GOOD NEWS: Science finds yet another reason having a dog is actually really good for you.

There’s no denying that owning a dog comes with countless physical, mental and social benefits.

And for children, the benefits are even better.

Owning a dog is something many parents recommend – and it turns out science agrees too.

From boosting self esteem to improving social skills, there’s dozens of science-backed studies which validate the positive impact of child-animal relationships.

Now, a new study out of Sweden has made a breakthrough discovery about the child-animal relationship.

According to the study shared in late December, children who grew up with multiple pets when they were infants were less likely to develop allergies later in childhood.

In the study, which was published in the journal PLOS ONE, researchers looked at 1,278 children to compile the interesting results.

Who’s smarter, cats or dogs? Science has the answer. Post continues below…

The study involved following up with the children when they were 18 months, three years and eight to nine years old to see how having pets affected the likelihood of them developing allergies.

According to the New York Times, the study found that the reports of allergies in children actually decreased as the number of pets in the household increased.

The study found that 49 per cent of children with no pets at home in the first 12 months of their life had allergies.

For children who lived with one pet as a baby, that figure dropped to 43 per cent.

And out of the infants who grew up around three pets, only 24 per cent grew up to have allergies.

Finally, all the children who lived with five or more pets as infants reported no allergies at all later in childhood.

Well, there you have it.

Yet another reason to get another dog. Or two. Or five.

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