No such thing as an allergy-free dog? Say it ain’t so, Bo
Written on July 11, 2011 by Alannah Glenny
Sorry Bo, but a new study says that there may be no such thing as a low-allergy or allergy-free dog. So chew on that while youre romping around the White House with Sasha and Malia (who reportedly has dog allergies). The study found that the quantities of dog allergens in homes with supposedly hypoallergenic breeds were no different from those in homes with other breeds, according to The New York Times.
So another myth busted. Bo is a Portuguese water dog, one of 11 hypoallergenic canine candidates on a list from the American Kennel Club, which also includes poodles, soft-coated wheaten terriers and schnauzers. I have no idea where this whole concept came from, Christine Cole Johnson, the senior author of the study, to be published online in The American Journal of Rhinology and Allergy, told the Times. Its been around for a long time, and maybe people associated it with shedding. I think its just a legend.
To disprove it, the researchers measured the amount of the major dog allergen, Canis familiaris 1, or Can f 1, in dust samples from the homes of 173 one-dog families, and found that 163 of them had measurable levels of Can f 1. No matter how they did the comparisonseven comparing dogs identified as hypoallergenic by the A.K.C. against all other dogsthey found no statistically significant differences in levels of Can f 1, reports the Times on the Well blog.
So if youve got a dog, youve likely got Can f 1 too. Maybe thats the reason that our readers have been asking for tougher pet hair tests in our vacuum cleaner ratings. And we complied. Our pet hair test uses the long fur from the Maine Coon cat, rakes it into carpeting and then gives a vacuum 14 tries to remove it. But even with so many passes, some vacuums fail. As a class, uprights did a bit better than canisters at picking up pet hair but there are some good choices of both types as well as a few capable small vacuums.
Two CR Best Buys, the upright Kenmore Intuition 31100 and the Hoover Platinum Bagless canister S3865, aced our pet hair test. As did several vacuums that had pet as part of their model name. But giving a vacuum a pet name is no guarantee of performance. The upright Bissell Lift-Off Multi-Cyclonic Pet 89Q9 was only fair at pet hair removal and the Bissell Pet Hair Eraser 33A1 handvac got our worse rating on that test.
Next Steps
- Washing machines:
- Buying Advice |
- Types |
- Features |
- Brands
All Washing Machine RatingsSubscribers can view and compare all Washing Machine Ratings. Recommended Washing MachinesLook at the ones that we chose as the best of the best.
Similar Posts:
- 7 heart-healthy gifts for Mom
- Charlie Sheen admits to using steroids while filming ‘Major League’ — what are the drug’s short-term effects?
- School success can be predicted just FIVE minutes after a child is born, scientists claim
- Baby’s toe nearly amputated by mother’s hair
- Watch for Elliptical Malfunctions!
