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My new puppy is killing me!!!

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Posted 12/19/2008 5:01 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, I normally don't post here but we recently got a new dog, a puppy.. black lab. I love her to death but she is killing me slowly. Since I got her my asthma is going crazy and my nose is running constantly. I got hives.. I wheeze.. its just not a pretty picture. I have been taking antihistamines and using my blue emergency puffer all day but i know I can't live forever like that. Any suggestions short of getting rid of her? Someone told me singalair works well.. has anyone used it?
Posted 12/19/2008 5:13 PM (GMT 0)
Aww I'm sorry your new fur baby is causing you distress! There are some tips you can try to help ease your symptoms. Make sure you wash her frequently - but not too frequently because labs are notorious for getting dry skin. I have a black lab myself. You can find allergy shampoo at most pet food stores. Do not let her sleep in your bedroom or even go into your bedroom. If you have carpet, vacuum very frequently but with a vacuum that has a hypoallergenic filter. Arm and Hammer makes a powder you can sprinkle on your carpet to help get rid of the hair and dander. If you don't have a humidifier, you might want to get one because moist air will tamper down the hair and dander. You can also use an air purifier. After vacuuming, wait a half hour and then dust everything very well. By waiting the half hour, it lets the things that float in the air settle down on surfaces where you can get most of them. But don't use a feather duster since this just pushes the stuff around. You will have to use a spray such as Pledge - they have a great allergy line - but spray whatever you use on a cloth and not directly on the surface. If you have ceiling fans, wash them frequently as well. If all else fails, you can always resort to allergy shots. I hope some of these tips help you.
Posted 12/19/2008 5:26 PM (GMT 0)
I have not bathed her since we got her but I think i will.. I was trying to wait until the weather was nicer its been soooo cold here. The allergy shampoo sounds like a good idea I am going to go look for it! By a hypoallergenic filter do you mean a Hepafilter? Mine says it has one of those.. is that good enough? I am also going to look for the arm and hammer carpet stuff! And I am guilty for letting her sleep upstairs because she cries.. I don't let her go up there at night but we are getting her a crate this weekend so she is going to be in there downstairs at night time and I am going to make upstairs off limits to her. Do you think the allergy shots work better then taking the daily Singalair? It says it also works for asthma which i have anyway but not usually so bad. Do you think washing her once a week is too frequent?
Posted 12/19/2008 6:14 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, a hepafilter should be sufficient as long as it's replaced every 3 months or so. Those things can be rather expensive though. Bathing once a week might be a bit too much for her seeing since she is a puppy. You might be able to get away with once every other week though. Just keep an eye on her skin condition. If she starts to get dry skin, prolong some of the baths. I usually give my lab a bath once or twice a year but I don't have allergy to dogs. In the summer, she loves to go swimming so her skin dries out more. Her vet said to give her fish oil capsules to help with both her skin and coat and it works great! Just something to keep in mind in the future when your pup gets older and has skin issues. Singulair is great for both allergies and asthma so it wouldn't hurt to give that a try before resorting to the allergy shots. Allergy shots take a while to start working so that isn't a quick fix.
Posted 12/19/2008 6:54 PM (GMT 0)
thanks! I am going to the doc next week for Singulair and going to totally dust and vaccum and clean like heck and hope it helps.. shes a great puppy I really hate to get rid of her.
Posted 12/19/2008 7:11 PM (GMT 0)
I sending well wishes to you, make an appointment with your allergy/Asthma doctor,
maybe he or she can offer up better advice for you, but sherry pretty much summed it all
up good, check into getting allergy shots and keep the dog out of your bedroom. Hope your
feeling better soon, next time look into getting a poodle or other type dog that has hair instead of fur.
Keep us posted...
Lots of soft hugz.....
Posted 12/19/2008 11:15 PM (GMT 0)

I read your post about your puppy.  I have very bad asthma but I have always had poodles that don't shed.  Most puppies have finer hair and dander than older dogs.  So you may improve as your puppy gets older and develops adult dog hair.  There are special brushes you can get to keep your puppy from shedding so much and that get rid of dander.  Check at your pet store but be sure to use a good pet store.  Some of the big chains do not have as good products as your local small pet store which usually carry the best brands of everything. If your dr. will give you a script for an allergy/asthma med that would probably help.  But you should not be using a rescue inhaler every day, like albuterol.  It is not good for your heart to use albuterol so often. I know how you feel because I had to give up 2 siamese cats years ago because they made my asthma so bad. Is there some one in your family who can do the brushing on the puppy?  Also, can they help with dusting? If you do the work I would suggest using a face mask. You can get them at any pharmacy. Also, make sure to change your furnace filters every month.  The 3 month ones that are sold do not actually last 3 months and the 1 month filters work very well and a box of 12 is cheaper than 1 three month filter.  Also, if you have an air purifier that would be a big help, but not one that creates ozone. An ozone purifier can make you sick if not adjusted properly. I have a small air purifier in my bedroom that works well.If  you keep your puppy in a crate make sure to put down soft towels for warmth and comfort and get some toys to put in the crate that he can play with.  A clock that ticks is also soothing and if you have to leave the puppy in the crate when you go out leave a radio on with nice music. I hope these suggestions will help you.  I have had dogs all my life and am a big animal lover. Take care and post again how you are doing.  If you have other questions I will be glad to answer you.

Aurora

Posted 12/19/2008 11:19 PM (GMT 0)
Just another thought, I use symbicort as my long term inhaler. I don't know how bad your asthma is but this med has worked wonders for me. I can now breathe very freely. This summer I barely left the house because I just couldn't breathe so you could ask your dr. about this med. But I also went to a pulmonologist and had all the lung function tests. Also, Zyrtec works very well especially with pets and that is over the counter now.
Aurora
Posted 12/20/2008 6:20 AM (GMT 0)
ok so I looked for allergy shampoo and couldn't find one so I just got a puppy shampoo and bathed her really good.. we got her a nice roomy crate and she seems to be liking it.. *so far* .. I stripped my bed and tomorrow will dust and vacuum like crazy! But I think I figured out something that was bugging me. A week after we got the dog I had my carpets steam cleaned. The man doing it sprayed something on my carpets for pet smell and left it on there. I think that is about the time my asthma got really bad. Today I vacuumed really good and it seems to be better.. perhaps its not 100% the dog after all?
Posted 12/20/2008 1:56 PM (GMT 0)
Ahhh Acaisha, you might be onto something there! I will hope that it's not 100% the pup for your pups sake! :)
Posted 12/20/2008 4:31 PM (GMT 0)
ok so apparently its a bad idea for the person allergic to the dog to give the dog a bath... also bad to try to use an expired rescue inhailor too! One trip to the hospital for a Ventolin mask last night.. bleh.. they gave me pregnesoze? (sure I spelt that wrong) for the next 5 days AND a new Ventolin puffer too. I also noticed later that the window in my bathroom has mold growing on it. Apparently my house is a asthmatics house of horrors. So how do I get rid of mold? The bathroom is my WORST trigger.. I always get attack in there so im thinking its the mold too. Last night my hub who is a nurse put it all in perspective for me.

Our temperatures have been -30ish.. Celcius.. er.. around -27? Fer? Very bloody cold. Cold is a major trigger for me. My eight month old baby seems incapable of sleeping for more then 2 hours at a time so im run down from that. Add the dog and the cleaning carpets and now this mold I found and the expired inhaler I have been trying to use. It's amazing im alive. Bleh...
Posted 12/20/2008 9:52 PM (GMT 0)

I think you are on to something with the substance that was put on your carpeting for pet odors. It may have something that triggers asthma in it but maybe that will go away with vacuuming.  The big RED flag you raised was the mold.  Mold is highly toxic and if you have asthma it can really trigger an attack.  As far as I know bleach seems to be one of the best cleaners for getting rid of mold.  You need to check you house for any leaks from roof or windows or wherever water can seep in.  Water can create the mold.  There are products made especially to clean up mold but I don't know what products you have in Canada so can't advise you on anything here in the States. But I do know that bleach is supposed to get rid of mold.  It will take some hard scrubbing and you will need your hubby to do this cleaning.  Then if you have any leaks they need to be sealed up so no more water can get in.  Keeping your bathroom very clean is going to be important for you to prevent future asthma attacks.  I have had asthma all my life, I am 63, have been to 2 pulmonary specialists and had all the lung function tests and gone the gamut on the meds. So I think you can trust me on trying to help you with your asthma. Your hubby may need to take out the caulking around your tub or shower and put all new fresh clean caulking in.  I know here in the US you cannot even sell your home if there is any mold detected.  The real estate brokers will not list your house.  Hope things will go better for you.

Aurora

Posted 12/20/2008 10:17 PM (GMT 0)
unfortunatly our home is a rental so its hard to check for leaks.. also a townhouse between two others. but I do know for sure there is mold around the window in the bathroom and I'm going to get that dealt with and your right I think the caulking could use to be replaced that is a good idea.
Posted 12/21/2008 2:11 PM (GMT 0)
Wow, you are just getting from all angles eh? I agree that bleach is a good idea to kill the mold and to replace the caulking. However, if you feel there is mold, especially black mold, in between the town houses you need to notify your landlord. I'm not sure what the health codes are in Canada but here in the states, rentals must be cleaned of black mold by the landlords or they can be sued and/or the buildings shutdown for health violations.
Posted 12/21/2008 4:46 PM (GMT 0)
As bad as this sounds.. if there is mold we have little choice but to keep living here. The vacancy rate in our town is about .3% it took me 9 months to find a three bedroom. We were crammed in a two bedroom apartment before this and now we have the baby too. It stresses me out to think there could be mold but we are currently saving for a down payment since my husband JUST got back full time nursing. If we move now we will end up paying 1500+ for a place and never get a down payment saved. We are currently only playing 650 which is like crazy low because the landlord understands there are no rentals and keeps it low for families. I do think its not the dog that is making it so bad though. I keep her downstairs now, I vacuumed really good the stuff off my downstairs carpet. I can spend all day down there with the dog and be fine and as soon as I go upstairs I an wheezing even on the pregnazon steroid and Ventolin puffer. Today after work I am going to totally bleach down (while wearing a mask) my bathroom and tackle the upstairs carpets and dusting. I am going to do a good search for any other visible mold but I suspect since our bedroom is next to the bathroom that it is coming from that room. Wish me luck!!

Someone asked me if my asthma is bad normally. I just have problems when I FIRST get pets with allergies. It does not normally trigger my asthma. My triggers are normally only really cold air and exercise. So I generally only take my puffer before I go to work out and if its really cold before I go outside. Most of the year I have no need to take anything for it. I think the problem is we keep the window in the bathroom open until the weather gets below freezing since I'm afraid it will freeze open. As soon as I closed it was also about the same time we got the dog. I'm guessing that is when the mold issue started to bother me as well.

So Tuesday I go talk to my doc. I will keep you posted and thank you all SO much for the help!!! I think part of my issue is when I went to my doc about asthma for my wheezing they did some test in the hospital under normal conditions but they said I didn't have asthma because my breathing levels were not poor enough. My complaint was if my asthma is from cold air and from exerciser how could their machine pick up poor levels when I am not doing either of those? Maybe now that I have been to the hospital with an attack they will believe me and help me get it under control. I really know NOTHING about asthma.

anyway thanks again you guys have helped me sooooo much!!! Your a blessing all of you!
Posted 12/22/2008 1:32 AM (GMT 0)

There are many lung function tests a pulmonologist can do to determine asthma without you having an attack.  So if you can get to a lung specialist you might get better answers.  Sounds though that the mold is the issue. Check all of your upstairs to see if you can find any mold and scrub it with bleach.  All I can suggest right now is after you clean the bathroom, keep the door closed to see if that helps you.  Keep posting so we know how you are doing.

Aurora

Posted 12/23/2008 7:58 AM (GMT 0)
well i vaccumed with the arm and hammer stuff and WOW that stuff is great!!! it picked up so much more hair then normal. I tilex mildew and mold sprayed my whole bathroom and scrubbed the mold off the window and found some behind the toilet too so got that. I bleached the whole room its sparkling! lol I dusted after vacuuming and since then I have had NO problems at all upstairs.. i go and I don't get that wheezing heavy chested feeling I used to get. Oh I also replaced the liner for my shower curtain and the rubber mat for the tub since I found some mildew on the bottom around the suction cups so figured it was time for a new one. So I am happy to report since the dog has been downstairs and I followed all the helpful suggestions you have all given me I am feeling SO much better. The red eye sneezing wheezing me seems to be gone, knock on wood it keeps up!!! I think I will take stock in arm and hammer because I used TWO whole boxes of the stuff on upstairs and downstairs and I love it. So do my cats btw. It was like the febreeze commercials where the woman sprays and her family comes running. All three (yes love cats!) of my cats were in the bedroom sniffing the carpet lol.

Anyway thanks again and I will probably post again once I talk to my doctor and see what he says about the singulair.

Merry Christmas and bless you all.. your angels and have helped me SOOOOO much!!!
Posted 12/23/2008 2:01 PM (GMT 0)
Acaisha, that is great to hear :) I'm so glad that our tips brought you relief. Yes, I love that Arm and Hammer stuff too! I have 2 dogs so it comes in handy for sure. May your new year bring easier breathing and Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Posted 12/24/2008 4:09 AM (GMT 0)

Acasia, i am so glad all those products worked for you and you are feeling better.  I hope this continues to work for you.  I will keep you in ny prayers.  I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and all good wishes for the New Year!

Many hugs,

Aurora

Posted 12/28/2008 4:41 PM (GMT 0)
Just an update for everyone.

My allergy to the dog seems to have calmed down with her downstairs and not allowed to sleep with us. I am off the prednazon and so far no problems. I have only had to take my ventolin puffer right before I work out which is working ok for me. I did get singulair samples from my doc but because there were no studies or info on breast feeding and that med i have not taking it. I have had no attacks and nothing too bad for breathing other then the exercise or if I go outside when its really cold I get a bit of a wheeze.

Thanks again for all the help!!
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