Research has shown that having a dog may be good for the mental health of teenagers. They also discovered that adolescent dog owners had "significantly lower" social problems than those who didn't, and had higher on "measures of companionship and social support" as they grew older. A biological factor may also be involved, as children who own dogs have microbiomes that differ from those who do not. The study involved exposing mice to oral microbiomes from the dog-owning group to evaluate changes in social behavior. The study was conducted among 343 teenagers in Tokyo—96 of them were dog owners.

Source: Philippine Star January 28, 2026 04:06 UTC