Are All Doodles Hypoallergenic, Or Is That A Misconception?
On the latest episode of The Family Pupz Podcast, we asked the the owner and head trainer of "The Doodle Pro™", the host of the highly-rated and popular, The Doodle Pro™ Podcast, that has most recently ranked #1 on Australia and New Zealand's charts and #3 on the genre's US, Canada, and UK's Apple charts, and generally one of the foremost experts on doodles on the planet, Corinne Gearhart, who just so happens to be allergic to dogs herself, what her opinion is on the popular belief that all doodles are “hypoallergenic”.
Little did we know, she would put our knowledge to the test!
To listen to the rest of the conversation with Corinne Gearhart, check out the podcast episode below:
[TRANSCRIPT FOR THE VIDEO BELOW]
Family Pupz: So let's dig into, “hypoallergenic”. Let's dig into, “do not shed”. As you mentioned, there is a very popular belief — I think if you ask anyone on the street about doodles, that might be one of the top two things that just randomly comes to their head — so because of those two things, they become a popular option for many, and that's probably the cause of some of the explosion in their popularity. But we've also heard that this is a big misconception as well.
So as someone like yourself, who, as we talked about, at a very young age, you were told that you couldn't have a dog, because you were allergic to them, but you wound up becoming a trainer to doodles of all types.
What is your opinion on this popular cultural belief?
Corinne Gearhart: I think that's a fantastic question. I'm going to ask you guys a quick question. If you were to define — you're just my focus group here — if you were to define hypoallergenic, how would you describe that for dogs?
Family Pupz: I guess if, let's say a lot of people have that cat allergy, but all of a sudden you meet this cat that you don't have the same reaction to, that must be a special hypoallergenic cat. Yeah. I mean, mine would be almost exactly the same. I have an allergic reaction with one dog and then this other dog, that allergic reaction is either minimized or I don't have at all. Basically that's what I think.
Corinne Gearhart: And I think that's a common belief. Thank you for writing me to put you on the spot there. It wasn't a test. But most people, when they read the word, “hypoallergenic”, the common understanding is that they're kind of allergen free, and you won't be allergic to this dog. I even use, I said that the phrase, “no dog is hypoallergenic”, and a scientist listener reached out and was like, that's actually not the appropriate use of that term in science.
So, and it was a wonderful conversation and she's actually coming on the podcast to delve more into it. But it is accurate if you're using the scientific term, but not the commonly understood way it's used. So scientifically, hypoallergenic just means less allergen, like less allergens and some might have a lower response. So if there's a baseline, it could be just below, on average, not for every person. But most people think that's allergen free. And sadly, that's why so many go back, or go into rescues, or are handed over and given up, because people say, well, I got a doodle. And how can I be allergic to them? There are not scientific studies. It's purely antidotal that doodles can have less allergens for people. I personally find it to be true for my body and for many of my clients, but you really have to do allergen testing with your doctor, and you can have the breeder send a washcloth covered in, like rubbed on the dog's coat. You wanna be tested.
Am I allergic to saliva? Every dog has saliva.
Am I allergic to pollen? Every dog's going to carry in pollen from the walk or the yard.
And narrowing down what that is. And then each doodle, even in the same litter, has different carrying of the shedding gene, and different levels of furnishing.
So I could do a total deep dive there, but just because you're getting a doodle is no guarantee that you're not going to have allergies.