Hypoallergenic service dogs are in high demand these days. It makes sense when you think about it. What happens when a person who is allergic to dogs actually needs a service dog? Most service dog breeds are NOT hypoallergenic, the Lab and Golden Retriever being the most common. So what is a person with dog allergies to do?
Well, more and more, hypoallergenic service dogs are being trained to help people who need it but who just can’t be around the common service dog breeds. And the two breeds that are being used the most are the Poodle and Labradoodle.
Hypoallergenic Service Dogs – The Best of Both Worlds
The Poodle and the Labradoodle are the two major players in the world of service dogs for people with allergies. They picked these breeds for two major reasons. They are incredibly smart, and they are incredibly friendly. Both of these hypoallergenic dog breeds are shed-free, making them hypoallergenic, and both of these breeds are highly intelligent and eager to please, which puts them in prime service dog real estate.
Poodle
The Poodle has long been recognized as one of the smartest dogs on the planet. In addition to their impressive intelligence, they are extremely friendly, eager to please, and a quite hardy breed. All of that together makes them an excellent breed for service dog work. Their intelligence, friendliness, and size make them as capable of doing the work that any other Lab or Golden would do.
Labradoodle
The Labradoodle is another top pick for hypoallergenic service dogs. Labradoodles are cross breeds of Labrador Retrievers and Poodles. This gives them a unique personality that is well suited to service dog work. Their Poodle side gives them excellent intelligence and training potential while their Labrador side gives them an exuberant personality that is a joy to be around.
Other Hypoallergenic Service Dogs
Due to their larger size, the Poodle and Labradoodle are the most common hypoallergenic service dogs, doing the same work that Labs and Retrievers do. I would, however, be remiss if I didn’t include at least a run down of the other hypoallergenic dog breeds used for some form of service work. Some of these dogs do similar work to their larger counterparts while others are more in the companion category.
- Bichon Frise
- Chinese Crested
- Irish Water Spaniel
- Italian Greyhound
- Maltese
- Portuguese Water Dog
- Schnauzer
- Shih Tzu
- Yorkshire Terrier
Hypoallergenic Service Dogs – Helping Without Hurting
There are people out there who need a service dog but don’t have one because of their allergies. Luckily, this has become more and more at the forefront of animal service thinking, and hypoallergenic service dogs are becoming more and more common. The Labradoodle and the Poodle are the most common, because their intelligence, friendliness, size, and lack of shedding give them the ability to do all the work of more common service dogs without exposing people to allergens.
