[CindyB]

Several people who are interested in our litter of pups have children with allergies. I think I'm doing them a favor by telling them that there is no guarantee that these first generation pups will be fine with dog-allergy kids. As I understand it, one wouldn't even know what the effect would be until the pup is close to a year old. What are you more experienced breeders finding?

I don't want to send buyers away, but I'd feel terrible if a child became attached to a dog (and who can help it?) only to find the allergies were a problem later. We have a 9 month-old pup from the same parents, but I don't think exposure to that pup would give a true indication.

Am I on the mark or totally nuts?

[Jac]

Hi Cindy,
I agree that you can't promise total non allergenic qualities...but I am not sure about the theory of waiting for the dog to reach adulthood before you can tell for sure...
I do know that coats develop differently over the years, but I think that you can make a good "guess" with dogs beyond the F1 generation. What are your puppies?
For instance, I breed F1Bs and when one was born with a Lab-looking coat and I saw that it was a shedder, I told the new owners about it. Allergies were not the issue for their family and they still wanted the pup...but I feel rather certain that my other pups will have similar coat qualities when they age as they do now.
I am not a scientist, but I do have a very allergic husband and since he has had no negative reaction to our dogs or puppies, I feel pretty confident that their coats are not problematic.
All of that being said, I was once told by a doctor that you can take asprin your whole life and then one day wake up with an allergy to it! So, it is always a possibility.
I think that you give as much information as you can to your buyers. You tell them that there is the possibility of coat changes as the pup matures, and then you let them make an informed decision.
I agree that it would be horrible if they found out a year later that they were allergic to the dog...but I simply believe that to be a long-shot.
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