Dr Guy Marks is no doubt sponsored in his research by the highly lucrative asthma drug industry. His findings completely ignore the emotional dimension of children raised with dogs. Children raised on farms are probably too busy and too full of fresh air and common sense to suffer.

I Whittaker, London,

I would suggest that pets can have a more positive influence on children than parents. In some cases they are probably more intelligent.

Jim Wills, Brisbane, Australia

I went through allergy testing twice, and had to give up the pets, even though I was allergic to other things. My parents and doctors had the mindset that if one has allergies, the pets had to go. We raised our kids with pets, and they did not have near the amount of allergies I had. Go figure!

Wendy Wilson, Springfield, IL, USA

My husband grew up in a spotless pet-ridden city flat and developed quite a few mild allergies (pollens, animal coats, detergents, etc.). After marriage, and life in an ordinary suburb household with dog, allergies have disappeared. Can pets (or love) have an effect on adults, too?

Luisa Bozzo, Torino,

Hmm, my parents and grandparents have no allergies. but we had pet dogs since I was born and the adults had no inkling that each time I suffered an almost deadly asthma attack, it could have been dog related. After the dogs died, I raised cats and became allergic to them too..go figure

bernadette, toronto, canada

My daughter is been diagnose with Asthma at the age of 2 plus Chronic Upstrubtive Lung Dicease at the age of 7. She is 15 today and lived her life with a dog. Her illnesses are controlled

M, Durban, South Africa

We used to have a very peaceloving and intelligent dog at home when I was a kid, a foundling, a Labrador. She was called Lano, after the Llanos in Latin America by that colour, near the Andes. I later discovered that Lanoo also means disciple in Tibetan. That is how I found Maitreya.

Jaap den Haan, Namen,

There is an established genetic element to allergies. You could expect parents with several allergies, would be less likely to buy dogs. Parents with no allergies would be more likely to buy dogs. Wouldn't this have a confounding effect on the research - kids would just inherit parent's pattern?

Mec, Perth,

No Sean, it doesn't.

That article refered to zoonotic disease. This one refers to common allergens and general 'dirt'.

Tom, Cardiff,

So what. Always believed in a good dirty upbringing with dogs; children & g.child.s.
Children who attend daycare or playgroups cut their risk of the most common type of childhood leukaemia by around 30%

This equates to 1 in 2000 reduced to 1 in 2857 or real life percentages 0.0005% to 0.00035%!!

M. Cawdery, Portadown, Co. UK, EU.

I think there are somethings in life one cannot define, the power of love heals better then anything (because of the mind/ emotions), after reading the above, perhaps it just about learning how to protect, be protected and loved unconditionally which gives one the edge to fight subconsciously.

Babar Kureshi, Islamabad, Pakistan

The good professor cant be much of scientist if he concludes that there is "this protective effect from dogs" therefore confusing correlation with causation.

Steve Bush, Cirencester, UK

I was brought up during the WW2 years, lived rough, was dirty for much of the day, played in bombed-out buildings ... this from the age of two onwards. We were known as 'Latch Key Kids'. Anybody would take us in. No alergies, ever, and I'm now 70 yrs old ... it's a bit of a mystery, isn't it?

Dave Jones, Isle of Wight, UK

Yet another of those typically "scientific" reports... Which, almost by definition, means "inconclusive"...!!!

John Jay, Walton on Thames, UK

If this is true, then I dread to think how bad my allergies would be had I grown up in a pet-free environment. As it was, I was exposed from birth to animals in and around the house. My allergies first appeared when I was about 7 or 8 and became progressively more severe. Go figure.

Sophie, Cambridge,

@Katy, Manchester

Your one-off experience does not count for anything against the results of the study. If you read the article, you will see that it does not say "people with dogs don't get asthma" anywhere.

bob, london,

Sarah, France: "I'm no expert, but my first thought was that people who have pets are less likely (or able!!) to to be house proud, too."

....erm... riiiight.
I'm no expert either, but my first thought happened to be that people with pets are less likely (or able!!) to go paragliding. IRRELEVANT!

Jamie, Halifax, West Yorkshire

My parents had a dog in my early years - Jasper the Border Collie had to go and live with Granny as I was so allergic to him. i'm also allergic to other animal fur - it triggers sthma attacks. As the rest of family are not allergic in the same way - maybe it's just one of those things?!

Katy, Manchester,

Doesn't this article broadly contradict the one published last week cautioning dog-owners not to let their pets sleep on the bed?

Sean, Surrey, UK

I'm no expert, but my first thought was that people who have pets are less likely (or able!!) to to be house proud, too.

Sarah, Carcassonne, France

My experience is the opposite; I grew up on a farm and am allergic to hay, straw, grass pollen, horses (I had a pony) dust mites and mould (it was a a damp old house). My exwife grew up in Cambridge and is allergic to flowering trees, for which the city is famous. Perhaps we became "oversensitised?"

Alex, London, UK

looking forward to the result of this research

Lynn, Peking,