding/selling industry is pretty jacked up.

My wife's family had a female Bichon many years ago who they had bred just a single litter, with a show quality stud. They kept 1 of the female puppies and years later bred a single litter with that dog with another good stud. This time they kept 3/6 puppies though. 1 died a couple years ago, my brother-in-law has 1, and we have the 3rd. That was all the breeding they did, and they did all the paperwork and everything with them all.

Our Bichon is supposed to be somewhat hypoallergenic, and he's a great little dog. If we lived somewhere with a little more space we'd love to have a greyhound though.

[Edited on July 2, 2010 at 11:38 AM. Reason : too slow]

7/2/2010 11:38:24 AM

I'll refrain from getting into whether or not you can stop allergic reactions naturally, and point out that if she's not willing to take a pill with absolutely no side effects in an attempt to stop her dog allergies, she is sure as hell not going to start taking claritin or getting shots every couple of months to accomplish it, either.

7/2/2010 2:23:15 PM

Goldendoodle

7/2/2010 2:32:45 PM

i saw a dalmatian-basset hound mix last week. Totally unrelated but it was one of the cutest animals ive ever seen

7/2/2010 2:44:19 PM

Labradoodles and other poodle hybrids are totally cute and tend to be friendlier than poodles. BUT you have to be careful with getting a puppy ... sometimes they end up with a coat more like a lab when they grow up.

the Portugese water dog is hard to find on rescue these days (the Obama's dog is that breed and has made it very popular). It's also a high energy dog and needs a lot of exercise and training or it'll destroy your stuff.

I think you should reconsider the greyhound especially if you live in an apartment. they're very easy to find as rescue dogs (duh), and they are actually pretty lazy and sleep a lot. Greyhounds are very gentle and they don't bark!!! Biggest downside is that they can be fearful/skittish of loud noises and whatnot. Seriously, how could you say no to that face?? (greyhounds have the best smile of any dog IMO)

7/2/2010 3:27:31 PM

I applied to get a poodle from the carolina poodle rescue. Damn they make you jump through some hoops, don't they

7/2/2010 3:30:55 PM

i have never known a greyhound without issues

those dogs are guaranteed defective

7/2/2010 4:10:29 PM

I've heard the opposite! unless it was injured, the racing greyhounds are usually in good shape. They're mostly taken good care of when they're young

7/2/2010 4:45:58 PM

dude....do yourself a favor.

DONT GET A POODLE.

7/2/2010 4:48:27 PM

whyzat?

7/2/2010 5:28:34 PM

okay then, i guess she enjoys sneezing, coughing, stuffy/running nose better than not having those symptoms. awesome.

7/2/2010 6:22:28 PM

yeah, so far

7/2/2010 11:59:49 PM

Quote :

"I applied to get a poodle from the carolina poodle rescue. Damn they make you jump through some hoops, don't they"

Yeah I was looking at that earlier today when someone posted that link, cause I'd be interested in getting another dog, and I have a poodle now that I adore.

They ask about who your groomer is and shit...shit's like 50 bucks a month from a groomer, but we just do it at home...I hate the way poodles look from a professional groomer too.

I understand that they want to make sure the animals have good homes, but I think it goes a bit overboard.

7/3/2010 1:17:45 AM

Quote :

"I'll refrain from getting into whether or not you can stop allergic reactions naturally, and point out that if she's not willing to take a pill with absolutely no side effects in an attempt to stop her dog allergies, she is sure as hell not going to start taking claritin or getting shots every couple of months to accomplish it, either. "

Personally I probably wouldn't take herbal remedies either when I know Zyrtec works

7/3/2010 1:51:49 AM

Quote :

"We cannot adopt to you at this time. Our policy states that dogs left outside and unattended, even when secured in a fence, are not safe. May I give you some food for thought? Your dog may be happy in his or her yard - and there are many things that can get to her that are happy she's in there and available to them. Wildlife - snakes, squirrels, raccoons, skunks, weasels, cockroaches, ants, coyotes (becoming more and more prevalent in every area – coyotes were recently spotted in downtown Atlanta GA) and many of these carry rabies. Every single one of them is going to be attracted to food and water left out - and they can either bite or create a stink on your dog. Outdoor food and water attracts outdoor creatures. Unscrupulous or unkind people - who see an expensive dog just there for the taking and a lock isn't going to keep them out. Bolt cutters are cheap. There are also those who think it's fun to throw things at yourdog that could hurt her or, even worse, throw something in with her that seems yummy to eat but in fact contains poison that will kill her. Weather - what happens when an unexpected thunderstorm comes up quickly? If she gets loose - heaven forbid, but what if someone comes and opens the gate? Or the gate fails to close properly for whatever reason? Sincerely, Carolina Poodle Rescue"

ridiculous... OK, good luck keeping your dogs

[Edited on July 3, 2010 at 7:00 PM. Reason : ]

7/3/2010 6:59:33 PM

Yeah, God forbid you keep a dog out with cockroaches

7/3/2010 7:51:18 PM