New research has suggested that children from families with pet dogs are less likely to develop allergies . The team of Germans from the Munich based National Research Centre for Environmental Health conducted a six year study involving 9,000 children, whose parents filled out detailed questionnaires over regular periods.
Children who had regular contact with dogs, but did not have one at home, did not benefit from the same protective effect. It would therefore seem that animals carry germs into the house via their fur, helping introduce children to the type of germs which could otherwise cause allergies.
