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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Letting your dog lick your plate or cup after you’ve finished...

157 replies

Aberforthsgoat · 28/12/2020 10:55

Is this a normal thing?! I’m prepared to get flamed as I haven’t been a dog owner for a long time, but definitely didn’t do that.
I was on a video call with a family member and they were drinking coffee. There was a bit left in the cup and she held it down for the dog to lick up, then did the same with her breakfast plate.
I found it a bit gross 😳 but then wondered if it’s just a normal dog owner thing that I’m unaware of!
It just seems unhygienic? But then I guess if things are going in the dishwasher afterwards maybe not!
I’ve seen people give their pets scraps from dinner etc of course just never actually seen them licking the cup or plate!

I’m only asking because I think I AM being unreasonable in being a bit taken aback, and am curious as to how common it is!

OP posts:
vodkaredbullgirl · 28/12/2020 11:53

My dogs love a cup of tea, I drink 1/2 then I water it down and they have 1/2 a cup each in their bowls.

sunshineandshowers21 · 28/12/2020 11:58

i don’t let dogs drink from my cup, but they do have their own cups that i make them a cup of tea in. luckily everyone knows not to use these cups, and i wash them separately.

BonnieDundee · 28/12/2020 12:44

The thought of this makes me retchXmas Envy

actiongirl1978 · 28/12/2020 12:48

Our dog sees licking the plate as his right.
He kicks all plates except those with curry sauce or onion on.

All plates go in the dishwasher.

He doesn't get to lick them when we go in our caravan though as items don't get clean enough with just a sink.

TrickyD · 28/12/2020 13:15

Every morning DH brings me a pikelet with butter and Marmite to eat in bed. Cat is given choice fragments then licks the buttery, Marmity, plate clean.
Perfect start to the day for both of us.

Thisusernameistakenagain · 28/12/2020 13:16

I dont do it but if it happened by accident (if I put a plate or cup down and the dog licked it) I'd not be clutching my pearls. A clean cup is a clean cup.

missymoomoomoomoomoo · 28/12/2020 13:18

Why is it vile? My cat does this. I don't put it straight back in the cupboard. I wash it after.

Nottherealslimshady · 28/12/2020 13:18

My immediate reaction is that its gross, but you are washing it afterwards anyway.

We sometimes give our dog our leftovers but she is never ever allowed to eat off our plates. It's not for the hygiene but for boundaries, this is mine, under no circumstances do you touch it.

It prevents dominance issues or snatching with food and stops her eating dangerous things.

vodkaredbullgirl · 28/12/2020 13:20

Both my cats (when alive) used to stick their paws in a cold cup of tea and lick their paws.

Original poster
Aberforthsgoat · 28/12/2020 13:23

Mixed reactions then!

OP posts:
VetiverAndLavender · 28/12/2020 13:26

I don't do it often, but sometimes, yes. If the dishwasher can't cope with whatever's in my dog's saliva, I'm not trusting it with juices from raw chicken and the like!

It's all in your head, but don't do it if it bothers you.

Hailtomyteeth · 28/12/2020 13:28

It's fucking disgusting.

And that is an understatement.

Clawdy · 28/12/2020 13:31

When I was little, we all let our dog lick plates and cups. No dishwasher in those days! I only realised it wasn't right when my sister's boyfriend on one occasion looked shocked! Looking back, me and my sis did have a lot of stomach upsets.....!

MatildaTheCat · 28/12/2020 13:36

I guess we all have our own level of tolerance to what is disgusting. We let the dog lick our plates. They go in the dishwasher and we are never ill.

I saw someone sharing an ice cream cone with their dog taking turns to lick it. I thought that was really foul. Grin

OnceUponAMidnightBeery · 28/12/2020 15:17

I don’t mind it, it all goes through the dishwasher.

DH dislikes it, but lets the dog lick him on the lips... to me that’s far worse

Dinosaursdontgrowontrees · 28/12/2020 15:23

My mil does this. it’s totally gross. They also let the dog ‘wash the plates’ before they go in the dishwasher. I know the dw gets them clean but it’s still vile.

ChristmasFluff · 28/12/2020 16:54

Am I really the only one whose toddler smeared actual shit over a plate? Was I supposed to throw it out? Because I didn't. I, you know, washed it.

I don't like dogs, but they can lick my plates if they want. So long as I don't have to eat off them before washing them.

AnyOldPrion · 29/12/2020 06:29

Am I really the only one whose toddler smeared actual shit over a plate? Was I supposed to throw it out? Because I didn't. I, you know, washed it.

Can’t say that’s happened here, but as I read this thread yesterday, I wondered whether all the horrified people would throw away a plate if a child had vomited on it, which is probably much higher risk in terms of infection potential.

Perception of risk is an odd thing. I watched my mum cooking a couple of years ago. She handled some raw sausages, gave her hands a cursory rinse and wiped them on the general use towel. This from someone who is generally very careful about hygiene and as I mentioned upthread, would be horrified by dog plate-licking. We didn’t spend our childhood being regularly ill, so I guess our immune systems must have dealt with it. I didn’t change the towel, just filed it away in my brain as something else we’d survived.

Ihatefish · 29/12/2020 06:42

Growing up my dog did this all the time. My dog does this now, I’m fine. Most of the food we eat has been pissed on and shit on by animals. It has had slugs crawling on it. But, like the dishes it gets washed. So it’s fine.

20viona · 29/12/2020 06:44

Rancid.

longwayoff · 29/12/2020 06:47

Blechhh. My daughter does this but it just makes me squirm.

GADDay · 29/12/2020 06:50

Dogs and cats lick their own bums. They lick other dog & cats bums.

Some eat fox poo.

Some vomit and gobble it back up.

Letting Fido lick your plate clean is nothing short of revolting.

Burnthurst187 · 29/12/2020 06:54

Revolting

DimplesToadfoot · 29/12/2020 07:06

Dogs licking plates or having the last dregs of a cuppa doesn't bother me sanitary wise, they get washed.

However I won't let my dog drink or lick mine as there are far too many human foods that are toxic to dogs, for e.g. salt I've put on my chips or tanin in tea, its easier for me to just have a blanket ban on all of it, it keeps my dog safer and I can give her a treat designed for dogs, there is also a lot less stinky farts so bonus 😀

I also detest dogs begging and drooling 2 foot away from me while I'm eating, so its not for me

CaraDuneRedux · 29/12/2020 07:15

Dog owner here.

Dogs are pretty disgusting - mine will try to eat shit given half a chance. However the dishwasher does wash at a high temperature.

But more importantly, I want her to know her food comes out her bowl and the human food is off limits, because I want family and friends to be able to eat without being mugged by the dog.

That said, she's a lab and it cuts both ways - humans, family and visitors - have to realise that if you leave food unattended where she can get it, she will snarf it, because she's a lab and that's what labs do.