Observing my Grandson with his Dog

[seedcorn]

Well, let's hope they keep the dog wormed, if not the baby!

Would have thought parent would have seen the worms in dog's and toddlers' stools before she was so full of worms that they are crawling out its orrifices. Especially enough to choke them. Can't imagine the infestation level.

Kids crawling in dirt (& other things is just part of growing up). Mine picked up a dried goose dropping and sampled it. Didn't take long for him to spit it out and never picked up something he didn't know to sample again.

 

[Larisa]

Dogs and cats should receive medicament from worms 2 times a year. And the family in which they live, once. Children, too. This is a mandatory preventive maintenance here. As a child I received a lot of scratches. Great-grandmother said that the dog should lick it and all will pass quickly. I do not know whether it's right or not, but I always ran to the dog and it licked my wounds.

 

[seedcorn]

@Larisa Much better remedy than my grandparents-tobacco juice. Usually what G'pa was chewing......

 

[Beekissed]

People forget that, don't they? Deworming of kids used to be a standard spring thing when I was young but folks got away from that. I think they imagine that humans don't get parasites? Or they don't want to think about it.....

If you deworm your dogs and cats, it's a good idea to do the same to the humans....especially if you all live in the same home.

 

[Nyboy]

@Larisa it is funny my grandmother half way around the world believe the same. She thought dog saliva had healing properties. I guess it comes from watching dog lick their wounds. I have stool cultures done on my animals 2x a year.It cost a lot more then stool float, but checks for more parasite.

 

[Smart Red]

I believe it was a common idea to have a dog lick the wound.

 

[thistlebloom]

Here's one of many references for those that are skeptical.

http://www.petmd.com/blogs/thedailyvet/ktudor/2014/jan/are-dog-licks-unhealthy-for-people-31207
"Parasites:


Pets are hosts for many parasitic worms and single celled parasites. Human infection from these parasites can result in intestinal disease, skin problems, blindness, and brain disorders. Pets may live with these parasites in their intestines with no signs of illness. But eggs passed in the pet’s feces can infect humans. Like bacteria, the major route of infection to humans is fecal-oral. Pets that have licked their anus can potentially pass the parasite eggs to humans during facial licking."

I read this entire article and several others. The consensus is that dogs and cats can indeed infect humans with parasites from their saliva.

Keeping on top off a worming schedule will help, and the people most at risk are the very young, the aged, those with immunity disorders, and people weakened by cancer and chemotherapy.
I believe we all carry parasites to some degree or other. But I'm certainly not anxious to pick up any more! I think I'll use good old hot water and soap on my wounds.

 

[Beekissed]

Got my younger dog neutered this week and they advised not letting him lick the surgical site. Now, I can see that if you have one of those little nervous yippies that lick obsessively, but a dog licking a small wound can only speed healing by bringing more circulation to the area and the acid nature of the saliva helps keep bacterial growth in check.

In other words, the dog has been free to lick his wounded pride and the site is healing normally and quickly. As is expected.

But...unless I was in a survival situation and had no other way to cleanse my wounds, I'd not let him lick my wounds for me.

My dogs are never allowed to lick humans and are taught that from an early age. My pups probably spend the first part of their lives thinking their names are NO LICKING!!!

 

[Nyboy]

Bee the no licking after neutered is because some dogs will pull out their sutures .

 

[Beekissed]

Bee the no licking after neutered is because some dogs will pull out their sutures .

Yep...I know. But, nowadays they don't even use sutures...they glue it shut. Licking too much would even remove the glue but one would have to go pretty far on the licking to get that wound to open up completely.