Overview
- Researchers reported in iScience that adolescents living with family dogs showed higher well-being and fewer behavioral problems than peers without dogs.
- The study assessed 343 Tokyo teens, including 96 dog owners, using standardized behavioral checklists and microbiome analyses.
- Saliva sequencing found compositional differences rather than diversity changes, with Streptococcus and Prevotella more abundant in dog-owning teens.
- Germ-free mice given microbiota from dog-owning adolescents exhibited increased social and prosocial behaviors in lab tests.
- Authors and outside experts note unresolved confounders, limited generalizability beyond the Tokyo cohort, and the absence of direct dog microbiome sampling, urging replication and mechanistic studies.