to be revolted by the idea of a dog licking my baby's face?

[frisbyrat]

Dh has just come back from his parents', and mentioned that their dog (well, puppy really), was encouraged to play on the floor with the family baby when she was crawling, and lick her face. I was a bit horrified, tbh.

Now I'm certain that mil worms the dog regularly, and I know all about exposure to germs building up immunity, but we'll be going up there as a family in a month or so, and will be staying at the in-laws' with our ds (7 months). I know I'll be expected to let the family dog "make friends" whenever he's crawling around - and he's a wriggly, never-still sort of boy too, so holding him isn't an option.

Am I being precious? I'd like some opinions before I decide whether to broach the subject with dh.

Immunity, fine - but I reckon ds gets plenty of exposure to germs every time we get on a crowded bus here in Sarf London. And I have a real problem with the whole walk-the-streets-barefoot-and-then-lick-those-feet, lick-your-own-arse aspect of dogs. Don't flame me - I'm not a dog hater! Had a series of them during my childhood, but would never have dreamt of letting them lick my face. Ewwwww!

[hercules1]

Dogs mouths are far cleaner than ours and I believe some people use their saliva for medicinal reasons.
I love dogs but never let them lick my face especially as one of them is a poo eater.

[cocolepew]

YANBU dogs lick their own arses/bollocks. yuk.

[hercules1]

You cant get worms from being licked by a dog.

[hercules1]

and other dogs arses/penises/bollocks/vaginas

[belcantavinissima]

ewwwwww no yanbu at all! how revolting. they like their own bums and other dogs. yucko! did you scupulously wash ds's face when you heard? i am not anal about household dirt etc but thats not nice at all. i would be having words with your dh and pils if i were you.

[belcantavinissima]

they lick, not like durrrrr

[MicrowaveOnly]

could be worse, could be one of those owners who kisses their dog!

[TrinityTheProgressingRhino]

I heard somewhere that a dogs outh is cleaner than a humans

not sure I beleive it myself BUT my hv did once tell me I should never suck my finger(to clean it) and then put it in my babys mouth as it would be dirty from the germs in my mouth...

I wouldn't let dogs lick babies though

everyone dog owning friend I have has taught their dogs not to lick

[bubblagirl]

never bothered me to be honest but we all have our own dislikes the things my ds ended up putting in his mouth

i much prefered a dog licking it and dogs tongues have healing properties if ever you cut yourself it used to be to get a dog to lick the cut

but if it grosses you out then yanbu but as isay when your pulling snails god knows what else out there mouths a dogs tongue seems the bestter choice

no child has ever got ill by a lick from a dog i think its quite cute really

i wouldnt say anything to be honest children love it you dont like tit so are bound not to like it for our dc your dh doesnt have a problem so maybe you need to agree to disagree on this unless some serious harm was to come to your child by the dog licking but this has never been the case as far as im aware

[bubblagirl]

sorry for typos not been well

[handlemecarefully]

No you are not being precious. I don't let my dogs lick - especially not faces. Not least because both my dogs eat poo (cow poo, horse poo and other dog poo)

[handlemecarefully]

I am intrigued (not to mention extremely sceptical!) about dog's mouths being cleaner than human mouths suggestion - off to google this

[StillWaters]

You are not precious you sound reasonable to allow your baby to be around a dog amd amke friemnds.

My sister wil not allow her baby even any wherre near the dog, that seems unecessary to me but face lcking i can appreciate the revulsion even if it's not entirely rational.

[JamesAndTheGiantBanana]

Just be perfectly honest about it! Before you put him on the floor when the dog is about, say matter of factly "I don't mind him making friends with the dog but I don't want him licking his face, it's disgusting"

I said exactly the same recently when visiting a friends house- it's your right as the baby's mother to say what goes on wrt your own baby, and lets face it, it's you who is going to be mopping up the sick and diarrhea and dealing with a poorly baby if he does get anything off the dog (who might have been eating catshit shortly before you got there)

I don't hate dogs either, we always had dogs growing up, BUT I would also be wary of letting an unfamiliar dog get too close in the first few meetings with your baby. Do bear in mind that babies love to pull dogs ears/fur out in handfuls as hard as they can, and some lovely dogs are long-suffering and dopey and put up with the mangling as if they KNOW it's a baby, but some dogs will snap. I would be particularly wary of a very young dog as they are an unknown quantity iyswim.

[handlemecarefully]

urbanlegends.about.com/od/dogs/a/dog_breath.htm

[guineamango]

YANBU My friends dog kept licking my dd's face every chance it could much to my disgust and horror. (and I work with dogs!) It has now made my dd very nervous of dogs and we have to start from scratch re introducing them. Fine to let them meet and encourage gentle treatment of animals, but keep up the hygiene standards I say! Dog's lick their bottoms, it's not nice.

[Blandmum]

They lick their arses!

Cobblers that their mouths are cleaner than ours.

Human mouths are crawling with bacteria, but the key thing is that we are used to the bacteria in a human mouth, and very probably have some immunity

[Beelliesebub]

Yanbu, I wouldn't like it if a dog licked one of my ds's when they were small BUT You should see some of the stuff my ds's ate when they were small........

[boak emoticon]

[nickytwotimes]

Wouldn't want it myself.
Also very that dog's tongue's have 'healing properties' ?!!

[nickytwotimes]

Oh, the shame!
Dogs' tongues

[BroccoliSpears]

I discourage our dog from licking dd, but if the odd lick gets in I don't stress about it. It's not very nice but it's not harmful and no worse than some of the stuff she voluntarily puts in her mouth.

[AbbeyA]

I am horrified when people give dogs their dinner plates to lick at the end of the meal. I certainly wouldn't let them lick faces!

[Bluebutterfly]

We have a dog who doesn't really lick, but if you are worried about the dog licking the baby, imagine the horror I felt when my toddler decided to lick the dog.

YANBU - you need to be careful about germs when they are little, but tbh, I have heard some horror stories about things that toddler's decide to taste - you may be lucky in that respect, but it may be necessary to be a little bit less precious as your dd gets older...

Speaking of dogs today was sunny and ds (3) was playing in the garden - I turned around for a moment and he had pulled down his trousers and his pants and was crouched down peeing into them in the middle of our lawn. I ran over to him and asked why he didn't go to the toilet. His response? "I wanted to pee like the dog does".

So, dogs - not the BEST role models ever.

[AlistairSim]

Why do they eat their own poo?
Is is just a tasty snack?
Do you think they can tell what breed did it?

I need to know.

[Greyriverside]

handlemecarefully, Good link. I thought it sounded unlikely to be true.

I thought this line summed it up

"A dog's mouth contains a lot of bacteria," notes Dr. Gary "Ask the Vet" Clemons. "Remember, a dog's tongue is not only his wash cloth but also his toilet paper." >>