Doggy Kisses

©Enzie Shahmiri

Most pet owners love to get showered by doggy kisses, but have you ever wondered how sanitary these kisses are?

Me and my daughter constantly argue over the antiseptic qualities of dog's tongues. As the owner of a dog that can't stand anything that is even slightly dirty, I often have observed other dogs that were not in the least worried about what goes into their mouths.

"A dog's mouth contains a lot of bacteria," confirms Dr. Gary "Ask the Vet" Clemons. "Remember, a dog's tongue is not only his wash cloth but also his toilet paper."

One time my daughter received a shower of doggy kisses from a stranger's pet. One of those licks went straight across her eye and within minutes gave us the scare of our lives. Her eye started to swell up, to a point that the white of the eye bulged over the pupil. Her eye was the size of an egg! A frantic rush to the doctor and treatment with Benedryl got her eye back to normal again. This episode convinced me that although a dog's tongue might have some antiseptic qualities to it, it still is nowhere as clean as it should be.

The face is off-limits, but I still love to receive those little tokens of affections on my hand, which can be washed after the love fest with some good germ-killing soap!

If you like a doggy kiss Click here - this is really cute