Animal Affection: You've Got to Draw a Line Somewhere

If you own a dog or cat, I have a piece of advice for you: no matter how cute or lovable your pet is, please refrain from any kissing.

This advice also applies to any other animals you may own, whether they’re cows, pigs or snakes. Try to keep a little space between your lips and theirs.

Perhaps this advice does not apply to you at all. Perhaps you have zero animals or have zero inclination to kiss them. I fall into the latter category myself. I have a dog named Lulu who is very affectionate and enjoys being petted. I take her for walks and give her belly rubs. But I have not given her a single kiss, not even on National Dog Day. The only scenario in which I’d ever consider putting my lips on Lulu is if she needs mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and my wife is not around.

I try to keep my mouth away from Lulu’s mouth in large part because I know where her mouth has been: everywhere. She doesn’t hesitate to stick her nose and mouth into almost anything, whether it smells good or awful. (What smells awful to me often smells good to her). Instead of kissing Lulu, I might as well kiss the garbage can. It would be much safer.

You don’t have to be a scientist to realize that there are health risks associated with kissing your dog or not washing your hands after touching your dog. But in case you need some scientific evidence, a group of researchers at Penn State University have just published a study in which they matched strains of Salmonella bacteria found in dogs with those affecting humans during the same period (2017 to 2023) and location. They found dozens of cases in which the bacteria — which can cause diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps — appeared to have moved from a pet dog to a human.

While a number of animals can carry Salmonella, you usually have to eat them to be infected. That’s not the case with dogs. As Sophia Kenney, a doctoral student who spearheaded the study noted, “we don't let cows sleep in our beds or lick our faces, but we do dogs. We have this close bond with companion animals in general, and we have a really close interface with dogs.”

Photo by Nicholas Brownlow on Unsplash

While I consider it somewhat distasteful to kiss a dog, many pet owners feel quite differently. Some even kiss their dogs when they leave for work — and again when they return. In fact, an English broadcaster named Claudia Winkleman recently caused a stir when she said that she is so attached to her one-year-old King Spaniel dog, Skip, that she puts her tongue in his mouth. (Her husband is appalled, apparently — and a little jealous.)

You might think it’s only Brits or Americans who go to such extremes, but “man’s best friend” enjoys plenty of affection all over the world. Women have been known to kick their husbands out of bed to make room for Rover, who neither snores nor wants to discuss football.

I make it a habit, however, to keep at least 5 inches between my face and Lulu’s. Why 5 inches? Because that’s the length of Lulu’s tongue. I don’t want her to think that I’m giving her an invitation to lick my face.

Dogs love to lick humans — and they do it for a variety of reasons, according to Ellen Furlong, an associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at Transylvania University in Kentucky, U.S.

“They’re going to lick to taste things,” she recently told Popular Science. “They might lick to explore. They might lick because you’ve come home from a run and you’re very salty.”

And if you happen to move away, your dog may give you a dejected look that says, “Why so salty?”