According to a recent German study of nearly 9,000 children from birth up to age six, having a pet dog present in the home while growing up appears to train the immune system to be much less sensitive to potential triggers for allergies. In fact, children who shared a home with a dog were 50% less likely to become sensitive to allergens! This may possibly hold true for cats as well as for children growing up on farms with continuous exposure to farm animals. Although some studies have concluded the opposite when it comes to our furry feline friends.

Scientists believe children may benefit greatly from very early exposure to germs. If things are too clean, infants’ immune systems may not develop normally. Thus, the dirt and germs carried inside by dogs may actually assist in developing small children’s immune systems and lessen the risk of developing asthma, hay fever and even eczema as the child gets older. That’s the theory behind the latest findings from this new 6-year study.

Lead researcher, Dr. Joachim Heinrich of the National Research Centre for Environmental Health in Munich stated, “Our results show clearly the presence of a dog in the home during subjects’ infancy is associated with a significantly low level of sensitization to pollens and inhaled allergens.” On the other hand, children who merely had frequent contact with dogs- but no dog living in their own home- did not have the same protective effect. Also, the earlier infants have a dog in the home, the better. This way, the immune system is affected as it develops and children are off to a healthy start in life. Keep in mind, if you have children who already have developed allergies, resist the urge to head for the nearest human society to adopt a dog. Exposing children to pet dander from dog’s coats will only make existing allergies much worse.

There have been many previous studies conducted on this very subject, but the majority of those studies were based almost entirely on retrospective questioning of subjects about their pet exposure. This specific study included detailed questionnaires, but also blood samples to test for common allergen antibodies. According to Dr. Heinrich and his colleagues, the blood of children who were raised in households with dogs contained fewer allergy markers, such as antibodies to pet dander, pollen and dust mites. More tests are planned for when the children reach the age of ten. The study’s findings were published in the European Respiratory Journal.

There’s been a dog present almost continuously in our home and not one of my five children have pet allergies. I believe there must be something to the pet dog theory. I have heard being licked by dogs can be beneficial for similar reasons: due to the germs in their saliva. Although you can’t stop an overly-excited dog from sneaking in a lick to the face every-now-and-then, I have no plans to allow our 116-pound dog to give my children a bath with his giant tongue anytime soon.

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