Many people, that lack information, are truly terrorized by the elusive diseases transmitted from dogs to humans which science completely ignores! It is true that there are some dog diseases that can be transmitted to humans, such as pasteurella multocida, but it is not so easily spread! Nowadays our four-legged friends are treated like kings, and we always hope that they receive all the necessary care and checkups. Consequently, if you do not feed your dog decomposing meat or in any case really bad food, it will be very difficult to catch it. So let’s find out if a dog that licks its owner is dangerous to human health or whether we’re worrying about anything.
The fear of dog diseases transmitted to human?
How many times have you heard moms say to their children to not touch dogs because they are dirty and carry diseases? First of all we would like to emphasize that, in our view, to say such a thing out loud, especially in front of the dog’s owner, is not very polite. It’s a bit like calling this person dirty and so they would have all the right to get angry and answer with a certain tone. These moms, before expressing themselves with such phrases, should think that many dog lovers live in a house with their furry friends, so they take care to cure the dog, vaccinate it, take it to the vet, brush it regularly and keep it clean.
People are often afraid of diseases transmitted by dogs to humans, due to sporadic cases of contagions that they read about in magazines. However, in reality people should take into account the statistics when they read these articles. Just the fact that a newspaper does not deal with animal themes but still talks about it means that it is a very rare event and that it is why they are reporting about it.
Consequently, if the article speaks about a disease transmitted by a dog licking its owner, it does not mean that if you have they give you a little lick on your cheek, you’re going to die in that moment! If it were so, we dog lovers at this time would all be dead! If our four-legged friend is healthy and is not a sick dog at the last stage, it will be very difficult for it to somehow convey a disease to you!
Is a dog licking its owner dangerous for their health?
In mammal saliva there are enzymes, and there are different amounts of each kind depending on the animal. The enzymes are: lysozyme, lactoferrin, a-amylase, lipase. Some studies have shown that in general there are more bacteria in a human mouth than a dog mouth. Animals like komodo dragons or moray eel can kill a human with a bite due to the incredible amount of bacteria in their mouths.
Dog saliva, like that of other carnivores, presents higher doses of antibacterials than human. Nature has given us prehensile hands, so we do not need to use our mouths to study a particular object as they do. Remember that nature is always wiser than what man believes, most of the time, we are alone to ingrain everything without any reason. Lysozyme, lactoferrin, lactopoxidase and glucose oxidase present in dog and cat saliva have a bacterial anti-plaque function and lysozyme in particular has a strong antibacterial action.
Therefore dogs that lick their masters will hardly be able to convey terrifying diseases. Be clear … this does not mean that you have to make out with your dog, but also not that at the mere sight of your tongue you have to bathe in the disinfectant. Try to reason your way towards a happy medium.
