# Dog Semen Allergy **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 3, 2004, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-semen-allergy/253392 "2004-07-03T18:50:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kel\_Varnsen\_Latex\_Division](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@Kel\_Varnsen\_Latex\_Division](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kel_Varnsen_Latex_Division)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-semen-allergy/253392/1 "2004-07-03T18:50:22Z")
What percentage of the population is allergic to dog semen? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-semen-allergy/253392/2 "2004-07-03T18:56:10Z")
17%. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-semen-allergy/253392/3 "2004-07-03T18:56:10Z")
My guess: no-one knows. Only a fraction of the population comes into contact with dog semen, and of those, the medical profession probably only learns about those who actually are allergic to dog semen. There’s no way to know how many people fiddle with dog semen but don’t come away with a horrible rash. ---
**Author:** ![citrus\_x\_paradisi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6f9a4e/32.png) [@citrus\_x\_paradisi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/citrus_x_paradisi)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-semen-allergy/253392/4 "2004-07-03T18:57:23Z")
Hah-_choo!_ Say, **Kel** , that a new cologne you’re wearing? :o ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-semen-allergy/253392/5 "2004-07-03T18:58:02Z")
- - - I don’t know, but I would guess, a fairly small percentage of the population that comes into contact _with_ dog semen, probably. You thinking of taking a walk on the wild side? 😉 ~ ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-semen-allergy/253392/6 "2004-07-03T20:48:23Z")
I didn’t even know anyone _was_ allergic to dog semen. Is there some well known case I don’t know about, or is it just that everything has someone allergic to it? ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-semen-allergy/253392/7 "2004-07-03T20:50:34Z")
Is there a good way to discover that you’re allergic to dog semen? ---
**Author:** ![Kel\_Varnsen\_Latex\_Division](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@Kel\_Varnsen\_Latex\_Division](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kel_Varnsen_Latex_Division)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-semen-allergy/253392/8 "2004-07-03T20:55:21Z")
> [@](#): > > I didn’t even know anyone was allergic to dog semen. Is there some well known case I don’t know about, or is it just that everything has someone allergic to it? > [@](#): > > I have a report about a 42-year-old woman with four children who was five months pregnant. She complained to her doctor of dizziness and fainting and “confessed that approximately 20 minutes prior to her arrival she had had coitus with her German shepherd dog. . . . One or 2 minutes later she began feeling hot, broke out in whelps [!] and felt faint.” She was allergic to dog semen, the loser. [http://www.straightdope.com/columns/020412.html](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/020412.html) ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-semen-allergy/253392/9 "2004-07-03T20:56:41Z")
“Good” being a relative term, let’s just say there are, well, ‘interesting’ ways to find out. ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2004, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-semen-allergy/253392/10 "2004-07-04T15:37:04Z")
> [@](#): > > “Good” being a relative term, let’s just say there are, well, ‘interesting’ ways to find out. - - - Not to mention quite-financially profitable, managed correctly. Might have to relocate to somewhere like Sweden or somewhere, some of them filthy “Juropean” countries with no shame and built-in webcams everywhere… ~ ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2004, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-semen-allergy/253392/11 "2004-07-04T15:44:01Z")
“Red rocket! Red Rocket! Re–” Heh. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2004, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-semen-allergy/253392/12 "2004-07-04T18:18:05Z")
As others have pointed out, nobody knows what percentage of the population might be allergic to dog semen, because pretty much nobody comes into contact with the stuff. It’s pretty much limited to vets who do sperm counts and AI, and people who have sex with their dogs. Since vets generally wear gloves (after all, who wants dog semen on their hands?), and people tend not to talk about having sex with their dogs, coming up with a percentage is damn near impossible. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2004, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-semen-allergy/253392/13 "2004-07-04T19:52:20Z")
_Raises hand_ I’m allergic to dog semen. Every time a dog tries to hump my leg, my allergic reaction causes me to boot the offending cur across the room. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Wikkit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Wikkit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wikkit)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2004, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-semen-allergy/253392/14 "2004-07-04T22:33:55Z")
Yet another great thread title and username combo, **Kel**. You’ve got a future here. The population of the U.S. is abut 300 million, and we have one report of dog semen allergy. Guessing lower than Cecil’s numbers by assuming 0.5% of the population is engaging in these practices, and that one third of them are getting it on with dogs, that gives us an allergy rate of about one in 500,000. Of course, I completely pulled that number out of my ass, not unlike a gerbil from the people in question.