September 25, 2025

expert reaction to unpublished conference abstract looking at the effect of dog ownership on the development of asthma

A conference abstract presented at the European Respiratory Society Congress (ERSC) suggests that owning a dog as a child might protect against developing asthma.

Prof Jonathan Grigg, Professor of Paediatric Respiratory and Environmental Medicine, Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), said:

“Many epidemiological studies suggest an association between exposure to animals in early life and protection against asthma development. The most convincing evidence of this effect, supported by mechanistic studies, is that exposure to cow shed dust protects against asthma in children brought up on traditional Bavarian farms. The present study suggests that having a dog may have a similar protective effect. Whether the association between exposure to dog salivary protein (Can f1) and asthma protection acts directly, or is a marker of other factors linked with dogs remains unclear. It should be noted as a limitation, this is a conference abstract and not a peer-reviewed paper. In addition, there is evidence that exposure to this dog protein may make symptoms worse in children with established asthma.

“Thus, at this stage, exposure to dogs in early life cannot be recommended for asthma protection. But if we could understand the mechanism underlying this association, it may lead to new therapeutic approaches.”

‘Association of early-life dust allergens and endotoxin with childhood asthma and lung function: An analysis of the CHILD study’ by M.Nanishi et al. was presented at the ERSC. The embargo lifted at 23:01 on Thursday 25^th of September.

Declared interests

Prof Jonathan Grigg: received an unrestricted grant and honoraria from OM Pharma