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If you want to have healthier babies, you might want to consider owning a pet - more specifically a dog or a cat.

A Finland research is claiming that babies in homes with dogs have fewer colds, fewer ear infections, and need fewer antibiotics in their first year of life than babies raised in pet-free homes.

Researchers studied almost 400 children born in Finland between 2002 and 2005. Up until their first birthday, parents kept weekly logs of their children's health, jotting down symptoms like coughing, runny nose and ear infections; they also noted when kids' got prescribed antibiotics. The researchers concluded that babies who grew up in homes with pets were 44 percent less likely to develop an ear infection and 29 percent less likely to receive antibiotics, compared with pet-free babies.

Babies with a household dog seemed to be the healthiest. Those who lived with a dog were 31 percent more likely to be healthy in their first year than babies without a dog; kids from homes with cats were 6 percent more likely to be healthy than those in cat-free families.

"The strongest effect was seen with dog contacts. We do not know why it was stronger than with cat contacts," Lead Researcher Eija Bergroth said in an interview with WebMD. "It might have something to do with dirt brought inside by the dogs, especially since the strongest protective effect was seen with children living in houses where dogs spent a lot of time outside."

Researchers say that compared to kids in pet-free homes, kids in homes with dogs had fewer respiratory tract symptoms or infections, had ear infections less often and needed fewer courses of antibiotics.

However, researchers say it's not necessary to get a dog or cat if you don't already have one. Previous studies have shown that for children who may have a predisposition to developing allergies or asthma, living with a pet can worsen their symptoms. 

The study was published in the journal Pediatrics.