If you suffer from allergies but want to buy a dog, you are probably looking to find out which breeds you should avoid to keep suffering to a minimum. However, with more than 175 recognized dog breeds and hundreds more awaiting acceptance, it can be difficult to sort through them all.
We’ve been able to pull our resources and have compiled a list of 23 dogs that are most likely to trigger a reaction. We’ve included a short description for each breed so you can learn more about it and an image so you can see what it looks like. Keep reading while we look at each breed and its likeliness to cause an allergic reaction.
Top 23 Worst Dog Breeds For Allergies:
1. English Bulldog
- Lifespan: 8–10 years
- Temperament: Docile, friendly, willful
- Shedding: Moderate shedder
The English Bulldog is a medium shedding breed with short hair. It drops hair year-round, and puppies will shed more fur than adult dogs as they grow. However, shedding isn’t the only allergy concern with English Bulldogs. These dogs are frequent droolers, and the saliva can also cause an allergic reaction as it dries and releases proteins into the air.
2. Cocker Spaniel
- Lifespan: 12–15 years
- Temperament: Gentle, loving, and loyal
- Shedding: Moderate shedder
The Cocker Spaniel is a smaller dog breed and a moderate shedder. It will leave hair around your home year-round, but the biggest problem with this breed for allergy sufferers is that it also has allergies. Your dog’s allergies will dry out its skin and make it itchy, increasing the dander you have around your home.
3. Basset Hound
- Lifespan: 10–12 years
- Temperament: Tenacious, affectionate, devoted
- Shedding: Moderate to heavy shedder
The Basset Hound is an affectionate breed that enjoys being close to its master, but it’s also a moderate to heavy shedder that will drop large amounts of hair around your home year-round. Regular brushing can help reduce the dander, but it will be nearly impossible to remove it completely.
4. Labrador Retriever
- Lifespan: 12–13 years
- Temperament: Trusting, agile, even-tempered
- Shedding: Heavy shedder
The Labrador Retriever is the first heavy shedder that we’ve looked at so far, and you will likely be impressed at how much fur it will drop in your home. Since there is so much fur, this breed is likely to trigger allergic reactions in people that aren’t normally affected. The spring season is the worst as the dog gets ready for summer.
5. Boston Terrier
- Lifespan: 11–15 years
- Temperament: Intelligent, friendly, lively
- Shedding: Seasonal shedder
The Boston Terrier is a little dog with a big head, so birthing can only occur via C-section. These dogs are seasonal shedders that will only drop hair during certain times of the year. However, when they do shed, they will leave quite a bit of hair around the home, and this hair seems to carry an extra dose of dander that can affect people that normally don’t suffer allergic reactions.
6. Akita
- Lifespan: 9–11 years
- Temperament: Alert, courageous, and dignified
- Shedding: Heavy shedder
The Akita is a large dog breed that can often exceed 125 pounds. Its alert and courageous temperament make it a great watchdog. This dog breed sheds quite heavily and will leave hair around your house year-round and the dander that comes with it. It will deposit large piles of hair that will rival those left by any other breed during the shedding seasons. These dogs can also be difficult to house train, and urine contains the same allergy-inducing proteins as the fur.
7. Doberman Pinscher
- Lifespan: 10–11 years
- Temperament: Alert, energetic, fearless
- Shedding: Moderate shedder
The Doberman Pinscher has a single short coat and is a moderate shedder. It doesn’t lose large amounts of hair as the seasons change like other dog breeds, but it does lose hair all year long, which can trigger your allergies. Frequent brushing can reduce the dander in your home, but its effectiveness will be limited.
8. Welsh Corgi
- Lifespan: 11–13 years
- Temperament: Bold, friendly, outgoing
- Shedding: Heavy shedder
The Welsh Corgi is a small herd dog that sheds quite a bit. This heavy shedding will increase during the shedding seasons of fall and spring, and you’ll likely wonder where your pet is getting all of the hair. These dogs also tend to lick your face and break housetraining, which will spread even more allergens into the air.
9. Boxer
- Lifespan: 9–10 years
- Temperament: Playful, calm, cheerful
- Shedding: Light to moderate shedder
The Boxer is a light to moderate shedder and will leave a small amount of hair around your home year-round. You can try to combat the dander with frequent brushing, but the hair is only a small part of the problem. When owning a Boxer, the real cause of allergies is their heavy drooling, which can dry and send allergy-causing proteins into the air.
10. Alaskan Malamute
- Lifespan: 10–12 years
- Temperament: Affectionate, friendly, playful
- Shedding: Moderate shedder
The Alaskan Malamute is a medium to large-sized dog with a friendly and playful personality. It’s well adapted to extremely cold weather and has a thick double coat that it sheds several times a year, which can leave quite a bit of hair around the home. As the hair falls out, it takes what’s underneath with it, which is what triggers your allergies.
11. Chow Chow
- Lifespan: 9–15 years
- Temperament: Aloof, loyal, independent
- Shedding: Heavy shedder
The Chow Chow is a huge breed that can often stand 22 inches tall at the shoulders. It has a long, thick coat of fur that causes it to resemble a large teddy bear. It has a blue tongue, scowling expression, and extra teeth. It also has a thick double coat that will drop a large amount of hair into your home.
12. Springer Spaniel
- Lifespan: 12–14 years
- Temperament: Affectionate, active, alert
- Shedding: Moderate shedder
The Springer Spaniel is a smaller-sized dog with a moderately long coat. It sheds year-round with increased hair loss during the spring and fall. However, one of the biggest problems with this breed is that it’s prone to dry skin. Dry skin will cause your pet to scratch which will release more dander into the air.
13. American Eskimo
- Lifespan: 12–15 years
- Temperament: Intelligent, friendly, alert
- Shedding: Heavy shedder
The American Eskimo dog breed is another heavy shedder that will leave large deposits of fur around your home, especially during the shedding seasons of spring and fall when your allergies are already at their worst. The thick double coat will require frequent brushing several times a week to help reduce the dander left around your home.
14. Newfoundland
- Lifespan: Less than ten years
- Temperament: gentle and easy going
- Shedding: Heavy shedder
The Newfoundland dog breed is another large dog with a long thick fur coat. It’s a heavy shedder that sheds hair year-round and will blow the coat twice a year in the spring and fall to prepare for the next season. Heavy shedding breeds like the Newfoundland are sure to trigger allergies in anyone sensitive to pet dander. This dog also tends to drool, and the saliva can trigger reactions as it dries.
15. Siberian Husky
- Lifespan: 12–15 years
- Temperament: Alert, friendly, gentle
- Shedding: Heavy shedder
Siberian Huskies have a thick double coat that enables them to handle extremely cold temperatures, and they have even pulled sleds in Antarctica. However, your dog must shed this thick coat twice a year so it can prepare for the next season, which will leave plenty of hair in your home. Professional grooming and frequent brushing can help, but plenty of dander will still find its way into your home.
16. Bloodhound
- Lifespan: 9–11 years
- Temperament: Affectionate, even-tempered, gentle
- Shedding: Light shedder
The Bloodhound has a short coat that is easy to manage and maintain. It doesn’t shed that much like many of the other breeds, so you won’t find much fur in your apartment. However, Bloodhounds do like to drool quite a bit, and the same protein that causes an allergic reaction in dander is also present in saliva. As the saliva dries, the protein escapes into the air.
17. Saint Bernard
- Lifespan: 8–10 years
- Temperament: Calm, friendly, gentle
- Shedding: Heavy shedder
Saint Bernards are huge dogs with a double coat of fur, so you can expect a heavy amount of shedding that will send most allergy sufferers running for the hills. These dogs also drool heavily and practically have rivers running from their mouths, so you can expect a large number of proteins to be added to the air that way. This breed is definitely not suitable for someone that suffers from pet allergies.
18. German Shepherd
- Lifespan: 9–13 years
- Temperament: Alert, confident, curious
- Shedding: Heavy shedder
A passing glance might give you the impression that the German Shepherd has short hair, but it has a thick double coat and sheds quite a bit of fur year-round. It will also lose large clumps of hair during the shedding season that can leave an amazing amount of fur around your home. These dogs are also sensitive to their diet, and an imbalance can cause dry, itchy skin that increases the rate at which the hair sheds.
19. Pug
- Lifespan: 12–15 years
- Temperament: Attentive, clever, docile
- Shedding: Moderate to heavy shedder
The Pug is a small, adorable dog with a thick double coat that will shed quite a bit. The undercoat will fall out in spring and fall, leaving quite a bit of hair behind. This breed also likes to lick your face, placing allergy-causing proteins near your mouth and nose, and the scrunched face tends to be wet, putting saliva everywhere they put their head.
20. Dachshund
- Lifespan: 12– 14 years
- Temperament: Stubborn, clever, courageous
- Shedding: Moderate shedder
The Daschund is an instantly recognizable dog breed with short legs and a long body. It’s a moderately shedding dog no matter what type of coat it has, and it will leave a considerable amount of fur around your home. Some people mistakenly believe that the short hair version is more hypoallergenic than the long-haired type, but the dander is at the end of the hair, and they fall out at the same rate.
21. Pomeranian
- Lifespan: 12–16 years
- Temperament: Intelligent, active, extroverted
- Shedding: Heavy shedder
The Pomeranian is a small dog with a thick, furry coat. It’s a favorite among many people, including celebrities, but it’s also a heavy shedder and will leave plenty of fur in your home. The shedding usually begins when they are between 4-6 months old and will increase from there until they have their adult coat. The adult coat will shed year-round but will be especially bad in the spring and fall.
22. The Great Pyrenees
- Lifespan: 10–11 years
- Temperament: Affectionate, confident, fearless
- Shedding: Moderate to heavy shedder
The Great Pyrenees is a large work dog with a thick fur coat that enables it to handle cold temperatures. As a result, this breed sheds its coat frequently and can leave quite a bit of fur around your home, especially during the spring and fall shedding seasons. Since the dog is so large, it’s impossible to control the hair as it falls off.
23. Pekingese
- Lifespan: 12–15 years
- Temperament: Affectionate, stubborn, aggressive
- Shedding: Heavy shedder
The Pekingese is a popular little dog that’s well suited to city apartments. However, it does shed quite a bit and will leave plenty of hair around your apartment or home. It also frequently breaks housetraining, and the urine can also send allergy creating protons into the air. To make matters worse, these dogs tend to like licking your face, which will deliver these proteins right to where they will do the most harm.
Summary
We hope you have enjoyed reading over this list, and it has helped you learn more about which breeds to avoid. Many of these dogs, like the Pug, Labrador Retriever, German Shepherd, and Doberman Pinschers are extremely common, so you might want to cross the street if you see them on your walks. If we have helped save you from a life of frequent headaches, stuffy noses, and itchy eyes, please share these 23 worst dog breeds for allergies on Facebook and Twitter.
Featured Image Credit: Welshea, Shutterstock
Ed Malaker is a veteran writer who has contributed to a wide range of blogs that cover tools, pets, guitars, fitness, and computer programming. When he’s not writing, Ed is usually performing DIY projects around the house or working in the garden. He’s also a musician and spends a lot of time helping people fix their guitars and composing music for independent films.
