How bad is this for my baby?

Question

KO this is going to sound gross but my dog keep licking my babys face. She is 6 months old and absolutely loves it and giggles and laughs when he does it, and I know he's doing it to show affection and it's adorable - but YUCK.

Ive heard dog's mouths are cleaner then human's though.

any thoughts? and please dno't be a jerk and tell me to get rid of my dog cause that's just plain stupid :-).

Answer 1

my dogs "kissed" my babies all the time. They are fine both dog and kids. It really should not be a big deal just wash up your daughter after the dog kisses her. Try to keep the dog from kissing the baby right after he grooms himself other than that, I really don't think It will hurt your daughter, Hope that helps smiles

Answer 2

I have a dog. And kids. I don't let the dog lick anyone's face. I know it's cute, and it tickles and all that...but no way! Yes, they say that a dog's mouth is cleaner than a human's. But, I don't see any humans who lick their butts, or lick another dog's butt, or a cat's, or drink out of the toilet, eat whatever they can find on the floor... You can have all the saliva in the world, but you can't take away the fact that you can't be sure what is still left in their mouth.

I caught my daughter letting the dog give her kisses when she came home from the bus. I looked at her, and said - that dog just licked her own butt 2 minutes ago. My daughter never let the dog kiss her again. I'm not saying that I don't love my dog, because I do. But, gross is still gross.

Answer 3

Ok, well some people think that you shouldn't do it, and some think that you should let it do it. But, to me, I think it's your opinion. Is it an inside dog? Or an outside dog? To me, I wouldn't let it lick my baby's face, but you defiently shouldn't get rid of your dog. I have twin baby siblings, and we have a dog. It lives outside and the babies like looking at it. They're not old enough to pet him yet. Anyway, I'm not sure about the cleanliness of the dog's mouth, but I don't think I would let it do that. Not that you're dogs dirty or anything, but theres no telling what it has licked, ya know? I mean, I wouldn't want my dog to go eat it's dog food, and then lick me in the face. If the baby really enjoy's it that much, then maybe it could lick it's hand, arm, etc. Of course unless your dog is a movie star dog, then it might be a little bit difficult to break it from it's habit.

Long story short, it depends on the cleanliness of the dog. If it goes outside eats grass and try to catch and eat rabbits, then I would say no. If it stays inside dosen't drink the toilet water, and it's overall clean, then maybe once in awhile. To me, I don't like my dog licking my face, not like he does it all the time, but I wouldn't let it do it very often at all.

Answer 4

If your dog is an indoors dog and the baby hasn't broke out or had any problems, you should be fine. If your dog is an outdoors dog, keep in mind if he wanders the neighborhood he might sniff or lick stuff you don't want in your daughters face (chemicals, trash cans, poop, etc.). A dogs mouth may be cleaner than a human's, but it doesn't mean that the rest of their body (including face) is.

Answer 5

Oh she'll be fine. My dog licks my face all the time, I don't let the dog around my son too much because she's a HUGE dog (St. Bernard/German Shepard mix) and I just don't want her to accidently jump sit, etc on my 4 mo old. But, my sisters little weiner dog licks my sons face, I really wouldn't worry about it too much. Think of it this way, isn't a dog licking it's own butt the same as you giving your significant other oral sex? dogs mouth touching private part, your mouth touching private part. Kinda the same concept if you really think about it. Just brush the dogs teeth.

Answer 6

A dog's mouth IS cleaner than a human's, but that's because the enzymes in their saliva are much stronger and can kill the bacteria. That's not true of your daughter's. It's a cute picture, but considering that dogs will also lick their backsides, eat out of the garbage, and even eat their feces (e. coli anyone?), I would be real leery of letting the dog lick my child's face.

Answer 7

We don't own a dog, but my grandma does. I take my 12 month old son up there to visit and she has a poodle. A miniature poodle. That thing is so hyper and NEVER calms down. I try to keep the dog away from him as much as I can, but I'll look over and that dog will be licking away at his face and my son is just sitting there giggling. It's happened several times and he's never gotten sick from it. So I guess it's relatively okay.

Answer 8

I have 2 dogs and they both do this to my children. My pediatrician said not to worry about it. Having dogs in the house around little ones helps prevent pet allergies in children. They become immune to them. I have also heard that dogs mouths are cleaner than humans. In my opinion, better to have a dog lick than bite.

Answer 9

My dog also does this to my children. They find it funny as well. I wouldn't worry about it to much. Just keep an eye on the dog to make sure he doesn't get to aggressive with the licking. Sounds like you have a good dog that will protect your baby as well.

Answer 10

I wouldn't like it, but thats just me. It is not dangerous as long as your dog has ALL of it's shots, if not that is a diffrent story. Just be carefull that the licking dosen't become teritoral. Some dogs, mostly femals try to slowly claim baby as there own, if you think this is what is happening then you will need to get rid of your dog, otherwise just watch carefully as dog's can nip while playing..