Allergies to pets don’t always develop straight away. There has been some research suggesting that up to 15% of the US population has allergic reactions towards dogs or cats, which is a lot more than people realise. This can develop straight away, or after ears of having the pet.

Some owners choose to just cope with the allergic reactions and continue living with the dog. This seems like a bad idea to me, as repeated allergic reactions can cause more permanent damage. Especially for the elderly and children.

If you had a mild allergic reaction to your pet you could always try to keep the dog outside a lot and stay away, but to me that defeats the whole point of having a pet in the first place!

The main things to do are not allow the dog to go anywhere near the bedroom or bed of the person who is allergic. The same goes for general furniture in the house. A purifier should be use to keep the air clear of the dog dander too. The sufferer should also wash their hands regularly, and the house should be hovered as much as possible. Doing all this should reduce the chance of an allergic reaction flaring up.

In more extreme cases where the above methods don’t seem to be working, you should contact your doctor who’ll be able to advise you on the best course of action.

So do you suffer from any allergic reactions to your pets? Did you start suffering straight away, or after you’d had the pet for a while? And how do you cope?