my family are really paranoid about my dog going near my nephew, or sniffing/licking his toys(  he is 15 months old) They are very insistent that i shouldn't let the dog lick my face or hands, and that I wash my hands after touching her. I respect that my sister has a right to decide what she wants near her baby, but is a wormed, de-flead and regularly brushed dog that filthy, even if it is fed on a BARF diet? My mother also finds if I ring the dog around and fuss her that the dog dander makes her wheeze.  Does the petal cleanse stuff work for thi?  if she has just been bathed she seems to make me wheeze too ! What are the facts on dogs and disease?

Latest studies show that children who are brought up with pets have healthier immune systems and have fewer days off sick from school than those brought up without.

Oh JG don't tell schools that, think of all the "sick" days children have off school ;)

Oh yes - my two, who have lived with a variety of dogs all their lives, both came home with 100% attendance certificates this term :)

And while we're talking about it - how about all those creatures children intereact with through a third medium, like the floor and peoples shoes - pigeons, rats, starlings - all known for carrying zoonotic diseases and people STILL let their children sit in shopping trolleys with their shoes on!!!

Agree with JG...theres such a thing as being over protective and a few germs help build an immune system IMO.
As long as your dog is wormed etc he posses no threat
Archer

I have 5 kids & never have had a problem. They have all been brought up with dogs (& cats).

The dogs have licked there hands & faces & licked their plates - not nice but it does happen!

Jo

I'm sorry I haven't a clue! :D

Margot

I have 3 kids and they are hardly ever ill and I was bought up surrounded by pets and never had one thing brought on by the dogs.  Just my opinion but I think the whole world is hygene mad bought on by a lot of TV ads who make a fortune convincing everyone the world will collapse if they come in contact with germs ;)

i've got 2 kids and a staffy,had the dog as long as the kids & never had a problem!

hi Margot, well done for spotting the R4 login name!

:D

Margot

But are you from North Wales???

Margot

My dogs are OK but I would NEVER let the kids lick their faces - the dogs might break out in a rash :D :D

I'm not sure what my dogs are full of - could be their dinner - but Tara is full of hubby's hair :) I was cutting his hair in the kitchen and then realised that there wasn't the usual heap on the floor - a certain Aussie had eaten it all :D :D

Daisy

Yes have to agree kids around pets are more healthy, and have better immune systems.
Read this also in the paper not so long ago,said that also kids brought up with animals, were less sick and took less time off school, and were also a lot happier.
Why not quote this to your family...:)

I think people worry too much about dirt these days who on here made mud pies and played in the dirt when they were kids I did and I used to share my ice cream with my dog, my mum said I was such a grubby child I should have been a boy. I am a really healthy person. I dont stop Bronwyn sharing her ice cream with Abby. Remember the Ad that says there is more bacteria on a childs highchair than in a dogs bed.
Mary

I agree too, we have 4 kids and 6 dogs, my kids are rarely ill, unlike my 3 sisters children (who don't have any pets)  I think some families are just too sterile and the slightest germ makes them ill, whereas our children build up their own immunities to it!

I wonder what our dog's would say about us humans, after all we too have germs and diseases!!!!  I agree with everyone that the world has gone mad with this kills all known germs stuff,  If you look out for your dogs health worming etc then there really should be no problem, after all some humans are known to kiss each other etc etc and this is only a threat if we have colds etc, give me dogs and animals over stuffy humans any day.

I was just about to say myself probably not much more than us humans but you beat me to it I agree with everything you said.nice one!

On the subject of humans kissing when I first met my husband and we were in the lovely phase ( a very long time ago) I was forever getting colds.  Cant say the dogs have ever had the effect so I just stick to kissing them ;)

my aunt used 2 be like that with her kids she didnt let them get dirty / go near dogs etc - I was brought up with dogs, a cat, hamsters etc and the dogs used to lick me in the face etc and i used to eat mud pies! and do loads of stuff like that and i think between years 7 - 13 at school i had max about 5 days off due to illness im a firm believer in some dirt etc being good for you and think people are way too paranoid these days

Although I agree with most of the above (ie childre being brought up with animals being healthier) the child in question is obviously not being brought up with dogs and is more likely therefore to succome if exposed to bugs likely to be carried by a dog where as children constantly exposed to dogs would have built up some immunity. If i was you I would not let the dog lick face, hands etc of this child and anyway you will only get the blame when he next comes down with some bug even if it has nothing to do with your dog.
Amos

"They are very insistent that i shouldn't let the dog lick my face or hands, and that I wash my hands after touching her"
.
I always wash my hands before preparing food, but I do that anyway even when in my middle daughters home, and she doesn't have any pets! I don't like being licked on my face, so my dogs don't do it, they do lick my hands and this is not a problem.

"is a wormed, de-flead and regularly brushed dog that filthy, even if it is fed on a BARF diet?"

No it is not a problem. All responsible dog owners will keep their pet free of worms and fleas, also if you pick up any poo quickly you are not spreading worms or other parasites, should any be present.

"Does the petal cleanse stuff work for thi?  if she has just been bathed she seems to make me wheeze too ! What are the facts on dogs and disease? "

There are a number of studies which will show that pet ownership makes people happier and healthier. As to the wheezing, I know what you mean my mother was the same, until we discovered she was reacting to the shampoo and "doggy deodourant" I was using on the dog!

I find that if I enter a house with air freshners in my nose quickly becomes blocked and my eyes water, it is hard breathing with symptoms like the flu! I get migraine headaches as well, if in this type of enviroment for too long. So be careful what air freshners you use and what shampoo's and coat conditioners you use. I no longer bathe my dogs as regularly and have no problems, neither does my mother have any problem with them. They do not smell bad and have beautiful glossy coats. Constant washing does seem to create in some dogs a scurffy coat with like a white dandruff, I am wondering if this might be part of your problem?

I'd be more worried about the germs kids pass to each other in school - we have a group of reception kids who will always find a drain / pile of mud / family of worms/slugs to play with at playtimes unless they have an adult within two feet. Then just imagine snotty nose - no hanky - let's all hold hands - then share a packet of crisps. Never did us any harm though, did it? :)

Polly I only wash Gyp when shes absolutely disgusting ( swan poo) or before my mum visits,  once a month max, she has special evening primrose oil dog shampoo brand Groomers. she gets rinsed well  and we brush her fairly often which she loves. she does not enjoy being bathed but loves being dried and runs about like a mad thing afterwards. I dont do airfresheners of any kind just open windows. Is there such a thing as hypo-allergenic dog shampoo, should I bother with special shampoo in the first place. The Petal Cleanse is supposed to remove dander from the coat, which is what makes people sneeze , I only tried it once, and was unsure whether it worked.

Maybe I'm unusual, but every illness I've ever caught has been from another human being - I've never caught a thing from any animal.
:)

No, i think dogs are good for the immune system, but when i first got a dog certain members of the family said''oh sarah thing of the germs'' but they soon came round !!

Well, my dogs are all cleaner and less germy than some homosapiens I've had the misfortune to meet :D And their breath, manners and social etiquette is more acceptable (to me, anyway) ;)

yep - but then so are kids :D :D :D so far 'Iv'e managed not to catch anything nasty from my dogs but as a teacher I've caught colds, flu, german measles. mumps, scabies ohh and yes NITS !!! from the little darlings in my class

Yvonne

Dogs do actually catch more from people than people do from dogs, when I am holding an eye testing session I always ask whether children have activity groups in the halls first, and point out that I don't want the dogs catching anything from the children!

I am one of four children. My wife and I have 2 children who have almost never been ill in their life. We have always had multiple dogs in the house. My brother and two sisters also have 7 children between them, ALL of them have asthma, eczema or both, none of them have dogs or cats!
This answers the question I think.

Incidentally, a dog bite is also much more sterile than a human bite, they have far less bacteria in their mouth than humans do and the wound is far more likely to fester from a human bite.

Snomaes

Isnt it true we can be too clean. We all need a few germs to toughen us up.

Speaking from experience, cat bites are very nasty too. Their mouths are teeming with bacteria. :(

I remember when I was a child, (here we go :rolleyes: ) one of my friends wasn't allowed to come back and play because we had dogs and her mother thought that the kid could catch fleas!!! :rolleyes: Yet the whole family had nits and constantly passed it round. Mind you, that was in the days, where if nits were detected by the schools "nitty nora" the child was immediately sent home until the problem was eradicated. :)

We live in a too sterile enviroment these days, kids aren't allowed to get dirty and play in the mud, hence we are raising a generation of sickly kids. I'm sure some parents would be horrified at the state my daughter gets into, but then, touch wood, I can't remember the last time she was ill. :)

kids aren't allowed to play in mud?

Can you tell my 7 year old Beaver that - the last time he went on a Beaver fun day - he fell face first into the biggest muddiest puddle you've EVER seen.......  The whole campsite was wall to wall mud (I think it was the last time it rained properly in the winter) I had to wrap him up in a bin liner to get him in the back of hubbies car, and the leather still hasn't recovered!

But then kids aren't allowed to play with things that might hurt them either - so why did my Cub son come home with three blisters from grabbing a hot something while cooking breakfast (which took them 4 hours!! :D))  Sometimes I think it's the best way of learning - he won't be making that mistake again ;)

Like you, I can't remember the last time either of them were really 'ill' - I'm really mean, 'cos I say 'Go to school and see how you feel' when I get the 'Mum, I don't feel very well'.........

Sadly my best friend is the same, so I asked her if she was every going to let her child play outside? Yes Why she asked. I then asked her if she felt able to control what walked across/ pooed/peed on her lawn. Unfortunately just made her more paranoid!

My dogs are almost never bathed, Labs certainly dont need it. If they roll in fox poo the smelly bits are rubbed down with tomato sauce and rinsed off, which removes smells etc. but leaves natural oils in the coat.

I found I have trouble with most things that are scented, including air freshners, have just bought a steam cleaner and have to say that I find I am sleeping a lot better and not waking up with a head full of snot like I used to!