# mini poo allergies?



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

My mom will be bringing home a male mpoo pup around October 14th. She went to interview the vet who is closest to where she lives the other day, and she liked the vet but was concerned because the vet told her that 2/3 of the mpoos she sees in her practice have allergies that need treatment beginning early in their lives. I asked my mom if the vet meant food allergies (which I have ideas about how to handle), but she didn't know specifically what the vet meant. Any ideas on this will be greatly appreciated. I told my mom not to worry about a problem that she doesn't have yet, but she can be a needless worrier sometimes. I would like to be able to give her some evidence about this issue. 

Thanks in advance everyone.


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## lrkellly (Jan 6, 2012)

Sprout is only just over a year, and he does seem to have food allergies - I haven't found out what exactly, only that kibble is not good, and raw is.

No other allergies though, so far anyway!


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## LEUllman (Feb 1, 2010)

Maybe I just got lucky, but Beau is three, and he has no allergies that I know of. I have to imagine that minis are no different than any other poodle size, or indeed any other breed -- each is a unique individual. Do poodles in general suffer from more allergies than other breeds? I'd have to see data on that before taking it seriously. And it also occurs to me that the dogs that end up at the vet are there because they have some health issue or another, so you have a "selection bias" that will tend to increase the number of allergy sufferers.


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## liljaker (Aug 6, 2011)

LEUllman - yes, poodles are poodles and one breed does not have allergies over another. Again, an immune system is not effective based upon the size. Although I know there are more spoo owners on the PF than mpoo and tpoos, let's all at least understand that size does not dictate immune systems now!!!!!


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## PaddleAddict (Feb 9, 2010)

My mini poo has allergies, both food and environmental. I don't think it has anything to do with being a mini poodle. Allergies in all dogs, purebred or mixed breed (and humans for that matter) seem to be higher than they have ever been.


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

I hope you are able to relieve your mother's concern,* lily cd re*, the sooner she starts enjoying life with a mpoo, the better!! While my mpoo doesn't have any such problems at 3 years of age (never so much an ear infection or any food intolerances), and I am in_ no way _any kind of expert, it's my understanding allergies are somewhat common in all three poodle varieties. These as you know can be flea, inhalant (pollens and molds) or food induced, or allergies to shampoo and/or color reinforcers. That said, I think if your mother is able to talk directly with her mpoo breeder about whether there are any known allergy problems in their lines, that's what might be most productive.

It's possible the vet is seeing an unrepresentative cross-section of mpoos, as those with problems are most likely to show up at the vet's office. I wonder too, does her vet have any helpful suggestions regarding other breeds who, in her experience, are more allergy-free and nearly as magnificent as poodles?

I hope if your mother comes to find she is not totally comfortable with this vet or her approach for any reason, she will look elsewhere. I have seen people "shop" more attentively for shoes than vets, though I am certainly not implying your mom has! I understand proximity may play a role in the vet she selects, but it's a vet's proficiency of care and willingness to communicate with the owner that matter most IMO. 

My very best wishes to your mother as she begins the wonderful adventure of sharing her life with a mpoo!!


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## Lily's-Mom (May 31, 2012)

_"I have to imagine that minis are no different than any other poodle size, or indeed any other breed -- each is a unique individual. .... And it also occurs to me that the dogs that end up at the vet are there because they have some health issue or another, so you have a "selection bias" that will tend to increase the number of allergy sufferers." _
This is an excellent observation. The vet is seeing the sick dogs, not the healthy ones! 
And why state that about mpoos in particular? 
I hope that vet didn't scare your Mom off of getting a mpoo. Just to satisfy your curiosity (OK and mine too!) can your Mom call that vet to clarify what type of allergies she was referring to?


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## caroline429 (Mar 5, 2012)

When I was trying to decide what breed of dog to get after my Rotties, I did a lot of research into known health problems of the different breeds. I knew if I got a poodle, I'd get a mpoo. I read over and over that allergies could be a problem in mpoos. 

When I went to look at Cali, the breeder was very upfront with me that either her grandsire or granddam (can't remember anymore) had allergies. The tendency to be allergic to things is most definitely genetic....I can speak from personal experience! My mom has allergies, I have allergies and asthma, and my daughter has allergies and asthma also. 

I bought Cali anyways and, of course, she has allergies. LOL Knowing she might develop them, I've been really careful to keep her diet as limited as I could. I wanted to be able to try and figure out what she was allergic to and also not to feed her everything under the sun in case I needed novel foods.

She definitely has food allergies, chicken turns her ears bright red and she scratches almost nonstop. I suspect wheat is in there too, in fact, I suspect most of what was in the kibble she came to me with. I switched her to a homemade diet about a month ago, she's eating a beef-based diet with rice (and the needed supplements to balance). She seems more comfortable on this and while she still scratches, it's about a third of what it was. She probably has inhalant allergies as well and there's not a whole lot I can do about that but being able to control her food will hopefully keep her itching down to a manageable level.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

*Thanks everyone*

I know you will think it strange when I tell you that I actually am an immunologist by training and that I knew all about allergies before I started this thread. Sometimes you just need to be able to cite evidence outside your own experience or to find different words. The comments that the vet would have the bias of seeing dogs with problems more than dogs that are fine is going to help me in my discussion with my mom.

I suspect that the vet was talking about food allergies and I know there are lots of ways to handle those if they are an issue. Peeves is allergic to cheese so I know what kinds of signs to look for. We deal with all sorts of allergy issues in our home. S is asthmatic and allergic to cats which is why my last cat ended up with my mom until she passed last September. Peeves and I also both have allergies to pollens.

Anyway she is certainly not considering not getting this puppy. I am very glad that she settled on this little boy (who I will add pictures of after he comes home). My niece has a mini daschund who my mom really has a yen for, but I think an mpoo will be a much cuddlier sweet friend for her. It also means I can grab another smart dog to do some obedience with. She is really looking forward to his arrival in about 2 weeks. I know she just got a referral for another vet who is also near her. The vet I still use from where we used to live on Long Island is about 50 minutes away for me and would be over an hour for her is a poodle person, but understandably she doesn't want to go that far. Since my mom is retired she isn't much the shoe shopper these days (hahaha), but she has been thoughtful in her research for finding the puppy and now the vet. 

I thank all of you for your comments and I will certainly offer the comments about "sick dog bias" as reassurance to mom.


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## Samba (Sep 14, 2012)

Mine is a bit of a picky eater,but doesnt seem to have any allergies!

She eats kibble and hangs out at the farm, so if any dog was to be exposed it would be her!


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## kukukachoo (Jul 26, 2012)

Trouble with the sick dog theory is that the vet sees primarily sick dogs of _all_ breeds so his point is that allergies in poodles must indeed have a higher incidence than the other breeds he sees.

On the other hand, he is a doctor- and as such should know better than to make ststements like that based only on anectodal evidence- he should back up claims like that with clinical research statistics.


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## sophiebonita (Jul 10, 2012)

I'm only going by extremely limited experience, but if my mini eats any milkbone or anything w wheat in it she has, um, some unpleasant gaseous effects. Not sure if I'd call that an allergy, more of an intolerance, and I've heard of many dogs having similar reactions to wheat. 


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Wheat makes Lily gassy too and she is a standard.


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