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Is there a border collie/poodle mix?


morrbird
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I know it's proteins that cause allergies and I am not debating that. But I KNOW that smooth coat dogs make me react while rough coats don't. I haven't got a good reason other than maybe the shorter, stiffer hairs are forcing the proteins into my skin like tiny needles while the softer hair of rough coats doesn't. I get hives on my skin where I have touched smooth coated dogs of many breeds, though not all breeds. I am so mildly allergic to smooth BCs that I can live with them. Terriers are another story, I could never have one in my house because I react so strongly to them. I still feel that the child must be exposed to the exact breed and coat type BEFORE they commit to getting any dog. Too many get dumped at shelters as it is.

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Wow! Thanks for all the input!

 

We had a rough coat purebred border collie or the first 4 years of my son's life. He had no real allergies - maybe a little sneezing at the height of pine pollen season (we live in the rockie mountains) just like everyone else in town, but no meds were required. We lost Buster last July so this is his first summer not living with a dog and it's been horrible! He is on Singular and another rx twice a day, and still his nose runs like crazy (for 2 months now). It was just a thought that maybe having a dog around every day kept his allergies in line, I know they can develop whenever they want to in life, but this was extreme. We'd like to get him off prescription drugs if possible. I have allergies - particularly to cats - and it does seem to be the saliva that really sets me off, though just being in a house with more than one cat will start me sneezing, and don't even take me to a place with guinea pigs! So I do realize allergies are very tricky to track down.

 

I thought of another border collie because we all love them so much! Who could ask for a smarter, more loyal and trusting breed? And the fact that he lived with one for 4 years with no problems. I question mixing with a poodle to help the whole allergy situation - surely if a dog sheds less, that may help, right? and can you imagine the brainpower of that combo? maybe he could learn to drive my car for me?! Just kidding! It was just some brainstorming between my husband and I as we sat thinking - what kind of dog would we get?

 

I think we'll start visiting dogs we know and see if there is a difference between short vs long hair in his reactions - if there are any reactions at all. Maybe his allergies are all pollen related and Buster's long hair kept a steady supply in our house year round to help desensitize my son. Who knows?

 

Thanks so much for all the input - I'm back to thinking it's time to start the hunt for a border collie to complete our family again.

 

Martha

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I had an allergist that had an interesting explanation of when we have a reaction. I'll try to summarize it.

 

Allergy sufferers have a list of things they are allergic to; reactions do not occur when you exceed an exposure limit for any individual allergen but when the total exposure to all allergens exceeds a limit. He based this hypothesis upon his allergies which included formaldehyde (formaldehyde is used in the printing of newspaper). Some days he could read the newspaper without issue while other days he would react to it. The amount of formaldehyde in the newspaper didn't change much, but his exposure to his other allergens did.

 

Mark

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  • 2 weeks later...

Such a timely topic. I just finished my allergy skin testing Mon., the 3rd time I've had it done in my life, because my allergies have gotten so much worse. The testing showed, for the first time, that I'm now allergic to dogs. Remember, the solution they use to skin test you with, is compiled from a myriad of dogs, usually pound dogs, whose hair is clipped and a solution is mass produced from it. Allergies to animals can be very specific - I was very allergic to my friend's Palomino horse, yet my black horse caused me not problems at all. Same with dogs. BC's are unique because they don't ever smell doggy, like other breeds, don't have oily skin like labs and retrievers, and have long hair (in most cases) like poodles, malteses, shizus, which makes a difference, according to my allergist. Dogs that have hair that can be cut, she said, usually cause less problems than dogs with short coarse hair (terriers, boxers, etc.). The only way to know is to expose your son to as many different types of dogs as possible. And taking a Claritin a day isn't such a bad idea either!

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In answer to the first question, there was a Border Collie/Standard Poodle mix that used to come to the dog park that I take Beck to.

 

Nice dog, high energy, very playful. And...it looked like Beck with a perm! I swore that Beck was going to go home and make an appointment with my hair dresser after playing with this dog a few times. *LOL*

 

I have no input on the allergy issue, but hope that you do (or did) find a dog that didn't cause problems for your son.

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  • 1 month later...

I just got a rescue puppy for my parents. He is a Toy poodle and Border Collie mix. I don't know when you can tell if he sheds or not. He is currently 9+ weeks old and I have not seen any shedding, if that tells anything. He has curly hair. I will see if I can find time to take a picture of him. I think he looks very cute. He is also extremely calm. I wonder if this is normal for a Border Collie puppy. He never chases squirrels or birds or even barks at them. He fallows humans very closely and can often be found lying next to your feet. I don't know much about dogs, but maybe this is very common of them.

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