So I’ve had Meeka for a little over a week now and the final verdict is that I am allergic to her, which really makes us sad. What I don’t understand is that I grew up with a dog with no issues (I even had cats growing up and I was definitely allergic to them!) and now I can’t breathe if I play with our puppy. She is truly the sweetest, most energetic and amazing dog ever! She has a bit of a focus problem (she gets too excited and doesn’t pay attention sometimes) and is a bit of a puller when it comes to walking, but that is nothing we can’t fix with a little bit of training. It’s devastating that I have this perfect dog and she makes me sick.
I went to the doctor yesterday in hopes for some advice or treatment to help this problem (I researched the possibility of allergy treatments) as my regime of Zyrtec and Benadryl weren’t cutting it anymore. He prescribed Singulair and said that it was not only an asthma medication, but that would also help with my allergies. I took a pill this morning and I can definitely say that I do feel better than I did yesterday, but it’ll probably take a couple of more days for the pill to fully kick into my system.
In a month I have to check in with my doctor and tell him how the pills worked, as the next step would be a nasal steroid, and should that not work he will recommend I visit an allergy specialist for shots. I truly want the pills to work, but am willing to do anything to keep Meeka!
It could be left over allergens that are on the dog from the kennel/previous owners that are causing your reaction. Have you washed her since you brought her home?
I had a similar problem with a cat I had a few years back who I was allergic to for absolutely no reason. It turned out that there was something in the food she had previously eaten that caused a reaction (it was in her saliva which in turn got on her fur!) After we bathed her (interesting experience) it took about a week for my symptoms to clear.