To not want the dog near my baby?

[changednamealways]

I see so many people letting their dogs lick their babies and slaver all over them, I couldn't think of anything worse. Aren't dogs mouths full of germs, they lick their own bums after all? I even hate my baby crawling on the carpet because the dog walks on there when he's walked outside barefoot, probs through his own wee. Is anyone else like this or am I being a bit over protective? Can the germs do him any harm? He's 5mo:)

When I was born our family dogs had just had a litter so I was raised with two adult spaniels and 6 puppies for the first few months of my life.
Definitely didn't do me any harm!

My DS has grown up around dogs from literally an hour old (home birth) and has the most robust immune system imaginable - he was nearly 10 the first time he had to see a GP (other than his newborn checks) and at nearly 14 has still never needed antibiotics.

Only from a safety point of view.

It goes totally against my ocd but my 10 old crawls about on kitchen floor, gets the odd lick from the dog.

They need exposure to microbes and germs to build resistance.

I seem to remember watching a programme where experts reckoned being exposed to pets from a young age can help negating allergies in later life.

The licking yes I can see where you come from , however the floor no, its not just the dog bringing in germs when its walked in. I would agree with other people don't leave a dog near a baby on its own and as it gets older teach it to respect the dog and treat it right. Having a dog will help your child's immune system aswell as providing a friend for your child when you are older. My next door neighbors child is 5 and every day she is out playing with the dog. The bond they have is adorable

My dogs love to lick the baby. Mainly on the feet. They also like to sniff their bum. Handy if there’s a dirty nappy I didn’t know about. We obviously don’t leave them unattended together and I don’t let them slurp the baby’s face but soon enough they’re going to be crawling all over the same floor and I just can’t be arsed to worry about the baby getting a few dog germs 🤷🏻‍♀️ They’ve been fine so far.

Dogs and unsupervised children don’t mix

But dogs and children can grow up to be best friends

My youngest is 5 and my oldest dog is 3 so he’s known her for a while.

The only time I was was when he opened his mouth the let the dog lick his tongue.

He’s healthy as a horse though

The licking I don't think you are unreasonable about, but the walking on the floor I do think YABU.

It's your first child from what you've said, and baby isn't crawling, so it's not surprising you are a bit paranoid about things not bring sterile, but that is all about to change in potentially a matter of weeks (my first crawled at 6m). I've baby is mobile, you'll need cleaning mud off them, he's probably going to eat dog food at some stage, and you'll have far less ability to control their environment.

Just a few days ago, whilst helping my 3 year old off the toilet (public toilets...) and then wiping her bum, my 18m old managed to grab the toilet brush, put it down the toilet and put her hands down the bowl. I know many a child that had managed to take off their own pooey nappy and taste the contents. Other children try to eat dirt or bugs. In summer, children often run around barefoot in and out of the garden, so no different to your dog really.

It's a wierd stage you're heading towards where you swap wanting to sanitise anything that's dropped, to bring fully grossed out by what your growing child can manage to do right under your nosem

If you don't allow your child to be around dirt, they'll have a weak immune system and increased chance of allergies. That's a fact. Dogs are much cleaner than a lot of animals (including other children). Your worry is not based on fact and is an irrational fear that you need to address.

To me, it's not the germs that would bother me but the potential for parasites to be transferred.

Small risk, but potentially big consequences.

Lucky enough to have a big enough house for the dogs to have their own space though so maybe I'm also just being OTT.

@Thisisnotnormal69 my dog will eat the cats poo out of the litter tray if it gets the chance 🤮 if it wasn't for that I might not be as bothered!

And don't other people take there shoes off before coming into the house? Confused where people say that humans will bring in just as much dirt on their feet

Oh and the dog is never left alone with baby don't worry :)

@Couchbettato same..worms etc 🤮

I don't worry about the dogs and the children, the dogs are both non lickers but one does like the baby on the head. The toddler is frequently well covered in sheep muck and despite my best efforts in spring was petting the newborn lambs and kissing them. Funnily enough he's not caught anything from the animals, he's got plenty of colds from preschool but we've never had a stomach upset.

Usually take shoes off yes, but we sometimes forget (especially children), and she'll be crawling around licking the ground, indoors and out soon enough. Oh and kids have a habit of running around outdoors barefoot often

Oh and the inevitable 'lick things' phase. Trying to play with the toilet etc.

There's no harm in trying to maintain some basic standards, but playing in ground where the dog has walked will be the least of your worries.

.

Ime there is nothing like watching the relationship between your dc and your ddog.
Supervised of course...
Yabu to deny your dc that friendship...
Oh and my dc are never ill...

You can train a dog not to lick
My dog never licks me, cos I hate it and stopped him.

[quote changednamealways]@Thisisnotnormal69 my dog will eat the cats poo out of the litter tray if it gets the chance 🤮 if it wasn't for that I might not be as bothered!

And don't other people take there shoes off before coming into the house? Confused where people say that humans will bring in just as much dirt on their feet [/quote]
Not everyone takes off their shoes. Not even in the same house. I do but my husband doesn't. It hurts his feet to walk without the support of shoes.

My crawling baby once ate dog shit in the park. He’s 4 now with the immune system of an ox

My concern with dogs and babies isn’t germs, it’s that dogs are unpredictable. Same with cats. Pets need to be closely supervised with a baby as in the baby or toddler should never be closer to the animal than the parent.

@changednamealways err if you’re taking care of your dog properly it won’t have worms as you should be worming it regularly.

Actually i read that first world country culture for total germ aversion/detoxing everywhere is potentially behind the rise of leukaemia in first world countries. Something about the immune system needing to be challenged in the baby's first year of life. Living in very clean, germ free environments that we do leads to a less robust immune system overall. Feel free to google it for a better explanation than what I gave lol

There are also studies which prove children have better immune systems and less allergies overall if raised in a home with animals.

So YANBU to not want the dog to lick your baby. I dont encourage mine to. But I dont feel the need to keep my kid or my dog off the carpets. As many pp have said - once your kid starts crawling they get everywhere and into everything so dirt is inevitable. Dog is great for hoovering up toddler crumbs/ food mess too!

That should be "detolling" (as in detol wipes) not detoxing lol

Couldn't disagree more. Of course, if the dog comes in after having rolled in fox poo or something they shouldn't go near the baby but in normal circumstances you are not doing your baby any favours by keeping it in a sterile environment. The overuse of bleach and the likes is why we have so many allergic children these days.

Yanbu about the licking - I've always been squeamish about saliva from all species and it makes my skin crawl when people let dogs lock their faces.

I think you might be going a bit far with not wanting him crawling where the dog has been walking, though.

*lick their faces