Dog lovers often seem to have no issue with their dogs coming in for the sloppy, licky kiss.
It’s often surprising that the most cleanliness-focussed germ phobe will happily exchange saliva with their canine companion (who moments before was chewing on raw meat and licking his nether regions).
But when it comes to babies, the dog and health experts are quite firm: don’t let your pet dogs go in for the smooch with bub. And, sure it’s the icky germs factor but also a lick to the face can be your dog trying to exert dominance over the newest family member.
I
t’s very important, the experts say, to help your dog learn from the start that he is neither the baby’s master nor the baby’s pack playmate.
“While many of us see our pets as surrogate family members, we do not want our pets to feel on equal status with our children,” Dr Ashant Woods, a US paediatrician, told Woman’s Day.
“In fact, the pet may become protective over the owners and attempt to defend them by attacking the child for yelling or merely playing with his parents.”
An article on [DogNotebook.com]( http://www.dognotebook.com/12-reasons-your-dog-shouldnt-lick-your-baby/target= “_blank”)adds this: “While many dogs lick a human’s face as a submissive gesture of appeasement, others do it to get a reaction from their humans. This look-at-me behaviour is a sign of dominance in Fido. Touching a human with their mouths is also a controlling behaviour in some dogs.”
And about the germs, well, as one of the health experts interviewed said: “Their tongues are their toilet paper, as they lick their behinds to cleanse.”
Even if you have never got sick from slobbery smooching with your pooch, your baby’s immune system is a little less developed than yours, and they may just get sick from ingesting a few dog butt germs.
And if you’re feeding your pooch raw chicken and other raw meats, there can be all sorts of germs that baby can’t hand in those offerings.
Plus, we’ve all seen them eat their own poo…
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