Did you know that the dog’s kiss is more hygenic than yours? Yep, you’re mouth is gross, largely as it is full of bacteria and viruses. The reason they’re there is that your saliva isn’t anti-bacterial or anti-viral.
“Human bites can be as dangerous as or even more dangerous than animal bites because of the types of bacteria and viruses contained in the human mouth”
THE MAYO CLINIC
It’s estimated that there are over 100 million germs in every millilitre of saliva from more than 600 different species! Granted most are harmless, like the many sub-species of Streptococcus but in the right circumstances we’ve all had throats infected by them. Then there’s Porphyromonas gingivalis from periodontal (gum) diseases, as well as Staphylococcus epidermidis and a few Lactobacillus sp. depending on the individual and their oral hygiene. That’s not to mention viruses like good old herpes simplex (cold sore) and his pal the human papillomavirus, as well as a few endearing fungal infections such as oral thrush (Candida albicans). So yeah, keep that in mind next time you meet your partner at the airport. Go for the hi-five maybe… but don’t get me started on fingers.
So think about that the next time you kiss someone, transferring all those bugs. Maybe spray them with Dettol first before getting passionate (please don’t, do I have to say that? It will kill the moment, and possibly them).
Compare this to the dog. Did you know that the dog has 7a range of anti-microbials in his saliva? Yep, your dog’s mouth is relatively sterile, thanks to an inbuilt oral disinfectant called lysozyme. Lysing means that the lysozyme attaches itself to the cell wall of the bacterium and weakens it until the cell wall ruptures and the bacterium dies. It also contains the enzymes peroxidase, lactoferrin, defensins, cystatins and the antibody IgA, which are all antibacterial, thrombospondin, which is antiviral, as well as protease inhibitors and even nitrates that break down into nitric oxide on contact with skin, which will inhibit bacterial growth. Hart and Powell (1990) found canine saliva highly effective at destroying Escherichia coli and Streptococcus canis, amongst others.
In fact, the Frech Foreign Legion used to let their dogs clean their wounds? Monks have inscribed it on walls in fact, there’s nothing as clean as a dog’s lick. It’s why they pay such careful attention to wounds on your legs, should you let them.
It’s likely an adaption to the diet they consume, where rotting carcass, a delicacy to scavenging carnivores, meat that would normally lay out a rhino (if they ate meat), is of no consequence to the dog. In fact, as dogs tend to eat whole prey (as opposed to cats say, who nibble the best bits), they can consume some gut contents and guts is where the baddies (Salmonella, E.coli) live. So they produce huge amounts of saliva, bathe in the meal in it, and their very low gut acids take care of much of the rest.
So don’t worry too much about the dog kissing the kids but please don’t allow it for a period after dinner. They need to clean the juices off etc. The only really dangerous bit of your dog in this regard is their stools. Make sure you pick them up regularly (and your kids don’t eat them) and you’ll be fine.
