How
Benefits
Children
By Lucy Hughes | Reviewed by: Pawrade Team | April 27, 2024
Dogs boost babies’ immune system & allergy tolerance
When people learn they are going to be parents, all their hopes and dreams unfold as they plan the future: How will they teach their children about the world around them? What’s the best way to raise a child? We may be consumed with reading baby- related books and websites to prepare, but there may not be a section on the benefits of raising a child with a four-legged best friend. You may have older children who have begged and pleaded with you to adopt a family dog. While all parents want to do what’s right for their children, you may not have considered all the advantages of raising children with puppies for your child’s health and wellness that will have you hitting the “Reserve Me” button in no time! Discover how children benefit from having a dog by examining how being a puppy owner positively affects your child’s physical, social, and mental health in several ways.
You may have heard people say this phrase, and you shouldn’t be surprised based on statistics about American families owning and loving their dogs. Results of the 2023-2024 APPA National Pet Owners Survey found that 66% of U.S. households own a pet, around 86.9 million households, and 65.1 million of those households have dogs as pets. Another study reported that 97% of pet owners consider their pets to be a part of their family. Clearly, some people treat their dogs as an integral part of their family structure, understanding how life is just better with a dog bringing joy and unconditional love to the whole family.
When you have a baby, you would do anything to protect them. Did you know having a dog in the home can improve your baby’s immune system and help prevent allergies from developing? Scientists published in the Microbiome Journal have studied how dogs affect a baby’s immune system to see if our canine companions help or hurt development. Dogs bring in bacteria from outside the home, influencing the bacteria in a child’s gut microbe composition. Researchers studied gut microbes at an average of 3 months of age in 746 infants. They found those living with dogs pre- and postnatally exhibited an abundance of Oscillospira and Ruminococcus, two beneficial types of bacteria important for reducing allergies and obesity, and a reduction in Streptococcaceae, a harmful bacteria. Published research in the European Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology examines whether or not dogs have a role in preventing future food allergies in babies and children. They studied levels of immunoglobulin E (IgE) in both mothers
Here are just some of the myriad ways living with dogs benefits children.
Advantages of Raising Children With Puppies
“We love our furbabies like we do our children!”
Missouri Pet Breeders Association | Page 3
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