Thank you for posting! I have not switched my detergent I too have severe allergies to different detergents I can not use Tide, Cheer, Gain, Purex at all the one I have used for a long time now is Surf with oxy clean I have not had any issues with it. I'm the same way with body washes, soap and even dish soaps break me out. That was actually the start of my hives when I was younger I would get rashes not realizing it was hives then as I got older one day I went from never being allergic to anything that I knew of to being allergic severely to things and having to go on the strongest allergy med daily to keep the hives away. I know its a daily battle and I wish we could pinpoint everything that causes my hives and now my son is experiencing them. I get so worried so far he has not had throat swelling that by far is what worries me so much. I only had throat swelling after 2 surgeries from medications they gave me (needless to say it scares me to have anything done or to be put to sleep due to the reactions I've had- I had my second son 3 years ago and after my c section broke out and had such a major reaction my throat was almost completely enclosed it took 2 shots of benadryl and then a major dose of steroids to stop the reaction and I had nurses scrambling to find something to help me it was terrifying. Right after that I found out I had kidney cancer and had to have my right kidney removed and after my surgery something caused me to break out again and throat swelling. ) as I get older it seems to get worse on things I'm allergic too and its trial and error as I don't know exactly what will break me out from day to day but I am most concerned with my throat swelling the other day I have'nt had this happen since those surgeries.
On Karlee I use tear free, sensitive shampoo on her it is human shampoo and not dog shampoo the main reason I opted for this is that's what the breeder told me about and I was scared my sons or myself would be allergic to any of the other shampoos. Karlee's skin looks great and she loves bathtime so I think this shampoo works well for her and I don't think that is what is causing our reaction. I am willing to try what I can though its just hard to pinpoint the exact cause. What scares me the worst is my son and I have both had worse cases of hives its been gradually getting worse since Karlee joined our family I'm hoping and praying it is maybe her food that is bothering us, or the potty pads or something we can change that she is using and we can get better. Karlee is such a little doll my kids would be so heartbroken if we had to give her up, not to mention my husband and myself. Just the thought i'm tearing up right now. She is my girl everywhere I go she follows me. She loves to sit in my lap and cuddle. My youngest son plays with her all day long he is 3 yrs old so explaining to him if we had to rehome her would be terrible as he would not truly understand. Thank all of you YT members for your postings I felt better last night after reading some comments there is still choices I have and things to try that might work to where we can keep our precious girl. Just keep us in prayer about the situation I know God will work out what is meant for our family and prayers work! May God bless all of you today and thank you all again!

Not to argue, but there are generalizations and assumptions that are sometimes made that may not hold true all the time. My babies both have always been bathed once a week in Aussie MOIST shampoo and conditioner. NO issues yet.
Preston is two years old, we got him when he was 5 months. I have tried numerous dog shampoos in the year and a half that we have had him. I always come back to AUSSIE MOIST shampoo and conditioner (the human kind). All of the dog shampoos tend to break him out and cause skin issues ( he is also allergic to frontline and advantage to the extent that my vet made me report it to the EPA) Anyway, every time we go in, the vet and staff comment on how nice his hair is, how good he smells, and how good his skin looks, anytime there is someone new in the office, they ask what I use. They are always surprised when I tell them.
I think the key as someone else said is to make sure you don't use too much. Humans have a tendency to do that with their own hair also, It doesn't take near as much shampoo as you think to really get your hair (or your dogs coat) clean.;)

That is really great you found something that works so well!:)

allergies can be very very scary. My oldest daughter (who is now 21) was allergic to so much stuff when she was little. Her biggest allergy was to red dye. Do you know how much stuff has red dye in it? Things you would never imagine like potato chips. We couldn't give her any cold medication, as it is all purple or red. The only thing we could give her was benadryl because it at least would combat the reaction to the red dye. She had thirteen eye surgeries over the years, and had reactions to anesthisia on three prior to finding one that was going to work for her. She is allergic to bees, wasps, mosquitos, ticks, soaps, washing powders, certain metals, cheap jewelry and who knows what else. Those are just the things we KNOW cause issues. She too breaks out in hives all the time, sometimes she can distinguish a cause, sometimes not. My 16 year old appears to be allergic to nothing. My husband has seasonal allergies, and I am allergic to milk, ice cream, mold, evergreen, eucalyptus, some soaps and detergents, benzol peroxide, amoxicillin, penecillin and codene. Wonder where she got the allergies from? LOL
Our doctors have always said to introduce things slowly. That is why the recommendation of using stuff on Karlee that you KNOW you are not allergic to such as food, grooming supplies, etc.
Like I said, I will definately keep you in my thoughts and prayers, and keep us updated. I know how devastated I would be if I had to give up one of my dogs.
Michelle

I'm very sorry about your allergies! But if you end up needing to sell her I would love to take her. I have a male yorkie that is the same age as her. I'm currently looking to find him a girlfriend, she would have an amazing home and if you every wanted another Yorkie I would be happy to let you have a baby ;) And just so you don't think that's all I want her for I will let you know that she will only get bred once a year and she is a present for my boyfriends mentally handicapped sister.

I have to tell you that I have horrible allergies.
I have been doing the shot routine for over 1 1/2 years now.
I had to go every week and then now it is every 3 weeks (1 month max.)
I tested allergic for dogs & cats and the usual weeds and stuff.
We had a Lab puppy for about 5 months. I was litterally on the FLOOR having asthma attacks! I actually thought I would die. I was her primary care taker.
We gave her back to her breeder where she was then given another loving home.
I have not had those severe attacks since my lab baby left. I miss her.
BUT we got Max last year. He is a Morkie (1/2 Yorkie & 1/2 Malteese). I got him because Yorkies and Malteeses are supposed to be semi- hypoallergenic.
SO FAR in the year and 3 months I have had him I have had abosolutely NO allergic symptoms. I even bath, groom, shave,...Max.
Research Yorkies. Your baby may not be the problem.

I'm sorry to hear about that. :(

My step-dad is allergic highly to dogs and is terrible when visiting over at my grandma's with her Lab. He actually DOES have small reactions to Jackson, my yorkie, but after a few days of being around him, he must become immune or get used to it. But if he pets Jackson too much or if he rubs up against him, he gets red bumps all over his arm.

PS... If you find out she is the cause of your allergies... I live in md and would see if my family would want another pup. She would not be for breeding (spayed if not already). She would just be a family pet and play mate with Max (neutered). Max is 7 lbs.

The idea that make the maltese and the yorkie more "hypoallergenic" is the idea the the dander from the animal clings to the hair. Since they shed less then other dogs (like labs) the idea is that less of that dander gets into the surrounding environment and the air - limited the amount of interaction and damage that happens to the body. Its why you generally see hairless or dogs with similar "types" of coat in the "hypoallergenic" category. The whole idea of a hypoallergenic dog came about as a way to help people who were allergic to dogs who still want to consider a dog a "safer" way. Not a cure, but a method that may lead to less severe symptoms. Sadly, since any animal has dander... there is no real "allergy" free animal - just ones with better odds then others. Sometimes nothing really ever stops it, as even a very limited continual exposure can make the allergy worse then it was to begin with.

One of the best ways to try and combat issues with pet dander would be to use a product that diminishes the amount that gets released (sold in drug & pet stores) and to physically eliminate the dander that does get released (through dusting, vacuuming & so on.) The only way we were able to have a dog when I was a child with my very diminished lung capacity, asthma and severe allergies was by vacuuming several times a day, giving our dog supplements for a healthy coat (which limits dry skin being released), keeping her (a mini. schnauzer) coat very short and using a dander product on her every day to keep the amount of dander released (during other times) at a minimum.

Its a tough battle, and sadly isn't always one you can win.

Something that might help is keeping her cut very short. I've got allergies and I start noticing them when Bandit's hair starts getting longer. It's much better when it's short.

Hope things get better!!!! There's a new medicine that you rub on your lip that prevents allergens from going into your nose supposedly, so maybe that will help....but not with the hives. GOOD LUCK

Thank you all for your postings, everyone has been so helpful and its helped to read these postings as I go through the thought of what we might have to do for Karlee. I appreciate all the advice and help and those that have emailed or posted that they would give Karlee a loving home. All of us love dearly Miss Karlee she is just so spunky, sweet and cuddly even right now she is laying on my feet. If I am in the room she comes straight to me and wants to lay right beside me or follow me everywhere I go she has become my little shadow. I talked to my kids today they are 8 and 3 years old about how we might have to let Karlee go live at another home and they both were torn to pieces, as was I just trying to talk to them about it. My 3 year old went and picked up Karlee and was giving her hugs and kisses...ahhh my heart just melts watching my kids with Karlee they love her to pieces. My husband also is as crazy about Karlee as I am she is like our 3rd child! I can't possibly bear the thought...although tonight I've broke out in a rash on my neck and face again but no throat swelling. I wish we could figure out what is causing this its nerve racking and I feel terrible everytime I think about my furbaby having to not be here with us:( There is so many things I have not thought about and I am thankful for all you YT members there is a lot of things I have no clue on with allergies as I am just learning...my oldest son is asthmatic, used to take shots every week, breathing treatment everyday, inhaler everyday and on steroids when bad flare ups happened and then on singular...but he got better and was able to get off ALL medicine! Until lately now he has dealt with hives and is all the time complaining. It started in August when he broke out enough to really know there was a problem...Karlee joined our family the end of July...then I went to my doctor and told her my allergy medicine was not working right I was still breaking out with hives so she took me off the generic form of allegra 180 and on the actual brand allegra 180 but it did not change, I'm breaking out to the point I need 2 allegra a day which I can't have and I have to be very careful as I only have 1 kidney due to losing my right kidney to cancer 3 years ago...that just makes it even more difficult.
Someone posted about reading into Yorkies, that I have done great research on for over 6 months before we brought Karlee home that's how we choose to pick a yorkie due to thinking we could have a housepet with no major side effects...I am more willing to bet like some other posts here have said that Karlee may not be the main cause, it could be something we use for Karlee. I'm going to try some of the suggestions here on YT and see what I can figure out just keep praying for our family over this situation as I know prayers work and we can find out a solution.

I am sorry, I cannot help myself. Seriously?? How old are you? I get the feeling that you have not done any research about breeding. This woman is in an emotional situation so obviously she cares deeply about her Yorkie and then you come on here and say I want to give her to someone who might possibly not be able to care for herself let alone a dog and I wanna breed her once a year.What a great life that would be for her..Did you even read the whole post? Why would she want another puppy, it is obvious she wants the one she has but she might be allergic. Are you aware that she is not free? I am sorry to seem rude, but I get so frustrated with extremely young posters and very uninformed posters that appear to not reread what they type. The situation that you so proudly flaunted is not one that I would ever consider putting one of my babies in.. Please do your homework before you think of breeding..

I absolutely agree.

Prayers for a speedy resolution to your problems...

:yeahthat: