Are Some Dogs Truly “Hypoallergenic?”

Forty percent of households in the United States own at least one dog and 60% of people have regular contact with a dog either in their own home or in another loca-ion. As 10 to 15% of Americans are allergic to dogs, it makes sense that millions of people in this country will have recurring allergic reactions to dogs. The significant allergens are proteins found in the dog’s dander (scales sloughed from the dog’s skin) and saliva. Differences in allergen production both between breeds and even between individual dogs within a breed may allow people to tolerate some dogs better than others.

People’s ability to tolerate a specific breed or specific dog is highly variable and not possible to predict given our current knowledge. Some dog breeds have been touted as being “hypoallergenic,” suggesting that they are less likely to cause an allergic reaction in people who have been diagnosed as allergic to dogs. These dogs have been charac-terized as shedding less hair and dander than other dogs, and include but are  not limited to poodles, terriers, maltese, schnauzers, and bichon frises, as well as mixes of these breeds with other dogs. While these “low-shedding” dogs may have less obvious shedding of hair, they still shed to some degree, and are capable of causing allergic responses in some people, particularly those who are highly allergic. The amount of the allergen coming from a dog can be reduced or eliminated by bathing the dog once to twice weekly.