If you can't get rid of the dog, I think this issue will eat away your marriage.
Your kid is not magically going to not be allergic to the dog

Anonymous wrote:This one goes in the books for wacko dcum responses. Op, on behalf of the not-crazies, I apologize. You have fielded most questions with grace. Good luck in finding a new home for doggy.

PS my family dog growing up was sweet, calm and patient with us kids. One day, he got surprised and nipped my sister. I suppose some of the kooks on here would have argued: your sister wasn't dead, keep the dog! please people, get real. Dog was off to a farm in a day. I can't imagine how I and my sister would feel if my parents had made any other decision than to put our health and well being first.

You're the whacko. And your example is apples to oranges.
Also, you've probably not read that many DCUM threads if this is "one for the books." Or you have an agenda. In any event, peddle it elsewhere.

OP - I haven't read through all of the responses. My DH is actually allergic to dogs, dust and mites! His allergist told us to get rid of the carpets, wrap matresses/pillows and get the Ionic Pro Air filter. They are $179 at Bed Bath Beyond and you can use a 20% coupon. We have one in the family room, one in our bedroom and one in DC's bedroom. It has really helped. Another thing she told us to do was put cheese cloth over the air vents in the bedrooms. You might try some of things and see if they help. Our situation isn't as bad as what yours sounds like. I totally support you in finding a new home for the dog but if you can't maybe some of these things will help.

And a heck of a lot less stress to let the dog go.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:http://www.amazon.com/Anti-Allergen-Solution-Pet-Shampoo-oz/dp/B002GJN5BY

Just because they sell a shampoo on Amazon.com does not mean it works. They also sell wrinkle cream, parenting books, & health elixirs.

It's a heck of a lot cheaper to try than ripping up carpet and putting down hardwood floors.

Anonymous wrote:http://www.amazon.com/Anti-Allergen-Solution-Pet-Shampoo-oz/dp/B002GJN5BY

Just because they sell a shampoo on Amazon.com does not mean it works. They also sell wrinkle cream, parenting books, & health elixirs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SHAVE THE FREAKING DOG ALREADY!

We aren't shaving the dog, it's winter. For the people telling us to bath the dog more than every 6 weeks, where have you heard this is ok to do? I'm just asking because our vet told us because of the oils in the dogs skin & fur we were told that the bath shouldn't happen any more frequently than 6 weeks apart[u]. If this info is incorrect I'll have her groomed more often until we can make arrangements for her to move to the farm (if that works out) but this came from the vet & the groomer that it's a no no). It's harmful to their coat & skin.

DH is putting a call into the farm friends to see what we can work out. DD does take zyrtec daily and she is too young for allergy shots, the allergist was not willing to start them at her age. FWIW, the zyrtec does not seem to make any difference.

Mierda!

I give my little dog a bath every Friday. Am I going to kill him doing so? I am asking it seriously..

You are not going to kill him, but you are harming his skin and coat.

Not necessarily. I'm the PP who bathed my dog 3 times a week for the dog's skin problems. You just have to get the right type of shampoo to fit the dog's needs. Once a week is fine. Rinse well.

Anonymous wrote:OP- you posted that you were going to give the dog away and then tell DH the dog ran away. You are a total bitch!

I would never actually do that. Good grief.

Anonymous wrote:Our DD is allergic, has skin issues, nasal drainage. I'm at the point I want to give the dog away myself to help my child, telling DH the dog ran away. Please walk me through this.

get a new man

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SHAVE THE FREAKING DOG ALREADY!

We aren't shaving the dog, it's winter. For the people telling us to bath the dog more than every 6 weeks, where have you heard this is ok to do? I'm just asking because our vet told us because of the oils in the dogs skin & fur we were told that the bath shouldn't happen any more frequently than 6 weeks apart[u]. If this info is incorrect I'll have her groomed more often until we can make arrangements for her to move to the farm (if that works out) but this came from the vet & the groomer that it's a no no). It's harmful to their coat & skin.

DH is putting a call into the farm friends to see what we can work out. DD does take zyrtec daily and she is too young for allergy shots, the allergist was not willing to start them at her age. FWIW, the zyrtec does not seem to make any difference.

Mierda!

I give my little dog a bath every Friday. Am I going to kill him doing so? I am asking it seriously..

You are not going to kill him, but you are harming his skin and coat.

This one goes in the books for wacko dcum responses. Op, on behalf of the not-crazies, I apologize. You have fielded most questions with grace. Good luck in finding a new home for doggy.

PS my family dog growing up was sweet, calm and patient with us kids. One day, he got surprised and nipped my sister. I suppose some of the kooks on here would have argued: your sister wasn't dead, keep the dog! please people, get real. Dog was off to a farm in a day. I can't imagine how I and my sister would feel if my parents had made any other decision than to put our health and well being first.

OP, has your DH talked to DC's allergist? Has the allergist recommended medications? Does the allergist say that the situation is such that the dog should be given away? In my experience, giving the dog away is the last resort, after various medications and other interventions have been attempted, then failed.

You might need to have a talk, the three of you, to discuss your options.

I posted earlier in the thread about having a 6 year old whose eczema has been AWFUL this year. So, yesterday, he had skin testing done. Now, they probably only tested for 25 or so things (on his forearms), so of course they may have missed something (actually, this is likely since he has shown signs of seasonal allergies since he was little). We went with common allergens, plus various foods I had thought "might" be triggers. Most of the ones we did not do were various trees/grasses that we could not exactly avoid anyway. He came up allergic to none of these things. The allergist mentioned that only 30% of cases of eczema were caused by allergies, for the other 70%, it is just a skin condition with unknown triggers. (though we certainly know that dry air, etc. is a trigger). I feel your pain, I was hoping against all hopes I would find the magic culprit, so I could put my little guy out of his itchy misery.

Anyway, I thought I might mention, we stopped the zyrtec to do the skin testing and his eczema is MUCH improved. THe doc said that since the dryness of winter heat is so bad for eczema, the zyrtec may have been making it worse. Since my ds's nose allergy symptoms are not bad in winter we can do this. If your daughter's nasal symptoms are that bad, especially with the dog allergy, you may not be able to discontinue an antihistamine. Our doc did suggest if he needs the antihistamine during seasonal allergy times, to try claritin or allegra to see if they have less of a drying effect on the skin.

For treating the eczema, for years we were told to use aquaphor, and had some stronger prescription strength hydrocortisone for really bad outbreaks. After feeling like the aquaphor actually was making it worse, we finally saw a dermatologist who said that aquaphor is not a good choice for eczema, as many are sensitive to lanolin which is one of the ingredients. We now use Vanicream (OTC). We just got a new script to try Elidel (not steroidal) to give his skin a break from his steroid cream (Triamcinolone). GL.

Perhaps you can ask the friends to do a month or two trial, to see if it really helps the symptoms?

OP- you posted that you were going to give the dog away and then tell DH the dog ran away. You are a total bitch!