can dogs be allergic to hedgies?

[hellohedgie]

people can be allergic why not dogs? would it be the same type of skin irritation that people get?

 

[Nancy]

Considering that a dog wouldn't be in the same type of contact with a hedgie that a human is, it's highly doubtful a dog would be allergic.

 

[smhufflepuff]

Not sure... as Nancy mentioned, it's unlikely a dog would be snuggling with a hedgie the way humans do.

But I also know some dogs who've been diagnosed with allergies to food... So if they can have one type of allergy, why not another? At least, that's what logic suggests to me.

I think we'd need someone with a background in biology or veterinary science to really be able to get a good answer.

I'm curious though... Do you have a dog who's skin is looking irritated after "playing" with a hedgie or hedgie's bedding/toys?

 

[hellohedgie]

my room mates have a dog and i have a hedgehog. they are currently trying to figure out what she's allergic to, shes had some skin irritation for quite some time. i have a hedgehog and she stays in my room only, they dog has never seen her. i dont think shes allergic to my hedgehog because i wash my hands after i hold her but it just popped into my head because i know people can be allergic

 

[Melissa]

my room mates have a dog and i have a hedgehog. they are currently trying to figure out what she's allergic to, shes had some skin irritation for quite some time. i have a hedgehog and she stays in my room only, they dog has never seen her. i dont think shes allergic to my hedgehog because i wash my hands after i hold her but it just popped into my head because i know people can be allergic

People wont just break out in hives or a rash unless they touch they hedgehog. So if you are applying the same concept to the dog, the dog should have the skin rash because the dog is touching or being touched by the hedgehog. So unless the dog interacted with the hedgehog there should be no question about whether or not the dog is allergic to the hedgehog.

If you are concerned with a rash the dog may have you need to take the dog to the vet.

 

[hellohedgie]

oh their dogs been to the vet twice, and her skin is looking really good compared to two months ago. theyre thinking its a seasonal thing but who knows unless they get the allergy test done.

but i know that there needs to be contact to get a reaction, but thats not the case for a lot of people who are allergic to cats, some people just need to walk into a house that has a cat to have problems

 

[equus_peduus]

Dogs can be allergic to all the same things people are, but it takes contact to develop allergy. More likely it's something like dust mites, molds, or pollen in the air. Dogs are also often allergic to fleas - and if you don't have VERY strict flea control in your household right now, you should, just to make sure that fleas aren't making the problem worse. Food allergies tend to be less common. Sometimes dogs are allergic to multiple things, and if they're exposed to several of them, they're super itchy, but if you can eliminate a couple things from the environment, they get a lot more comfortable. Fleas are the easiest to do (not that they're easy...) because you can kill them all - in a dog who's allergic to fleas, it only takes a couple fleas to set off the itchy reaction (so you don't even have to have more than a handful of fleas in your house to cause problems). Hard to get the grass to stop growing and the trees to stop pollinating...

Good luck. Probably not the hedgehog, though it could be possible if hedgehog proteins are being aerosolized somehow...

 

[FiaSpice]

Well I'm alegic to cat and hedgies. The cat allergy is only when I'm in the same appartment as the cat while for the hedgie, I need to be in close contact with them. I think 99% of people allergic to hedgehog are "ok" if they don't touch or play with them. Same for the dog I guess.

 

[Melissa]

Allergies that people get from being in the same room as the allergen would be respitory allergies. Breathing issues, coughing, sneezing, watery eyes and nose etc. If there is a "rash" allergy (i.e. hives) then there needs to be contact.

 

[equus_peduus]

Most dogs show their allergies through their skin - they get itchy rather than with the sneezing/watery eyes that people do. Some dogs will show respiratory signs for inhalant allergies, but most dogs get itchy and lick or rub at their feet, face, groin, armpits and sometimes under the tail. Dogs with flea allergies typically get itchy on their back, especially near their tail. We don't usually see hives for flea or environmental allergies in dogs, there's other things that cause that.