Children run less risk of being sensitive to allergens if there is a dog in the house in the early years of their lives, scientists have found.The conclusion, based on a six-year study of 9,000 children, adds weight to the theory that growing up with a pet trains the immune system to be less sensitive to potential triggers for allergies such as asthma, eczema and hay fever.
The “hygiene theory” of allergy holds that modern life has simply become too clean, meaning that babies’ immune systems are not exposed to enough germs to develop normally.
Having a dog provides enough dirt of the right kind.
Source: Times Online
