Chula Posted August 14, 2013 Report Share Posted August 14, 2013 Any time I have a cut or a scrape of any kind, Chula always wants to lick it and cure it for me My OH is convinced that dogs can cure human wounds by licking. I've read things that both confirm and refute this. I let her do it anyway since she seems intent on doing it, and then usually go wash whatever wound she was just licking. Do you let your dogs nurse you back to health? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BingBlaze n Skyla Posted August 14, 2013 Report Share Posted August 14, 2013 i wouldnt let them , i know where their tongues have been lol , theres have been times where say ive had a cut on my knee n the dogs have licked it when ive been sitting around but i usually stop them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchie Posted August 14, 2013 Report Share Posted August 14, 2013 I think I remember reading somewhere that a lady had actually contracted an infection from letting her dog lick a fresh wound :/ A scab would be ok I guess, but nothing open, Mishka doesn't show an interest in my wounds anyway lol Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted August 14, 2013 Report Share Posted August 14, 2013 No never, We know what they've been licking. :eek: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormchaser09 Posted August 14, 2013 Report Share Posted August 14, 2013 I also read about a lady who let her dog lick a small cut and she went into septic shock and lost both legs and an arm, so that would be a no from me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chula Posted August 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2013 Woah! That's crazy! My OH is from a really small, rural area where they have a lot of ideas about natural cures. He truly believes in the healing power of doggie saliva. I also read about a lady who let her dog lick a small cut and she went into septic shock and lost both legs and an arm, so that would be a no from me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormchaser09 Posted August 14, 2013 Report Share Posted August 14, 2013 when my kids were born the midwife did telll me that a dogs saliva had less bacteria than a human so your OH is probably sort of right to and the lady I mentioned simply very unlucky to have such a severe reaction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chula Posted August 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2013 One of the articles I read said that part of the "curing" is from the debridement of the wound, because the licking action takes off dirt and dead skin. I still wash up afterwards, but I let her lick first for a good 10 seconds because it's kind of sweet to feel like she's taking care of me, since all I do is take care of her! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Angel n Auroras Mum Posted August 14, 2013 Report Share Posted August 14, 2013 um no Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emma Posted August 14, 2013 Report Share Posted August 14, 2013 each to their own but definitely not for me. Sweet that Chula likes to look after her mummy though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueWolf Posted August 14, 2013 Report Share Posted August 14, 2013 I remember an interesting page about this in one of Shaun Ellis' books. He was living with the wolves in the wild and with wolves being very rough it wasn't uncommon for him to get hurt or gets scratches once in a while. Wolves however care for each other and they would proceed to lick his wounds. He quickly noticed the wounds the wolves licked healed much quicker than wounds they hadn't touched, so there's definitely some truth in there. Whether this also applies for dogs is not known for me, I don't remember reading anything about that or seeing a study on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kauro Posted August 17, 2013 Report Share Posted August 17, 2013 Growing up with dogs and such that was always the thing hearing from mom. I don't think it heals faster but think it is more of a bonding moment with you and your best friend. But then again I grew up in a house when kisses was a norm. It could also be a Midwest USA thing also Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osinn11 Posted August 17, 2013 Report Share Posted August 17, 2013 Can't say I've had a wound for my kids to lick. Interesting topic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase Posted August 17, 2013 Report Share Posted August 17, 2013 When I was a kid our dog would always lick my bloodied knees or elbows. I always thought it was pretty funny and they always seemed to heal gravel rash pretty quick. As an adult I probably wouldn't let my dog lick my or my daughters wounds but I also wouldn't worry too much either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Marples Posted August 17, 2013 Report Share Posted August 17, 2013 Please dont let them im a registered nurse and an ex raf medic and have some experience in infection medicine biologically there is no evidence to surgest any healing effects from dog but there are numerous counts of aquired infection from dogs however dogs have been proved to test for cancer and predict for illness and my old collie would wake me at night about 2mins before my wife had an epileptic seziure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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