The amount of germs and dirt that is brought into a house by a
dog actually causes the child's immune system to "mature faster"
If you're a dog owner and you have a new baby on the way, don't
think you have to give away your dog. It turns out your baby may
just be healthier with a canine friend in the home. A recent
Finnish study found that babies who lived with a dog (cats too,
but to a lesser extent) experienced fewer illnesses such as ear
infections, coughs or runny noses. In addition antibiotics were
less likely to be needed than in the homes of infants without
pets. (Photo: go.funpic.hu/WebmasterGrade.com) According to the
REUTERS report, Dr. Eija Bergroth of the Kupopio University
Hospital in Finland studied 397 infants born there between
September 2002 and May 2005 during their first year. They found
that "infants with no dog contact at home were healthy for 65%
of parents' weekly diary reports. That compared to between 72%
and 76% for those who had a dog at home." Also, the babies in
"dog-owning famil