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My Pet World: No pet is guaranteed allergy free

By Marc Morrone, Tribune Content Agency on

Q: My son is allergic to cats and dogs and wants a pet. We were thinking of a hedgehog since they do not have fur. My son has researched them on the Internet and they seem cute and easy to care for, and we wanted your opinion on this matter? -- Roberta Sims, Hollywood, FL

A: I appreciate your faith in my knowledge, but there is no way I can say what animal anybody can be allergic to. This answer can only be obtained by asking a doctor who specializes in allergies. The majority of pet related allergy information is not presented by a medical professional and must be taken as just urban legend.

Hedgehogs are indeed delightful pets, but they actually do have fur. They have a very fine layer on their face and underside and the protective spines that cover their heads and backs are just very stiff modified fur. Plus hedgehogs do lick themselves all over and are covered with dander and allergens just like any other mammal.

The best way for you to determine what species of pet your son can have would be to take him to an allergist and explore the options that are presented based on the testing results obtained by a medical professional.

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Q: What is your opinion on how old a puppy needs to be before you no longer need to keep it in a training crate? Our Labrador/pitbull is 12 months old and we tried to allow him to sleep through the night outside of his crate but we still find "gifts" on the floor in the morning. If we keep him in the crate then he can hold it in through the night with no problem at all. Before we had this dog we raised a yellow lab and we were able to do without the crate when the dog was six months old and we wonder why it is taking our current dog so long to mature? -- Steve Adams, San Francisco

 

A: That is a question that has no black or white answer, as every dog is different. I have raised puppies for 50 years now and each one is unique and matures at a different pace.

Just like children, they all have issues in their development and some are more ahead of others in one respect and behind others in a different area of training and maturity.

Just keep on doing what you are doing and the day will come when the dog can sleep through the night out of the crate and your floor will be clean in the morning -- when that will be I cannot say -- at this point only your dog knows for sure.

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(Marc Morrone has kept almost every kind of animal as a pet for the last half-century and he is happy to share his knowledge with others. Although he cannot answer every question, he will publish many of those that have a general interest. You can contact him at petxperts2@aol.com; please include your name, city and state.)


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