Help!! My boyfriend's allergic to my Pomeranian!!

 I'm no dog food expert, but I'd also like to Suggest Eagle Pack Holistic. My old Pomeranian had a sensitive stomach and didn't do so well on Natural Balance (mind you every dog is different).  So I used/ use Eagle Pack Holistic- Chicken & Rice,  and will be using itwith my Pomeranian Puppy  this time around too. (sorry if the link is small, I don't know how to change the font size):

http://www.eaglepack.com/Pages/HS_Chicken.html

On first glance the higher end foods seem more expensive than things like Iams, but in actuality, they aren't.  You see, with a better food, you get more kcals/cup so you feed less.  I, like you started my boy on Iams when I brought him home.  At one point he was up to 16 cups of food a day!  (hes a big dog)  That many calories fits into less than 8 cups of Innova.  So basically the same size bag of food will last you twice as long.

I haven't tried Natural Balance on my dogs, but they did well on Eagle Pack Holistic too.  A bonus, you can get sample bags of the high end foods at most small pet stores for free to try.  With a pom, you'd get a whole days worth of food in those little bags.  Maybe a bit more.  LOL, with mine its a training session if I'm lucky! 

Oh, get a new boyfriend!  LOL!  No seriously..... I am allergic to MY Pom too.  I have been seriously allergic to dogs (and everything else) for years.  I vacuum, vacuum, vacuum.... and go evey week for my allergy shots. 

Give fatty acids to the dogs and see if you b/f would be interested in supplementing as well.  Allergy meds are ok in the short term, but the have a tendency to make the allergy worse over time.  Shots are great!

Note:  I was interested in the Dyson.  I did a lot of research and the Dyson was found by Consumer Reports to be ineffective at collecting pet hair.  There is a Eureka model that is ranked highest.  I was just looking at it at LOWES.  I love Eureka, but the downside for me on this model is that it requires a bag.  I got away from bag models years ago.... don't want to go back.

I got a bit spoiled over this past year in having my Yorkies and Shih Tzu.... no itchies or sneezies.  Enter the Pom...Aaaachooo!

It's great to hear from someone who is allergic. It gives me hope! I vacuum a lot, and Fritz doesn't bother him a whole lot. What really gets him is when he lays on the couch and uses a pillow Fritz just took a nap on a half hour ago. I am hoping to marry this guy one day and make all of us living together an option. I love both my guys! As for the vacuum, I bought the Animal version of the Dyson. It's bagless, and I beg to differ on being inefective on picking up dog hair! I highly disaggree!!! I absolutely LOVE that vacuum and recommend it completely! I was afraid to get it at first because of the price, but I DO NOT regret it!!!

- Please keep posting guys! I love the advise!!!

I am glad to hear the Dyson is a winner.  I was shocked when I read the CR study.  I have looked at the Dyson.  I'm a bit of a neat freak and choose my vacuum like a member of the family.  I have been a Eureka fan for years and I am very happy with my vac, but I was looking at others coz my sisters dog sheds like Charlie Brown's C'mas tree.  She burns vac after vac.   The comparison was between the pet hair Dyson and the pet hair Eureka.  I was stunned, but one never knows what really fingures into these studies.

Best of luck with the vac, dog and your guy...... notice my list of priorities?   LOL!   I really need to get a grip :)

Did you notice Fritz shedding increase with age?  I am not noticing any bothersome shedding at this point.  Maybe he won't shed a lot.  I am still feeding him the GIGANTIC bag of puppy food he came with mixed with the puppy food my vet gave me, but I want him on premium food.  We are having a snow and ice event, but I still plan to go to the pet store today.  I have to take my sis to Walmart today and Animal House (very nice little pet shop) is very close to my house.  It will be slick driving, but I am cool about driving.

Quality Food + Quality Brushing = "No Shedding" = "Less Dander" = Less Allergic Reactions

Check out the threads in Nutrition about food. I did a POLL & Thread "Yum!" on everyone's favorite dog foods. I value nutrition for dogs very much ever since we realized one of the main causes in my Sheltie's cancer was poor diet related. You live and learn and I want others to learn from my own family's mistakes. I'm happy to see that people on the forum are supportive too of a healthy diet! :o)

I have always used "so called hi quality" foods.  The world of nutrition is a crazy world.  My vet has recommendations that don't match most of what I read.  But there is so much I read that is SO far out in left field that I am afraid to try it.  I think I will stick with a good premium, commercial food.  My dogs in the past have lived very long healthy lives using the hi end foods I would by in the supermaket.  I have moved beyond those, but I don't intend to go nuts.  For one thing, I have four dogs, all in different stages and with different medical needs.  I would go insane and bankrupt if I got all goofy with mega expensive foods.

Mdog59

I have always used "so called hi quality" foods.  The world of nutrition is a crazy world.  My vet has recommendations that don't match most of what I read.  But there is so much I read that is SO far out in left field that I am afraid to try it.  I think I will stick with a good premium, commercial food.  My dogs in the past have lived very long healthy lives using the hi end foods I would by in the supermaket.  I have moved beyond those, but I don't intend to go nuts.  For one thing, I have four dogs, all in different stages and with different medical needs.  I would go insane and bankrupt if I got all goofy with mega expensive foods.

I deff understand what you mean but for the health of your own dogs and your wallet check out typical foods we talk of here on the forum. For instance Natural Balance products (the food I preach about) isn't that expensive at all and can be found in every PETCO across America or ordered online www.naturalbalanceinc.com . You don't have to go "RAW" or "Homecooked" or go bankrupt... check out some pricing with typical popular food we speak of here on the forum.

Up until the past few years these "premium" brands were not available in my area.  I live in a semi rural area and would have to drive 40 - 50 miles to get to a pet store that handled those types of food.  We have some shops in the area now that have them all. 

I have been using Holistic Select.  If I don't have to use a prescription food, the HS is what I buy.  I know there are others on the market, but many of them were tied in with the 07 recall.  I did my research and am just staying away from them.  In fact, HS has not ties except for their canned.  I will not use their canned.  I am still looking for a reasonably priced canned that my guys might like.   I will have to find both senior and puppy blends.

Nope. Allergies aren't the end of the world.  

My mom has always been allergic to all animals.  But when my sister brought home a small kitten last year my mom fell in love.  She has shown no signs of any allergic reactions to this cat.  She does much better at my aunts house too who has 3 cats.

Despite her allergies she watches all 4 of my dogs every year when DH and I go on vacation at her house.  I bathe them all and clean all of their bedding and she does just fine with them. 

Keeping the dog itself clean will help immensely.

Good luck. 

That's wonderful.  I tried to do the best I could, but besides being allergic to every domestic animal but ducks, I am allergic to just about EVERYTHING and my allergist didn't even want my dog in my bedroom, much less my bed.  I told him if anyone would be sleeping on the hall floor, it would be ME!  LOL! 

After so many trips to the to ER for hives, etc, I opted for the injections.  What a new world.  I am so glad I did.  My mother has let us bring anything in the house we wanted to (NO spiders!) as long as it was treated humanely and released properly without harm.  We always had all kinds of domestics, but we also raise tree frogs, caught bats, moles, birds, snakes, bugs of all kinds.  One would think I would I would have stuck to turtles and hermit crabs, but no, I have to go with the fuzzy guys.  Don't get me wrong, I still love those other critters.  Just last year I gave up my Hermit's.  Life is just easier with dogs :)

Yeah, the Dyson is amazing! I actually just used it last night. I had to clean the whole apartment because the BF is coming over tonight. Oh, and  I used the Allergen Reducing Febreeze too like someone suggested. I also removed all the pillows from my couch, because they seem to really bother him. (Fritz likes to climb on the pillows and play on the couch with his toys) He should be fine..as long as he doesn't touch his face after he pets Fritz.

Well, with the shedding...it's a little hard to track with having all carpet in the house. I ddn't notice a drastic differance when his coat changed. It's manageable, just keep brushing and vacuuming.

Ughh!! I LOVE Benny! I just read his bio! Aren't Poms soooo much fun!!! The pictures were so cute and reminded me of Fritz! The one were he's clutching the tennis ball is my favorite!

Take this from someone who is about allergic to everything in the world...EXCEPT DOGS! (thank god) Either keep him out of the house, get rid of the dog, or have him start Immune Therapy. I'm severally allergic to cats and I've been getting shots for about a year and I can already tell the difference. I still can't be around them, cause it still bugs me a little, but I'm better then before. Try to keep your BF away from the dog as much as possible. Allergies are a TERRIBLE thing that really effect your breathing and make you feel miserable forever it seems like, but you can really only symphathize if you have them. Don't let the dog jump all over him, try to keep the dog off the furniture at all times and if your b/f ever decides to move in...get hardwood floors! Easy too clean, and all the yucky dog "stuff" doesn't cling to it. My dads allergic to dogs as well but and we've always had them. He was bad at first, but now he's pretty much immune to them. And he doesn't even get shots!

georgie4682

Keeping the dog itself clean will help immensely.

That may help a little but the real allergen is the dander in their skin. There's nothing you can do about that, unless there's some kind of shampoo you can bathe them in that reduces it. Not really sure, I've never looked into cause I'm not allergic to dogs.