I can't keep my dog anymore, what to do with him?

This is tearing me apart. My 2 year old son has asthma and we just found out he is also allergic to dogs now, which is aggravating his asthma. I have an 8 year old Labrador that I can't keep anymore and don't know what to do with him. I've had this dog since he was 6 weeks old and hate having to give him up, but I have no choice.

The dog is large for a Lab, but very gentle and loving. He does like to steal food and hates being alone. I've been here in Germany for less than 6 months and really don't know what to do with him now.

I would appreciate any usefull suggestions about rescue organizations or places that can help find a home for him. I don't want him put to sleep.

Thank You...

You brought him with you to Germany from the US? I can't believe you have had this dog for 8 years and would consider putting him to sleep. Are you 100% sure the dog is bringing on the asthma? Ususally kids who are raised with pets develop better resisitance to allergies, etc.
I don't have any links to help you but you should talk to your Vet first and then try to find a nice home for your "beloved" dog.

Tough situation but putting your dog to sleep shouldn't even be considered an option.

Wow travelingpac, that isn't the impression I got at all! The guy is broken up and DOESN'T want the dog put to sleep! You've got it ass-backwards and your comments are totally uncalled for.

@Mjames: You've posted on here, which is a start. You can also ask a few local vets in your area and of course the dog shelter (tierheim). And you can place an ad in the local papers looking a new home, which might get some responses and will allow you to interview potential new owners. I'll look up the tierheim in your area for ya... here ya go... Tierschutzverein Aschaffenburg

I work with a bunch of vets, I'm sending your plea out to them. I've seen more than one animal saved from the shelters here =)

How should I contact u? PM?

Photo?

Sorry, I stated that badly. I will not let him be put to sleep. Also, we are sure about the asthma and allergy. It sucks and I am talking to the vet tomorrow, but am also asking here and talking to my co-workers.

If my memory serves there are powders or something similar that you can apply to pets that will help with allergies and asthma, I have no idea what they are called though or whether they are available here. Hopefully your Vet can help you with that.

Fortunately the Tierheime, at least here in HD, seem to be fairly well setup for taking animals in, but I do sympathise, and I sincerely hope it doesn't come to that and that you come up with a better solution.

edit: found a product called allerpet. Seems that they sell it here afterall :-D
http://www.allerpet.net/
http://www.allerpet.info

Hi Mjames, I wish I could help you. I would love to have a dog and so do my daughters, but we may go back to Australia within the next couple of years and I wouldn't want to put a dog through quarantine and the stress of a 24 hour flight. I would recommend to look for a good new home for your dog locally, on websites like http://kleinanzeigen.kijiji.de/f-Tiere-Hunde-W0QQCatIdZ83 , so you could still be able to visit him occasionally or at least stay in close contact with the new owner. Good luck to you and your dog.

I developed allergies when I was 12 years old, and can really sympathise. The powders don't often work very well, especially when you are dealing with a more severe condition like asthma. Thankfully I managed to get myself desensitized to most of my allergies through 2 years of regular allergy shots, but that won't work with asthma. He might grow out of it, but it can end up being a life-long condition. There are several hairless dog breeds and even a hairless cat which you might want to consider at a later date.

What a sad story. I hope you find him a good home.

In Mjames' defence, I was raised with pets and then one day just developed asthma and allergies from them. My parents did end up keeping the dogs around until they died naturally, but that's not always an option, and I understand.

I wish you luck in finding a new home from your pet.

Just a general comment though: I know your son is too young to ask him, but had my parents wanted to get rid of our dogs because of my allergies, I would have told them not to. (Although this helps none in your situation, but maybe for others with older children in the future.)

take him to the local schutzen verein there full of jaegers and they have tons of dog loving friends they specialize in gun dogs and the like and he will be free and happy with someone like that out im wald jaden tag

If you can put a flyer together, you could also post on town bulletin boards (maybe that only happens in small towns though, as we live a little south of munich).

And another option for a flyer is at offices - my husband works at Infineon, and they have a bulletin board where people post cars for sale, houses for rent, etc. And tons of people go there daily to check out what's new. I'm sure the other large companies (siemens, BMW, etc) have something similar as well.

My sister had terrible asthma while we were growing up and had allergies (dogs and all dander animals, dairy, pollen, etc) that aggravated it. Consequently, we never had pets other than fish. She had to use the 'breathing machine' for years in the morning and at night for 30 min, but did grow out of most allergies and the severe asthma. Now she only uses an inhaler on occasion. I'm sure the dog will find a nice home, you have enough interest and outlets to utilize. Best of luck!!

It is actually illegal to put a healthy dog to sleep in Germany, so even if you do have to bring him to a Tierheim, he wont be. Still, obviously I'd try everything else first. Try asking around, perhaps your friends could take him, or anyone in your family back in your home country is willing to look after him? It might also be worth contacting the local Tierschutz, at least they would be able to tell you who to contact best?

One word of advice - if anyone should be less than friendly, please do NOT take it personally. I know you don't, but quite a few people here in Germany use allergies as an "excuse" to get rid of their dogs, especially now, just before the summer holidays. They might mistake you for one of them until they know you really do have an allergy problem in your family.

Hope he finds a good home!

You poor thing. Before you make any quick decision I would counsel talking to your vet to see if they can recommend any homeopathic treatments for your son. I am a life-long asthma sufferer and have had cats of my own since I've lived on my own. I can partially control my asthma with diet and am happy enough to take the risk that the cats pose.

Things got more complicated when I met my healthy, sporty husband. We started living together in the US and we attributed his breathing problems to the nasty air quality around DC and the manic air-conditioning systems. It was only when we came back to Germany and the problems didn't go away that the penny finally dropped that he was allergic to our (my) cats. The allergy doctor told him what all allergy doctors say 'Get rid of the cats'.

This was a devestating blow for me - we'd just finished our 3rd unsúccessful round of IVF and I seemed to be facing a future with neither children nor pets. I ended up talking to my vet who also had a child with asthma and a dog. She pointed out that sheltering people from allergies often serves to make them more sensitive and causes more problems in later life. She recommended a Heilpraktiker that she knew that specialised in kineseology.

My sceptical husband took himself there for, I think, 5 appointments. By the 2nd appointment his allergic reaction to the cats was much lower and by the 5th it was gone. If he is stressed or ill the asthma returns - he probably sees the Heilpraktiker now every 18 months or so.

I wish you the best of luck with whatever you decide.

According to a lot of expensive tests by well-regarded allergists, I am extremely allergic to all our animals. However, luckily, the only time I have any trouble with symptoms is when I consume a fair amount of dairy-- which is funny because I am apparently NOT lactose intolerant, according to expensive tests by well-regarded allergists.

Thank god I followed a funny gut feeling years and years ago and tried the no-dairy thing. I couldn't imagine giving up the fur people, and for all my faults I think they'd be pretty upset, too. Good luck...

Dogs usually dont make asthma worse and don't create it either, CATS do. So I recommend you meet with another expert. I was diagnosed with border line asthma at the same time I got my dog, but my dog turned out to improve it (and improve all my other allergies) and I dont even cough anymore! But I've always been told cats are a problem.

So, I would do some extensive research before even considering givin him away cause I've never heard dogs create problems in that direction!

Have you found a home for him yet?

Wow, what great responses! I'm glad that you will have a few avenues to try before having to part from your dog. What I would do in your situation is try and have a friend, or maybe even an inexpensive kennel, take your dog for a while...long enough for you to see if your sons symptoms improve. If they do, then you know what you may have on your hands...if not, then maybe it is something else...like dairy as someone mentioned.

The body can react in such funny ways. My best friend is allergic to red dye #40. And I'm lactose intolerant only when I mix pizza and ice cream. LOL!

So, my point is, don't take anyones word at face value. You've got to figure out exactly what it is thats triggering your sons asthma attacks. Good luck!

Oh, sorry to hear that mjames. I recently read an article that alot of animal allergies are caused by the animal's dander (dead skin flakes) and by bathing your animal regularly (okay, the animal won't be pleased!) you can reduce the symtoms!

Here's a simliar link:

http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIPS/DogTip_Allergies.php

and here:
http://www.paw-rescue.org/allergies.html

Maybe give it a go before you give your "best friend" away.