How many of you are this cautious with your pets in the house?

    • Gold Top Dog

    How many of you are this cautious with your pets in the house?

    Found this article and I'm kinda grossed out. "Animals can pass parasites on to humans. Children should not kiss or be kissed or licked by pets. This is a very easy pathway for parasites to enter the human body. Keep infants and toddlers away from pets that have not been wormed. Hands should be washed after each and every contact with a pet, otherwise one is putting self at serious risk. Am I saying do away with loving pets? No! We all love our pets, but we must be practical and wise also. I have two cats and love them dearly. However, I am wise about their care. Animals that are strictly indoor animals and that do not come into contact with the outdoors are a much lesser risk, but still a risk. Animals that come and go from the outdoors into the home pose a serious risk, especially to children. Cats and dogs for example clean their anus with their tongues. If they lick you, they are transfering parasites to your skin. If they lick your face, it does not take long for the parasite to find its way into your mouth and your intestine. One particular parasite, a roundworm causes a disease called toxoplasmosis and is usually acquired from cats. A small stratch from a cat or dog can also transmit the parasite. Cats use a cat box. They are moving around feces and urine that has been prior deposited in the cat box. This dirt that has parasites. Cat boxes should be scooped daily and throughly bleached and washed on a weekly basis. Make sure you use gloves, put two pair on when doing this. Use HOT water with the bleach. If you do this is in a bathtub, make sure you bleach and disinfect the bathtub afterwards to kill any bacteria or parasites. Its' best to clean the box outside. Mechanical cat boxes are a breeding ground for bacteria and parasites because you cannot easily disinfect them. Dogs are no different because they also lick their anus. If you have a pet that is stratching its' behind on your carpet, you better get that pet to a vet to get wormed. You should also steam clean, at least three times a year, your carpet. Parasites can be transmitted to carpets from shoes and animals. Never walk barefoot on carpet, especially near doors. Cats should definitely be kept away from new borns and infants less than three year olds. A parent that gets that sweet little kitty for their one year old is playing Russian roulette with their child's life. Parasites can exist on the fur as well. Indoor animals should be bathed regularly just like animals, twice a month, at least! And if it is an outdoor animal that comes indoors, do not let the animal lay on furniture, you are only inviting health problems. You may think this is taking things to an extreme, but believe me, these deadly little parasites are on those dear loving pets of ours. If you own a cat, keep in strictly indoors, never let it go outdoors. If you practice these recommendations, you will find you will have less health problems. Do not under any circumstance, give your pet raw meat of any kind. You are providing the means for a parasite infection in the pet which can easily be transmitted to humans, especially children. Do not let your children play in areas where animals have defecated without spraying the area with bleach. Animal feces should be picked up using a shovel daily and gloves should always be worn and hands washed throughly after any yard work. Wear a air filter mask while you do this if they area is dusty. The dust you breathe in will contain parasites. By the way, any garden work, always wear gloves. There are over 100 different parasites in soil that can be transmitted from the soil. Never work in soil if you have a cut on your hands. The little critters will get into your bloodstream via the cut. Do not flush cat box liter down the toliet. The parasites can cling to the bowl and crawl up to the seat. Once on the seat, they find their way into you. If you see rice like particles coming out in animal feces, they have worms or parasites. Fleas are carriers of tapeworms. Recently a woman in New Jersey had severe lower colon pains and severe blaoting. This went on for several months. She had two dogs in her house that she let outside every day. Several months after trying to cope with the colon pains, she then developed rashes and itching. Nine months later, they found through exploratory surgery, a large 3 and 1/2 foot tape worm inside her and several smaller ones. Upon investigation at her house, fleas were found in the carpet. Do not walk barefoot around animals unless they are strictly an indoor animal." http://www.dldewey.com/columns/parasf.htm
    • Gold Top Dog

    Guess I should be walkign aroudn with a high parasite load then - I let my dogs kiss me, I pet them and snuggle with them, they go outside, I walk barefoot in the house (and even outside sometimes), etc.  Yeesh.

    I think it helps that dogs are on heartworm prevention (which takes care of a ton of worms) and kept flea free, but I think this author is paranoid.

     

    • Gold Top Dog

    We have become an incredibly germophobic nation -- and it is silly.  But the BAD result is that all this preoccupation with 'germs' and dirt and parasites has caused people to be so OVERLY-cautious that people's immune systems are the lowest they've ever been because we give our bodies NO chance to contact things that would naturally BUILD immunity.

    We're constantly barraged by marketing -- and yes, it is just exactly that -- MARKETING -- that encourages us to use this and that new cleaner, new soap with this and that antibacterial whatever ... and as a result it kills the GOOD bacteria with the bad. 

    Why is cancer on the rise?  Because our immune systems suck.  And you don't get a thing healthy by denying it exercise and use.  Cancer is the ultimate betrayal of the body by the immune system. 

    Articles like that are simply to alarm and scare you.  They make interesting copy to read but they are dangerous.  Dangerous because it wants to scare people away from a normal healthy relationship with their pets. 

    The kid that doesn't get a pet because he has "allergies" and Mom is afraid he'll get sick -- does it lessen his illness?  No.  Because he's not being exposed to anything for his body to prepare antibodies to guard against.  His body isn't naturally getting USED to animal dander so the allergies are likely to get worse, not better.

    Now I'm not advocating someone getting 54 dogs if they are allergic to dogs -- but you can't avoid things either.  I'm allergic to cats TOO but I don't avoid them.  I don't have one, but I don't jump away from one either.  And as a result they bother me less than they used to.

    Don't let the article bother you -- the proper place for that one is to LINE the cat box!!

    • Gold Top Dog

    I have one word for the author of this article...........LEXAPRO.

    • Gold Top Dog

    Ya, I wash my hands after I prepare their food.  Thats about it though when it comes to my pets.  I spray and wipe down crate liners after they eat in there, but I don't get too anal about it.  I mop the floor almost every day, but that is more to perserve Kali's clothing than anything else, since she's still crawling.  I think the article is rediculous. 

    • Gold Top Dog

    When I was a kid I rolled around on the ground with my dog, once I licked my dog (she started it), I tasted her food (not so tasty).... I've never once had any dog-kissing-related illness. Now I'm not going around licking my dog's poo, and I am careful to keep him up to date on shots and heartworm prevention, and he also gets regular baths, but... I'm just not going to worry about it. Not worth it! Worst case scenario, I pick up some weird tummy bug and have to take some medicine for a few days. I've gone 23 years without an incident so far, so I figure I'm probably safe. Wink

    • Gold Top Dog
    It's amazing any humans or animals have survived this long, huh? LOL It grosses me out to think about, but I agree with you all. I feel sad for todays kids who will never experience anything because of germs or paranoias about safety. I took my 8 yr nephew and 4 yr old neice hiking last weekend and the 4 yr old kept saying we need floors (ie carpet or concrete) to walk on, dirt is gross! LOL I felt really old when I told that when I was a kid we practically lived in the dirt. I've never worn shoes in the house, we used play in the backyard where the dogs had pooped and puppy kisses are one lifes little joys. =)
    • Gold Top Dog

    No, I'm not that cautious.  I don't bleach my cat boxes unless a cat is sick.  I love all over my dogs and cats and them on me.  I AM very cautious when I get a cat bite that draws blood.  Those almost always become infected so I scrub with antibacterial and douse with bactine immediately.  Everyone is on flea and tick preventative and the dogs are on HW preventative that kills a variety of other worms.  I treated my entire house (carpets, furniture, bedding, upholstery, curtains, rugs, etc) with a flea killer containing an IGR that is good for 365 days.  I wash Kenya's food bowl really well after her meal because she eats smelly fish and raw eggs.

    • Gold Top Dog

    Oh ick.  I remember playing in sandboxes where cats had been when I was a kid.  I won't spell it out - use your imagination.  I'm still alive, but barely.

    • Gold Top Dog

    Now, I think touching animal waste has it's own obvious dangers of germs and parasite transmission, but I don't go nuts with bleaching the house or cat litter.  My dog licks us ALL the time and so far we are all okay.  I personally think in most cases, unless you are immune supressed, we do have some defenses against germs/parasites/bacteria or what have you from our pets.  I don't see how the human race would continue if we would all be terribly sick from having pets around.

    • Gold Top Dog

    While I am aware that zoonotic diseases exist, I am far from being worried about them. The monstresses are treated against fleas and different kinds of worms thru their HW; they are bathed a couple of times a year. I wash my hands after picking up poop or vomit and that's about it. I also wash them if I cook for company; if it is just for us, well.... not that systematically. I have been raised in a family where there was not that much attention paid to germ and bacteria threat; I have had different pets growing up and have worked with the poultry and rabbits that my family raised for food; all that without being invaded by parasites. The only thing I would be more careful about is toxoplasmosis during pregnancy and probably if one of the dogs had a proven case of ringworm. I figure I have more chances to catch the flu, a cold or a stomach bug from my fellow humans than a parasite infestation from the girls.

    Things that really made me grin in the article  Devil :

    Cats and dogs for example clean their anus with their tongues. If they lick you, they are transfering parasites to your skin.

    • Children and (some adults) dig in their noses and ears. If they touch you, they are transferring stuff to your skin too. Stick out tongue

    Parasites can be transmitted to carpets from shoes and animals. Never walk barefoot on carpet, especially near doors. 

    • Never touch your carpet, sit on your carpet, look for something that has rolled on your carpet under your sofa. Even looking at your carpet could make those darn parasites jump up in your eyes because they resent all breach to their intimacy.To be safe, live in a concrete bunker and use a flamethrower on all surfaces every day. Sad

    Do not flush cat box liter down the toliet. The parasites can cling to the bowl and crawl up to the seat. Once on the seat, they find their way into you.

    • This reeks from a bad horror movie.... A wave of worms climbing out of the toilet... that's why you always turn the light on before sitting ! Idea

    She had two dogs in her house that she let outside every day.

    • Imagine how many potential parasites in dog poop piles she would have lived with if she had not let them out every day. Confused
    • Gold Top Dog

    Other peoples' dogs lick my face, almost every day. I got awesome Beauceron (sp?) kisses at the dog show, on Saturday. Emma smooched all over me, and my friends' dogs kissed me half to death, too. Teenie is an obsessive licker, so she gets ickity with it, and I have to make her stop.

     

    I'm always scratched or scraped, somewhere. I groom dogs for a living. It's..... not the easiest thing to groom totally untrained dogs, and stuff happens.

     

    I also ate raw cookie dough, as a kid, and licked brownie bowls. I walk around barefooted almost constantly. I feed my dogs raw meat. I haven't died of a dog-related infection, yet, so I'm guessing that  I'm not going to. Callie's right. There are too many germaphobes. 

    • Gold Top Dog

    gradyupmybutt

    I have one word for the author of this article...........LEXAPRO.

     

    ROFL! Classic. Big Smile 

    • Gold Top Dog

    Goodness, does this woman ever let her children outside?  To the mall where people sneeze and go to the bathroom w/o washing their hands and then touch the handle of the door, or the shopping cart, or the shelves, or the produce, or . . . .     I'd bet a typical kindergarden class room has more germs than any of my dogs.  

     

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    And really, I've got 5 acres and see LOTS of rabbits daily and even more rabbit poop.  Can you see me out there in my yard on a daily basis picking up poop from 4 dogs (plus the occasional neighbor's dogs), countless rabbits, mice, birds (song and birds of prey and I feed the song birds), jackrabbits, voles, ground squirrels, horned lizards, spiders, flies, beetles, ants and the odd coyote and horse (again the same neighbors with the wondering dogs have a wondering horse), etc.  Are you pooping me?  

    • Gold Top Dog

    agilebasenji
    Can you see me out there in my yard on a daily basis picking up poop from 4 dogs (plus the occasional neighbor's dogs), countless rabbits, mice, birds (song and birds of prey and I feed the song birds), jackrabbits, voles, ground squirrels, horned lizards, spiders, flies, beetles, ants and the odd coyote and horse (again the same neighbors with the wondering dogs have a wondering horse), etc.  Are you pooping me?  

     

     

    LMBO!