Hypoallergenic dog breeds - do you have a favorite?

[laughinplace199]

We want to get a dog for our family and are thinking of a medium sized hypoallergenic dog. Do you have a favorite breed?

I grew up with golden retrievers and I LOVE them, but they just have so much fur. Also, our oldest is allergic to dogs, so her allergist said to get a hypoallergenic dog and keep it away from her room (she's in college, so only home in the summer).

Our youngest is 11, and the dog would mostly be for him as DD19 is in college and DS17 will be going off to college next year.

I think I really like the Wheaten Terrier. They're a nice size and good with kids.

Any advice or recommendations?

 

[katie01]

I would just say that with whatever dog you get, keep in mind that there is no 100% hypoallergenic dog. And maybe you already know that, but I would just say whatever dog you get, have your DS spend time around that breed first and see if there is any reaction. Some people react to the fur, with others it is the saliva, so even a non-shedding dog could cause a reaction for them.

We don't have any allergies to dogs in our family so I can't speak to that part of it, but I can tell you that our shih tzu bichon mix dog doesn't shed at ALL. Not even a little bit. I do know that some people buy this mix if they have dog allergies, but again, not sure if it would work for everyone. Anyway, our dog is incredibly sweet and cuddly. She will play and take walks, but mostly just likes to sit in our laps or hang out where we are. Very gentle with kids. Here's a link describing them with some photos: https://animalso.com/breeds/zuchon/

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

Standard poodles are smart, easy to train, and pretty low-maintenance if you keep them trimmed and they are good with older kids. They like to be active so your youngest would need to take the dog on lots of walks, or run it around playing in the yard. I don't recommend toy or mini poodles because they are high-strung and I have been bitten by so many, but every standard poodle I've ever met was pretty chill.

 

[havaneselover]

Havanese—we got ours 11 years ago and can’t imagine life without her. We also had a bichon but she had tons of health issues and was not as sweet (but we loved her tremendously).

 

[JaxDad]

 

[gemini2727]

Goldendoodle!

Standard poodle crossed with golden retriever, I'm a little biased, but the best dog ever!
We all have allergies in our house, but no problem at all with our boy.
And he's so smart and sweet...they have a lot of energy, but are just so much fun

 

[mjkacmom]

Goldendoodle!

Standard poodle crossed with golden retriever, I'm a little biased, but the best dog ever!
We all have allergies in our house, but no problem at all with our boy.
And he's so smart and sweet...they have a lot of energy, but are just so much fun

But since golden retrievers are not hypo allergenic, golden doodles aren’t hypoallergenic.

 

[cinnaminny]

I think I would get a Shih tzu. I have come across quite a few of these where I live and they are generally very nice little dogs.

 

[QueenIsabella]

We have a cavachon--Cavalier King Charles crossed with a bichon frise. Ours weighs ~16 pounds--the size of a large cat. We absolutely adore her. This breed is very social--best friends with everyone--and easy to train. Seriously, it took my DH 27 years to find a dog breed he would own, and this is it.

Although she's small, she's kind of barrel-chested, so her bark sounds like a bigger dog, if that makes sense.

Most are apricot in color, but ours is black and white. She has a wavy coat and does require trips to the groomer. If we were so inclined, she'd make a good agility dog. She also senses when other pets are sick--we had an old cat who would seize occasionally, and Izzy the dog would be right there, looking after him. Not that the sick, old cat was appreciative at all, but we thought it was sweet.

 

[Kellydelly]

I am allergic to every dog on the planet that I have encountered, except for one. My boyfriend when I was a teen had a Jack Russell terrier and I could hang out in his house and not wheeze or die from an asthma attack.

 

[gemini2727]

But since golden retrievers are not hypo allergenic, golden doodles aren’t hypoallergenic.

Oh sorry, I guess not. With all of us having allergy issues, and no trouble with our dog, he turned out to be hypoallergenic for us, and I know of many others where it worked out the same, but I realize it would depend on the specific dog.

 

[disneyseniors]

We had a bichon friese which never shed, and had 2 coats of hair which needed groomed each 6 weeks. No allergies with that breed, for us.
If we ever get another dog, we would get a bichon. Great dogs!

 

[Floridaman999]

My brother has a hairy-hairless Chinese Crested. He hasn't had any allergy issues with them.

 

[wdwfan51]

We have a Chinese Crested Powderpuff. Chinese crested are usually hairless, but the powder puffs have a full coat of hair. She is 16 pounds and doesn’t shed. She can sit on your lap while you pet her and she will not lose one hair. She is very friendly to everyone, maybe a bit on the laid back/lazy side. We have had several dogs through the years and she is by far the nicest, most loving we have ever had. Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

[lifesavacation]

We have a Coton de Tulear, which is a hypoallergenic breed. She is a non shedder and doesn’t have fur—it’s hair. While that’s good for allergies, it requires daily maintenance. It’s a companion breed so they aren’t good being left alone a lot.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coton_de_Tulear

 

[design_mom]

We don't have allergies in our house, but I love my standard poodle! He is a great dog.

 

[g00fy!]

Komondor is our favorite, but I would definitely NOT recommend them for the average household. They are working Livestock Guardian Dogs and they need lots of socialization and training. They also have been bred for years to be independent thinkers, so you can never trust their training 100%, so you have to be ever alert to see a situation through the dog's eyes.

I would not recommend going for any of the designer mixed breeds, like any of the doodles or the cavachon mentioned above. While they can be absolutely adorable, they are not really breeds so you can't guarantee that you will get the coat of the hypo-allergenic parent. You could also get the coat of the non-hypoallergenic parent or a combination of both. It is a toss up of genetics with a mixed breed dog.

I second the recommendations of the Standard Poodle or the Havanese. Just make sure you purchase from a recommended breeder that helps you pick the puppy with the temperament that best fits your family. I would run from any breeder that lets you pick the puppy in the litter without any guidance just because you think it is the cutest.

 

[DWillowBay]

No such thing for me as a hypoallergenic dog.

 

[g00fy!]

No such thing for me as a hypoallergenic dog.

You bring up a good point. There is no such thing as a hypo-allergenic dog because it is dander not coat that causes allergic reactions. There are breeds that are more hypo-allergenic than others, but no breed is 100% hypo-allergenic.

Make sure you check out the temperament of some of the listed hypo-allergenic breeds as many are working dogs and take a lot more work and training for the average family.

 

[Jaime4004]

We had 2 cockerpoos for 15 years and no allergy issues. They did not shed. Just noticed they are actually in my profile pic. We're pretty sure the black one had some schnauzer in him also, but we were told he was a cockerpoo. After they died of old age, we got a germanshepherd/husky/everything mix and a yellow lab. Both big shedders and lots of worse allergies here in 3/5 of us. Just allergies, no asthma so we just suck it up. Because they're both fabulous. I try to keep them out of the kid's rooms, put a gate upstairs and everything. But they just let the dogs in anyway.