Hypoallergenic Dogs and Dog Allergies: FAQ

So are all dogs off limits to the Obamas?

Bowser has no ties to the Obamas, but she says that "if this was my patient ... I would say it's probably better not to get a dog."

"Of course, now he [Obama] made the promise and he kind of has to," she says. So Bowser recommends doing two things before bringing a puppy home: Dog-sit and see how Malia's allergies fare, and set some rules about how they'll handle any allergy issues.

"What we tell our patients is draw an imaginary line in the sand. If the child has an ER visit for asthma or needs significantly more medication, or whatever you want to determine as the line, that's when the dog has to go. And set these rules ahead of time, because then everybody knows that's when the dog has to go," Bowser says.

What can a family do once they've brought a dog home?

Here are Bowser's tips:

• Keep the dog out of the allergic child's bedroom, since the child spends a lot of time there.
• Wash your hands after petting the dog.
• Keep the house clean.
• Consider using an air purifier.

Bowser speaks from experience. She's allergic to cats, but her husband had a cat when they married. So their cat is banned from their bedroom, and they use air filters; she washes her hands after petting the cat so that she doesn't rub her eyes and wind up with swollen, itchy eyes.

Bowser also mentions the "hygiene hypothesis," which holds that exposure to animals and less-than-sterile environments may reduce the risk of developing allergies.

Could a dog allergy fade?

Allergies to dogs and cats may shift over time, notes Bowser.

For instance, she says some patients who grew up with a dog develop symptoms of dog allergies after being away from home for a long time, such as college students returning home for the holidays. "They visit their parents for Thanksgiving ... and they have symptoms where they never had symptoms before," says Bowser.

"We know of certain allergens that are always bad for people with allergies. For example, the dust mite or cockroach -- they're always bad. But dog or cat are kind of in the gray zone," Bowser says, adding that she's getting used to her husband's cat. "That's my experience," she says. "I'm actually not really doing bad with this cat."