Hypoallergenic dogs don’t have lower household allergen levels than non-hypoallergenic dogs

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A study by Henry Ford Hospital, US researchers set out to evaluate whether homes with hypoallergenic dogs have a lower level of dog allergen in the home than homes with other dogs, because hypoallergenic dogs are believed to produce less dander and saliva, and shed less hair.

Published in the American Journal of Rhinology and Allergy, senior author Dr Christine Cole Johnson said that they found no scientific evidence to claim that hypoallergenic dogs have less allergen. The researchers analysed dust samples from 173 homes one month after a newborn was brought home. The households did not contain more than one dog, and they covered 60 dog breeds, 11 of which are considered hypoallergenic.

They took their classification of hypoallergenic dogs from public website claims, and divided the dogs into one of four ‘schemes’: Scheme A compared purebred hypoallergenic dogs to purebred non-hypoallergenic dogs; Scheme B compared purebred and mixed breed dogs with at least one hypoallergenic parent to purebred non-hypoallergenic dogs; Scheme C compared purebred and mixed breed dogs with at least one hypoallergenic parent to purebred and mixed breed dogs with no known hypoallergenic component; Scheme D compared only purebred dogs identified as hypoallergenic by the American Kennel Club to all other dogs.

The results showed that there were no significant differences in allergen levels between hypoallergenic and non-hypoallergenic dogs, and led scientists to conclude that parents should not rely on dog breeds classified as hypoallergenic.

Source: Henry Ford Health System

First published in July 2011

 

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