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Is a dog's mouth cleaner...


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A friend and I were in friendly argument about whether a dog's mouth is cleaner than a human's mouth. I made the comment that the same dog's mouth that licks my friend's face is the same dog's mouth that licked it's own dog's ass.

My friend, who likes dogs and doesn't mind being licked by them, said that a dog's mouth is cleaner than a human's mouth because dogs pant. :wacko:

I made the comment that dogs are mammals, enjoy much the same type of diet as humans, don't brush their teeth, and have bad breath. Why would dogs have a cleaner mouth?

>article link<

Would you rather be bitten by a dog or by a human? Well, neither of course, but if you had to choose, which would it be? According to a widespread notion, a dog bite is the better choice since a canine mouth is cleaner than a human mouth.

Is this true? Well, yes and no. When we talk about the cleanliness of a mouth, we're really talking about the amount and type of bacteria it contains. The kind of bacteria found in a human mouth and a dog mouth depend on what's been there recently. Unlike dogs, humans typically do not eat raw meat, garbage, and small animals in various states of decay. Given a dog that just locked its jaws around a decomposing squirrel, we might say that the dog's mouth is, for the moment, less clean than a human mouth that has not recently housed a dead squirrel. And since the squirrel-eating dog may pick up disease-causing bacteria from the dead animal, a bite from that dog may pass on dangerous germs.

But insofar as a clean mouth means one that is less likely to cause disease, consider that germs tend to be species specific. Harmful dog germs are usually harmless for humans, unless we're talking about rabies, a disease that affects dogs and people in equally damaging ways. But generally, humans are immune to most dog germs. Likewise, human germs probably won't harm a dog. But human germs can harm humans, of course. So a bite from a human mouth full of harmful bacteria may very well be more damaging than a dog bite, even if the dog's mouth is full of harmful dog germs.

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As a kid I took many bike wipe-outs and one nasty one in particular left the knees completely thrashed. Well being just a kid I did not stop my grandmother's mutt from having at those knobs as I figured it better than a good dousing of mercurochrome. YEEOWWW! After a good canine inspired debriding the knees healed perfectly in short of a couple days! That dog was an evangelist.

And having been bitten good by our kitten when fetching it out from under the oil tank in the cellar I can say that after fingers doubled in size and nasty anti-biotics took a good two weeks gimme a dog anytime.

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I have two greyhounds, they get their teeth brushed almost daily. I love them dearly. I would be happy to let them kiss me. :rolleyes:

However, they don't kiss, they lick. No thank you very much. :P

Licking is a doggie kiss.

If you haven't been kissed by your dog, you haven't truly felt the love he feels for his master.

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After a good canine inspired debriding the knees healed perfectly in short of a couple days! That dog was an evangelist.

:g

I send my Chihuahua for a cleaning every year. I have a difficult time brushing her teeth, so I give her those green chew bones from the Vet's office. Her mouth is in AAA condition, and the breath smells okey dokey.

Licking to show love has always been a big part of her personality, no way I could ever change that.

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I have two greyhounds, they get their teeth brushed almost daily. I love them dearly. I would be happy to let them kiss me.  :rolleyes:

However, they don't kiss, they lick. No thank you very much.  :P

Licking is a doggie kiss.

If you haven't been kissed by your dog, you haven't truly felt the love he feels for his master.

They "kiss" my wife. I'll take mine by proxy.

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