For those of you who have dogs, let me ask you something: Do you kiss them? Do you let them "kiss" you? If you're anything like me, the answer is: Why, of course I exchange kisses with my dog on the mouth! Well, bad news for us (and our dogs). A new study just revealed that kissing our beloved four-legged friends can give us a disease. Awesome! What else ya got for us, world? Will looking a photos of cute kittens online turn us blind?
A team of Japanese researchers just published a study that concluded that kissing dogs can lead to gum disease. I know. I'm disappointed, too. The scientists scraped the plaque off the teeth of 66 dogs and 81 humans, and then examined the contents under a microscope. Unfortunately, the bacteria that came from the canine mouths was filled with the things that cause gum disease in humans — yet there were smaller percentages of the same bacteria in the humans.
So much for that whole "dogs' mouths are cleaner than humans' mouths" thing.
But don't cry. It's okay. And don't stop showering your doggie with kisses either (like you were going to anyway)! According to Dr. Ann Hohenhaus of the Animal Medical Center in Manhattan, the study doesn't prove conclusively that making out with your pet will give you gum disease. She stated that the bacteria isn't present in dogs across the board. But then, veterinarian David Halpern of the Lefferts Animal Hospital in Jamaica, Queens, said: "I do kiss my dog and let him lick me, as a sign of affection. However, it should be discouraged due to the potential for infection transmission. Mostly due to fecal contaminants as dogs do self-cleanse."
Sooo, yeah. If this study didn't dissuade you from letting your dog kiss you, then that last comment probably did. Sorry, Fido.
Do you kiss your dog?
Image via Nicole Fabian-Weber
