Pet Exposure to Reduce Allergies

At Bark City, we love dogs. I don't have enough fingers or toes on my human body to count the ways dogs are awesome. Recently, some new research on a somewhat old presumption is surfacing that gives one more reason to treat dogs like super heroes: Pet exposure may reduce allergies in humans.

We all know someone who has an allergy to something or other. Research has been suggesting over the past few decades that allergic diseases are increasing: Asthma has tripled in prevalence since the 1970's and food allergies have doubled (1). Some humans carry the presumption that having a clean, sterile household, free of pet dander will ward off allergies. This may be true for adults (and older children) that already have allergies, but may not necessarily be true for a baby yet to be born or a young infant. It seems that exposure to pets in infancy, especially while in utero through the first three months of life, influences the child's immune development and may decrease the probability of certain allergic diseases. Researchers are finding that there could be a critical period in an infants life in which the immune system rapidly develops. Having a pet present in the household, during this critical period, seems to increase the abundance of two bacteria in the gut microbiome of a child: Ruminococcus and Oscillospira. Both of these bacteria  have been linked with reduced childhood allergies (2). Scientists are still working out the nuts and bolts of this new research. As of right now, they are pointing towards the hygiene hypothesis (3): that having a pet in the household offers the opportunity of a more diverse microbial community at home. This in turn, offers infants an opportunity, during the critical immune system development period, to be exposed to infectious agents, symbiotic microorganisms and parasites in order to build immune tolerance.

For more information, you can read these fascinating links!

1. Recent Understandings of Pet Allergies, Ownby, Dennis and Johnson, Cole Christine, NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4755411/ 
2.  Pet Exposure May Reduce Allergy and Obesity, University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170406143845.htm
3. Infants With Siblings and Pets Less Likely To Develop Allergies, Koplin, Jennifer, The Conversation: http://theconversation.com/infants-with-siblings-and-pets-less-likely-to-develop-allergies-9523 
4. Man's Best Friend May Boost Immune System: 6 Health Benefits of Owning a Dog, Borrelli, Lizette,  Medical Daily: http://www.medicaldaily.com/mans-best-friend-may-boost-immune-system-6-health-benefits-owning-dog-328414
5. Infants Exposed to Dogs Less Likely To Develop Allergic Reactions, Department of Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin Department of Medicine and Public Health: https://www.pediatrics.wisc.edu/featured-stories/allergies