Do you kiss your pets?

[STARRYSKY]

I have just finished reading an article about a woman who contracted "rat bite fever" after kissing her pet rat, the rat didnt actually bite her. She got it just from close proximity (kissing)

article is here: Alert on pet rats' kiss of death | Adelaide Now

The article goes on to mention cats, dogs etc, as carriers of such things as guardia, ring worm, round worm etc..

So do you kiss your dogs/cats/rats?

I have a few family members who have small dogs and treat them like children, personally I find it a bit yuk when they let the dogs lick them all over their faces, just because dogs lick themselves (as in their anus etc..) then they are licking you!

Hmm, just had a thought, please dont take offence if this is what you do with your pets, I am not having a go, just interested if you do let your animals lick your face, and why?

[[M]umma[M]ia]

I dont have any pets atm.. so no. But I used to own a pet rat and I kissed him. He went everywhere with me.

[STARRYSKY]

I used to have a pet rat too, it was a pretty long time ago now so cant remember if I used to kiss him/her or not... I have a cat, but I dont kiss her, I rub heads with her, pat her, stroke her scratch her etc,...then I wash my hands LOL. my cat is an avid ratter, catches at least 2-3 a week, (have a chook shed next door ) so I dont like her to even lick me.

[~ Zarava Flutterby ~]

I don't kiss my pets and we have tried where possible to teach the dogs not to lick but at times htey have licked the kids in excitement.
BUT even though we tell the kids NOT to kiss the animals they do, DD2 will kiss the dogs, the cat i think she would even kiss the chickens if she could - she actually kissed a sheep & a pig at an animal farm on the weekend

[*EJ*]

No i don't kiss my dog. It's not something i feel comfortable/safe/healthy doing. If she is inside and the children are playing with her i don't even like her licking them. I tell her 'no kisses' when she does. I don't run off to scrub the kids if she does so but i avoid it as much as i can.

[Kimbles01]

Yep. We kiss our dog, and he licks us anywhere he can, legs, hands, face. We try to discourage the licks, he only does it with us, not strangers.

I've often heard that a dogs mouth is cleaner than a humans...?

ETA: I should add that we don't kiss other dogs/pets or let them lick us. I guess because we know how often he is cleaned, where he goes, that his flea/worm treatments are up to date.

[Phteven]

No. I don't kiss the dog.
The cat gets the occasional smooch because she doesn't smell gross like the dog.

We also have an orphan kiten at the moment and TBH I don't like to touch it much let alone kiss it.

[krysalyss]

I don't kiss my dog on the face but will sometimes kiss him on the top of his head when he is snuggled in for a cuddle. I wouldn't ever let him lick me on the face and I wouldn't ever kiss him on the face.

[~clover~]

I don't kiss the dog... but DD3 does! I do try to avoid her doing it though

She doesn't lick. I won't let a dog lick. I can't stand it.

[Sopdet]

Wouldn't do it with a dog, I kiss the cat on the nose & the top of the head.

[forshelby]

No, I don't kiss my pets. My cat is too fuzzy, and it's just not appealing. My dog however tries to kiss me all the time. By kiss I mean lick my face right off. It's gross. But he's cute so I try to ignore it lol.

[LuluHB]

Not so much anymore but I used to. Dogs and cats got cuddles with kisses on the head. Horses got huge smooches on their muzzles.

My kids are all over our cat and dog, and my parents dogs. TBH I think the benefit they get from close proximity and what they learn from the animals far outweighs the occasional lick on the face they get.

[Jewel]

Our cat gets a kiss here and there from DS2, when he's being nice to her that is. She gets the occasional one from me. I don't have a dog but I don't like dogs licking me anywhere, so no kisses there.

[buffy1]

I don't, but my DH kisses our cat and would hug/kiss any animal he could get his hands on if he could. It's sweet but also grosses me out just a little.

[~Hestia~]

I have a dog and a cat, I can't stand either of them licking me anywhere so no I don't

[MrsBexie]

I kiss my kitty on the head but never his mouth. I have had him 16.5 years so I have always done this.
Same with our puppy who will be 2 in july.

Vixen (our pup) loooooves DD and she licks her all the time! DD loves Vixen just as much and squeals with delight everytime Vixen licks her. Yes it is on the face and quite often Charlotte will open her mouth for vixen (she is giving kisses back lol) but we do try to not let her lick her mouth. As much as it is gross to me, it happened to me as a kid and DH and we believe that it helps build her immune system. It's just like DD licking the floor (which she does quite often no matter how hard I try to not let her lol) etc.


Sent from my iPhone so sorry for the spelling and punctuation!!

[helle]

Nope. The dog isn't allowed to lick me because I hate it. I treat him with the same respect

[Marley&Me]

Yes. I kiss my pug ALL the time! Only on his little head though, not his face, he snots too much anyway
I am always cuddling and kissing him, 6 years on and I am still infatuated by him, love my boy