for the parents out there..
i am wondering..should i keep my dogs and babies seperate from each other?...will allergies develop?


i know this is really a baby question instead of a dog question.

but maybe some mothers out there can share their experience with new babies and dogs at home.

allergies are fickle things> Sometimes if you prevent them they become worse and create an allergy by seperation. It ois of the medical community opinion that it is best to bring children and puppies or dogs up together.

The chances of a child being actually allergic to teh dog are small. what they can be allergic to,, just like the dogs themselvs are the mites and the dust that imbeds in the fur.
Choose a short haird baby or if you ahve along haired one already use a good antidandruff shampoo and if possible use one of those special attachments ofr washinga dn combing tehe hair at the same time. This drastically reduces dander, mites and flea residue.

I wouldn't really worry about an allegry developing. It could easily go either way. Close proximity, separation, or simple genetics could make him allergic. If they can get along, they should be allowed to be together.

My daughter was allowed around all of our pets. I felt comfortable in the way the dogs and her "played" together. She never had any allergy problems.

Our dogs were grown when our kids were born. We had the husband bring the baby in, while the Mom made of the dog. After, the mom sat and held the baby, and let the dog smell. No paws, no getting excited, just smell. It seemed that the dog realized that the baby was then part of mom. Our GSD Princess, (rest in Peace) understood immediately. She would nudge mom when the baby fussed. She seemed to be the sitter, and watched over the baby. We never lefted her alone with any baby, I love my dogs but my kids are and will be more important always. Our 19 mo. old Rex also a GSD, learned at my granddaughter's knee so to speak? He wanted to hump her when she was crawling, and he was 12 weeks old. He learned that, that was unacceptable. He was playing and we were not. That is the bottom line.

While there may be some controversy over whether early pet exposure is actually beneficial to prevent development of allergies in children. I have recently read and hear a number of news briefs promoting the benefits of early pet exposure.

One study I read indicated that dog exposure in infancy decreases the subsequent risk of development of asthma. Whereas it also concluded that this had no effect on the the development of allergic sensitization.

Essentially this researcher state that early exposure to dogs might prevent asthma in children and that this early exposure left these children no more likely of developing a dog allergy than those who did not have early exposure.