If you have a dog that likes to lick the kids...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How can dogs have cleaner mouths, when they lick their butts?

And shit like my dog and they don't brush three times a day. So gross and that is a really bad dog behavior that should be extinguished. Or your guests are not going to want to come over.

Kids love it but they also love candy and you dont let them have that for dinner.

[Anonymous]

I totally allow it. My dog doesn't eat shit though.

[Anonymous]

Dogs don't have cleaner mouths than humans. It's just that human mouths harbor bacteria that is more suited to humans. Thus, a bite from a human is very likely to get infected due to species-specific bacteria and viruses.

However, dogs have MUCH poorer oral hygiene than humans (dogs don't brush and floss) and they do lick each others' anuses and eat feces and rotting animals. It's very clear that dogs have dirty, disgusting mouths, even if you're not as likely to get, say, strep throat from kissing a dog as you as from kissing a human. You're still going to get a healthy dose of all the feces/garbage/rot that the dog has sampled recently.

The myth that dogs have cleaner mouths than humans comes from the observations that dogs lick their wounds, and those wounds generally don't become infected. Well, that's actually because the licking removes debris and dead tissue that can cause infection. It's instinctive in most mammals to clean wounds with their mouths (think -- when you get a paper cut, don't you stick your finger in your mouth? Where do you think "kissing a boo-boo" comes from?), but this doesn't mean that the animal has a clean mouth, just that its mouth is clean enough not to cause worse infection than its immune system can handle in an open wound.

[Anonymous]

I don't let my dog lick other people's kids, but don't really see any harm in letting her lick my kids. Kids are going to get exposed to dirt and germs no matter what and I am not aware of any study that says dog germs are worse than anything else, or that kids with dogs are more likely to get sick than those without. I am willing to be persuaded otherwise though.

[Anonymous]

when I was little I used to let the dog lick the inside of my mouth. It never made me sick. Just gross.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am not aware of any study that says dog germs are worse than anything else, or that kids with dogs are more likely to get sick than those without.

In fact, they're less likely to get sick.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/09/health-benefits-pets-respiratory-infection-healthier-kids_n_1659424.html


This is purely anecdotal, but I used to get sick at least twice a year, and in the 4 years I've had my shit-eating, face-licking dog, I haven't been sick ONCE. I think it's fascinating. Of course, it could just be luck, who knows.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not aware of any study that says dog germs are worse than anything else, or that kids with dogs are more likely to get sick than those without.

In fact, they're less likely to get sick.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/09/health-benefits-pets-respiratory-infection-healthier-kids_n_1659424.html


This is purely anecdotal, but I used to get sick at least twice a year, and in the 4 years I've had my shit-eating, face-licking dog, I haven't been sick ONCE. I think it's fascinating. Of course, it could just be luck, who knows.

Sorry, it's just luck. At your age, you've aged out of the immune benefits of owning a dog But it'll be great for your kids!

[Anonymous]

I didn't, but not because of germs and/or bacteria. It's mainly because most dogs' breath stink to high heaven and I don't want my skin smelling like stinky dog breath.

[Anonymous]

For those of you who do not allow this, did you train the dog not to do it, and if so, how? Or is it simply a matter of stopping the dog each and every time you see it happening?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do you control it?
Do you control it when the dog licks the kids' mouths?
Does it make the kids sick?

I don't.

I do try to keep them OUT of the mouths, which fortunately doesn't happen much.

No, it doesn't make them sick. The other stuff they stick in their mouths all day is just as dirty and germy, if not more.