The newspaper Hundsport has had six dog owners test it Allergenius® Special conditioner . Among other questions to be answered was whether the balm had any additional effect. And can it be allowed to go longer between washes after use?
With the right products, you can alleviate allergic problems - Hundsport has tested our conditioner and gives its opinion in the article below.
TEXT: URSULA WILBY PHOTO: URSULA WILBY, FRIDA NEUMAN ANDERSSON & TOBBE OLSSON
FROM DOG SPORT NO 3/2017
Almost two years ago, Hundsport tested Medi-Tec's allergen-reducing shampoo Allergenius. A shampoo that actually delivered what it promised in five of our six test users. The improvement was about being able to spend time with the dog in a completely different way than before.
One test subject was able to completely stop their allergy medication and another was able to suddenly start wearing contact lenses all day, which was an impossibility before. But, of course, there was a small problem. You were forced to bathe the dog once a week, although in some cases it was possible to push that limit a little. And say what you will, after all (depending on the dog's size, coat type and of course number) it is quite time-consuming with all these baths. Which Medi-Tec also realised. So this year, Allergenius Balsam was launched, which is supposed to reinforce the shampoo's positive effect and is also supposed to be used between baths. Allergenius Balsam is available both as a mousse and as a spray.
We let six dog owners test the new product together with the shampoo and see if the use of conditioner allowed a little more time to pass between baths. Did the conditioner have an additional effect?
Frida has two long-haired German Shepherds and has had German Shepherds for a total of seven years. She's been allergic the whole time they've had the puppy fur, but didn't feel anything once the puppy fur was shed. The allergy has manifested itself as respiratory problems and sneezing, especially at night. She has used medicines when the problems were at their worst. But the allergy has subsided after a while, at least on the previous dogs.
When it comes to Kotten, the latest addition to the dog pack, however, the allergy has continued even after the puppy fur has shed. Frida has very few carpets in the home, but lets the dogs sleep in the bed. She herself has a thought that the more she exposes herself to the dog's allergens, the more resistance she builds up. But when the allergy is too troublesome, the dogs are allowed to sleep in the kennel.
What should I say? I am simply very happy! I have completely stopped my allergy meds and the dogs are still in bed with no problems whatsoever. To begin with, I bathed Kotten once a week, but now I have two weeks between baths and use conditioner in between. He is big and has lots of fur, so not the easiest to bathe right away. But even if it was the case that baths were required every week, it would have been worth it to avoid the medication. I tested conditioner in both spray and mousse, and clearly mousse is easier to apply.
My idea is to drag it out even a little longer between times and see how it works. Kotten's fur is very nice and soft, he used to have a tendency to nibble his paws a bit, but that has completely disappeared. Although I have changed the lining at the same time, so it doesn't have to be the shampoo. I am completely satisfied, and never thought it could work this well!
Khina's rottweilers, Athena and Theia, were already in her life when the partner appeared. The partner has a contact allergy and breathing problems when he touches the dogs. But Khina had read about Allergenius shampoo and started bathing her dogs. It took a couple of weeks of bathing, but after that a clear difference was noticed. Admittedly, the roommate does not hug the dogs, but he tolerates them sitting on the sofa and even sleeping in the bed.
There is a lot of cleaning to reduce allergens in the home and the dogs are bathed once a week with Allergenius shampoo. If it drags on over time and begins to approach two weeks between baths, the partner reacts immediately. The interesting thing was that one of the dogs himself was allergic, which showed up as itching. But after two to three weeks of bathing with Allergenius, the itching disappeared.
I bathed the bitches every other week, instead of every week. The first time I took the conditioner, I started showering again after 1 week. Our oldest bitch wasn't very fond of the conditioner spray, but it worked after all. It did not, however, when it came to the younger bitch, she thought the sound together with the spray itself was unpleasant. It got better when sprayed in the hand and then applied to the coat, but she remained skeptical and I found the procedure awkward. Maybe it would have worked with an adjustable spray bottle? The idea that the beam should come down to the skin is good, but since it still gets concentrated to a point, it feels like the pressure in the spray could cancel out. After all, it must be properly massaged into the coat. But with the help of conditioner, I was able to extend the time between baths to two weeks.
My partner has not once reacted to the dogs and was able to further reduce his tracheal medication. Sometimes I've also tried vacuuming every other day and taking longer to change bedclothes and wash dog blankets. Then I switched to conditioner in mousse form. So much smoother! It does not run out of hand and the youngest bitch does not experience any discomfort in connection with that process. For me, conditioner in mousse form is so much easier to use than in spray form.
Now it's been two weeks since the bitches were bathed and this week I was just going to lubricate them with conditioner and wait another week with baths, so I have three weeks between baths. This is really so good! I avoid dog baths every week. If I can stick to once/month with the help of conditioner in between, it's absolutely fantastic. The fact that I also don't have to be as manic with cleaning and laundry is great. And the partner can, for the first time, cuddle with the dogs without any problems. Full score for this product!
Katarina participated in our last test and was then able to stop her allergy medicine after bathing her dogs in Allergenius shampoo. She is still medication-free after just over a year. The three dogs she had a year ago (a ridgeback and two shih tzu) have been replaced with male setter Lumas and two cats.
She started by bathing both the dog and the cats once a week, but has been able to extend the time so that it is now about a bath every fortnight. And yes, Katarina has adapted to her allergy, it is cleaned often, bed linen is changed once a week, there are very few things in front of the apartment and all carpets are easy to wash. But both dogs and cats are allowed to sleep in the bed and sofa.
It was going really well until Lumas started lifting his leg and peeing on his fur. Then my allergy showed up like a letter in the mail. But I have solved it by showering off his flags every night and treating with conditioner. Now I'm up to six weeks between baths and conditioner in between. And that applies to both Lunar and the cats. So much easier than "real" baths!
I find that the conditioner makes the coat a little sticky, but it disappears when combing. I tested conditioners in both spray and mousse form, and mousse was definitely the easiest to apply and distribute.
Kate has a ten-year-old long-haired dachshund, and in her case it is the son-in-law who is allergic. The dog is not allowed to come to the daughter's house and the daughter and son-in-law cannot visit Kate either. This in turn makes it difficult to help with the grandchildren or babysit. Kate hasn't bathed Cooper very often, she's thought he keeps himself clean anyway. But now she starts with a bath a week.
It started well, Cooper was bathed and met the son-in-law outside who patted Cooper without having any allergic reactions. But after the second bath, I noticed that Cooper had developed a rash on his fur, so I temporarily stopped the test to see if it was the shampoo or the conditioner that caused that reaction. Before we could start shampooing again, first the son-in-law got sick and then me too, so we haven't completed the test. But I intend to try again as soon as I feel a little more energetic!
Elsa realized her dream and opened a dog boarding house. She had pollen allergies before, but before she started the boarding house, she had herself tested for dogs. And no, there was no dog allergy. But the dog allergy crept in the more she was exposed to dog allergens. It was about both asthma and rashes, so the dog boarding house had to be closed. Although Elsa could not be without a dog after all.
Now only the whippet Arrak is in the home. He is only allowed downstairs and is bathed every two weeks in normal dog shampoo. There are no carpets in the house and very sparingly with textiles. Elsa regularly takes allergy medicine.
I've been bathing Arrak once a week for two months, but haven't noticed any difference as far as my allergy is concerned. However, he has got shinier fur and I feel that he sheds less, and that is good.
Frida has always had a dog, and there was never any doubt that there would be a dog in the house, even though her husband is allergic to both dogs and cats. The Jack Russel bitch Tekla was bought specifically with the man's allergies in mind. Just not that much conviction. But Frida's husband travels a lot for work and that makes it easier, on the other hand, there is a lot of cleaning when he is at home. No dogs in either bed or sofa. And then there is also an allergic friend, who does love Tekla, but gets into trouble when she visits Frida.
I didn't believe this at all, I can admit that, and although neither the husband's nor the friend's allergies have completely disappeared, the symptoms are considerably less. Totally amazing! I had forgotten to tell my friend that I had started bathing Tekla with Allergenius shampoo, but she immediately noticed that she did not react at all in the same way as before. The same goes for my husband.
This is really great, and so easy! I was a little skeptical about all the baths because I previously had a dog with allergies so I'm hypersensitive when it comes to tickling and scratching dogs. But nothing at all! Tekla's skin is not irritated, but I think the conditioner makes the coat a bit rough and rough, maybe a little considering how well the product works otherwise.
Another thing is that the cleaning at home has clearly become less intensive, now it's mostly about removing sand and gravel.
Facts:
>> Substances that cause allergies are called allergens. We currently know of six different allergens in dogs. One of these allergens is secreted by the prostate and is therefore only found in the urine of uncastrated male dogs. Remaining allergens are found in the dog's skin and saliva.
>>Allergens are spread from the dog to the environment and can be found, among other things, in furniture and textiles.
>> The shampoo is deep cleaning and both captures and removes the allergens from the dog. In addition, it counteracts fungus and skin irritation, strengthens the skin barrier and thus calms the skin's production of dandruff (it is in the dandruff that the allergens are found).
>> Different dog individuals secrete different amounts of allergens. This means that you may have to bathe for a longer period before the allergic individual notices a noticeable difference.
>> Of course, the success also depends on how allergic the person in question is, and if there are other underlying allergies besides the one to dogs.
>> Both shampoo and conditioner are developed and produced in pharmaceutical-like forms in Sweden.
The text was published in Hundsport no. 3/2017 and you will find a pdf of the article here .
