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
