Sleeping with your dog

[DebraDownSouth]

I don't care, I am not kicking my dogs out:

http://www.aolnews.com/2011/01/20/letting-sleeping-dogs-lie-in-your-bed-can-kill-you/
Medical researchers have long shown that contact with pets can often help both the physically and mentally ill. But now, veterinary scientists say sleeping with your pets increases the chances of contracting everything from parasites to the plague.

What's a pet owner to do?

Most U.S. households have pets, and more than half of those cats and dogs are allowed to sleep in their owner's beds, Drs. Bruno Chomel, a professor at the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine, and Ben Sun, chief veterinarian for California's Department of Health, say in a study to be published in next month's issue of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Emerging Infectious Diseases.

SEE LINK FOR REST.

[Quercus]

hhhmmmm…. I haven't been feeling too well...could be parasites AND the plague, I suppose

[Kipawa]

Well, I guess Darrel and I will be ill soon.

[listeme]

Someone on the canine genetics list said something like: I can get 100 percent of the illnesses a human carries; am I supposed to stop sleeping with humans, too? (They said it funnier, though.)

My animals will keep sleeping with me

[tlish]

i look at it as an opportunity for my immune system to earn superpowers!

[agilebasenji]

@tlish:

i look at it as an opportunity for my immune system to earn superpowers!

+1 I just love sleeping with my pups. But I do live dangerously. I got married, which is the leading cause of divorce.

[Marie Heidebrecht]

They could tell us that letting our dogs sleep in our beds causes cancer or will increase our risk of having a heart attack or whatever and I'm certain that the majority of us would continue doing as we're doing.
Besides, who in their right mind wants to listen to a basenji (or 2) who's been evicted from the bedroom? The lack of sleep that THAT would cause would lead to deaths due to impaired drivers (from sleep deprivation) as well as countless psychiatric problems!
Now, it's off to bed with my basenjis I go.

[DebraDownSouth]

ROFLMAO, I love you all.

[Schouiffy]

@tlish:

i look at it as an opportunity for my immune system to earn superpowers!

BRILLIANT.

Lycia is staying in bed… what would my toes do with out her ?

[Barklessdog]

I would think most people here take better care of their pets then they do themselves.

[Maya]

Wow, thats crazy! If Maya gives me the plague I will NOT be happy

She sleeps in my bed everynight, i dont think she has any intention of that changing anytime soon..

[thunderbird8588]

Sounds to me that a long as your pets are well cared for medicaly, which they should be anyway, then the risks are minimised . I reckon humans pass more diseased and lurgies on to each other than animal to human.
Responsibilities of Dog ownership state you have to provide your Dog with a bed anyway

[Janneke]

I think it's a good article. It's never wrong to warn people about the risks, how small they might be, right? We are all worried about Salmonella etc. in our eggs or on our meat.. but don't forget you can also pick it up from your pets!

Tillo doesn't sleep in our bed btw. He has a bed of his own right next to ours. I know he loves to lay with us, but I just don't like it.. Especially not with a second dog on the way… Lycia did sleep in our bed.. on BF's side

[DebraDownSouth]

It is a sensation piece, lots of dire warnings, very little incidents. What a surprise zoonoses experts raising a cry of danger WILL ROBINSON. Basically keep your dog healthy, don't let it lick open sores (I mean WTH? who is that stupid and unhygienic… not just for YOUR health but your pet's? If you are, your dog is the least of your worries!) And nearly all of it can be gotten from HAVING a pet, sleeping with them just used for sensation.

[Kipawa]

@Barklessdog:

I would think most people here take better care of their pets then they do themselves.

So true. Of course, Kipawa is a Taste of the Wild boy. But what is funny is when I go through the grocery check out with all of this healthy dried fruit, unsalted trail mixes and veggies. When they ring in the dried blueberries, one of the gals always tells me (when seeing the price it rings through as) "do you really want these? They are pretty expensive". That's when I say to her, "oh, all of this healthy stuff is for my parrots".

[Shannanigan]

Hmmm…I don't know...I had strep throat BEFORE I got Paco, and now that I have him, I haven't gotten it again. I want to argue that sleeping with pets actually prevents illness now!

[nobarkus]

Look scientists are always coming up with something. This and that can make you sick with a few number of examples. How many people do you think let their dog sleep with them? Millions! I rest my case your Honor!

[Shaye's Mom]

If we all listened to all the warnings that come our way these days we would isolate ourselves like Bubble Boy and never leave the house, and never let anyone or anything in. I believe the more we are exposed to the stronger our immune systems get. I really worry about our children and grandchildren, who are kept from being anywhere the vicinity of anything even slightly likely to give them colds, or the flu or anything else - and they stuff antibiotics in them like candy - no common sense any more. My dogs will sleep with us, and hopefully, we won't give THEM any diseases.

[Arwen]

I'm sorry but NOT sleeping with my animals has a far greater risk. Who knows what they would do if I couldn't feel them move and wake up immediately! LOL

[DebraDownSouth]

Arwen, ROFLMAO, no joke!