Sleeping with your pets: Cuddly or gross?
While our dog is very cute, I know where his tongue has been and there is no way he's licking my face or sleeping in my bed. However, I do let him take trips with us. In this shot, he's in his bed in the mini-van. He's a good little traveler!
I know several families where Fido is allowed in BED with the family but they may change that policy after reading a new study in the February issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases, the public health journal of the Centers for Disease Control.
While pets provide many positive health effects, Bruno Chomel, a professor of zoonoses at University of California Davism, found that sleeping with your pet increases your chances of contracting bugs and diseases ranging from worms to the bubonic plague.
In fact, of the 250 known diseases transmitted from animals to humans, more than 100 of them come from domestic animals, researchers say.
“ ‘It can happen,’ (Chomel) said. ‘It’s rare when it happens and it can be bad. It’s not told to panic people or scare people, but to be aware there are things that can happen.’ ”
“Chomel and co-author Ben Sun looked through published literature about cases in which people’s illnesses correlated with sleeping, kissing or being licked by pets.”
“Some of examples are startling:
– A man had a dog sleep under the covers with him. The dog licked his hip replacement wound and the owner got meningitis.
– A 9-year-old boy slept in bed with a flea-infested cat and got the bubonic plague in 1974 in New Mexico.
– A newborn was sickened with meningitis. The pet cat had stolen the baby’s pacifier and had been toying with it.
– A 44-year-old woman developed meningitis and admitted that she was “regularly kissing the dog’s face and feeding it by transferring food mouth to mouth.”
In a survey from the American Kennel Club, 21 percent of dog owners said they regularly slept with their dogs.”
‘In many countries, pets have become substitutes for childbearing and child care, sometimes leading to excessive pet care,’ said Chomel … ‘There are private places in the household, and pets should not go beyond next to the bed.
So how many owners are sleeping with their pets?
Well the Daily Mail reports that “among dog owners, 53 per cent considered their pet to be a member of the family, while 56 per cent of them admitted they sleep with their dog next to them.”
“Up to 62 per cent of cat owners said their pets sleep either on or in their beds.”
“And some 25 per cent of women admit to sleeping regularly with a pet, while just 16 per cent of men say they do.”
The very first night we found our little Shih Tzu, he cried and cried in the kitchen so I came down and slept next to him on the kitchen floor to comfort him. (I had bathed him as soon as we found him but I kept thinking all night I was getting fleas on me.)
Over the last seven years, he has moved up to sometimes sleeping in his bed on the floor of our bedroom but never, ever, ever in anyone’s bed. Why don’t I want my cute little doggie in my bed or the kids’ beds?
Here’s why I DON’T allow my little 15-pound dog to sleep in our bed:
1. I’ve watched my dog eat poop – sometimes his own, sometimes another dog’s. Either way it’s gross and no poop-eater is licking my face or sleeping with me. (It’s just a rule everyone should have.)
2. I’m grossed out when he drags his butt across my carpet thinking about all the gross poopy germs he’s leaving behind much less thinking that poopy butt between my sheets. (I know why he does it – when his anal gland needs attention and I always have the groomer work on that area – but it is just so gross.) If my kid dragged his poopy butt across my carpet I would be upset about that too!
3. I already have three kids climbing in and out of bed with me. I certainly don’t need to add another body to that mix.
(My husband would like to add in that our dog throws up more than any other member of our family. That’s not good either.)
I will sit on the couch and hold my dog and love him but I always wash my hands right after and won’t wear those same clothes into bed.
So what’s happening at your house? Are you or the kids sleeping with the dog or cat? Have you ever worried before about catching bugs or diseases from your pet? Will you worry now? Will this study changes your dog/cat sleeping habits?
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120 comments Add your comment
BB
January 25th, 2011
6:35 pm
Growing up on the farm, we kept our animals outdoors. In the city, we had small dogs indoors. Large dogs we kept outdoors due to their size and fleas. When it was extremely cold, I put the Shepard in the basement overnight. If you washed your pet everyday and could control their licking habits, maybe there would be no cross-infection problem. No one gives their pet a bath everyday, let alone before letting them sleep in bed. I don’t know where the idea came from that it is okay to keep animals indoors. Yes, you and the animal become the pack if you let them.
motherjanegoose
January 25th, 2011
7:06 pm
BTW…we have had 4 dogs….only one had fleas…that was when we had neighbors whose dogs were always outside. I once walked through their yard with white socks on and it looked like someone had sprinkled pepper on my socks. Our dogs have always been inside. I am going with AEL today.
Hangaroo | hangaroo hangman | kangaroo | play hangaroo
January 25th, 2011
7:22 pm
[...] It even helps to increase your general knowledge. Also you can check out this related blog post: http://blogs.ajc.com/momania/2011/01/25/sleeping-with-your-pets-cuddly-or-gross/?cxntfid=blogs_moman... Tags: Hangaroo, hangaroo hangman, kangaroo, play [...]
Wagtheworld.com » Sleeping with your pets: Cuddly or gross? – Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)
January 25th, 2011
7:44 pm
[...] Sleeping with your pets: Cuddly or gross?Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)A 44-year-old woman developed meningitis and admitted that she was “regularly kissing the dog's face and feeding it by transferring food mouth to mouth. …Let Sleeping Dogs Lie … In Your Bed?MyFox HoustonBed Sharing With a Pet Can Kill YouThe Stir (blog)Don't sleep with your pet, you may catch something (possibly bubonic plague)Daily Mailohmidog! -The Korea Herald -Sacramento Beeall 96 news articles » [...]
Wagtheworld.com » Is it unhealthy to sleep with pets? – 89.3 KPCC
January 25th, 2011
9:02 pm
[...] dogs and cats are allowed to sleep in their owner's beds. But according to a new study …Sleeping with your pets: Cuddly or gross?Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)Let Sleeping Dogs Lie … In Your Bed?MyFox HoustonBed [...]
jarvis
January 25th, 2011
10:15 pm
Each to there own.
Sleep and kiss your animals if you want.
I’m grossed out by it, but that certainly doesn’t mean it’s wrong. Clowns freak me out too, but my kids seem to like them.
jarvis
January 25th, 2011
10:15 pm
their not there…my mom would be so disappointed.
DB
January 25th, 2011
11:20 pm
@JJ: When I was in college, a friend invited me to their home in Washington, DC for a long holiday weekend. It was a lovely home — unfortunately, her mother had died many years previously, so it was just her dad and her sister. When they were setting the table for dinner, I saw that there were five places, and didn’t think much about it, assumed that perhaps a friend or the sister’s boyfriend was joining us for dinner. Imagine my surprise when we sat down in this formal dining room with Ansley china — and the CAT jumped up on a chair, carefully placed her paws on the table, and began eating chicken from the 5th plate!!! I admit — I stared. The father kept slipping the cat tidbits during the meal, and frankly, talked more to the cat than he did to the humans. It was a very surreal dinner . . .
That night, I was woken suddenly by a weird pulling on my hair. I screamed a little when I realized the cat was in my bed and was eating my hair. My friend woke up and just said, sleepily, “Oh, just toss her off the bed, she does that.” I pulled my hair back in a tight ponytail and dived under the covers — the damn cat woke me twice more that night until I finally grabbed her and unceremoniously deposited her OUTSIDE the bedroom and firmly closed the door. Then she yowled for a little while until I heard her dad open his bedroom door and let her in.
Talk about spoiled rotten!!
Back to present day: We don’t DARE leave anything edible on the kitchen counter. I once made a pan of fudge, walked away, and came back 5 minutes later — the dog was slinking out with a guilty look on his face, and the entire surface of the new pan of fudge was LICKED. A whole batch — WASTED!!!! Then there was the Honey Baked ham escapade . . . four sandwiches, mysteriously disappeared . . . and a dog with ham breath.
@JJ: We have a crate in the house, but it’s really more of a refuge than it is a jail — we only crate the dog if he gets too excited when company is over, and every other time, it just stays open and he curls up in it when he wants some “me” time. :-)
Atlantaphotog
January 25th, 2011
11:29 pm
I’ve never understood the mentality of someone who keeps their dogs outside – then later complains about the dog being dumb or not disciplined. I would challenge those people to perhaps put their young children in a “child house” outside, visit them once or twice a day to throw a bowl of food in front of them (if that), and then see how the kid turns out. Surprise!
My dogs (large) are my kids, and for the most part, I treat them as such. As a result, everyone who comes to my house has always commented on how well behaved my dogs were, smart to obey commands, and CLEAN as well as bug-free. It’s because I actually took the effort and time to make them that way, however. My dogs always slept at the lower portion of my bed near my feet. I have never had a flea on my carpet or bug on my bed from their body (it’s called “brushing”, by the way).
Two of my dog have passed away in the last year and one remains. The pain of losing a “family member” like that is really incredible and once the last one is gone I will most likely take a break for a while to recoup. But one day I’ll have dogs again, and yes they will stay in the house, be clean, and sleep on my bed.
Wagtheworld.com » UCD prof warns don’t be too cozy with your pets – News10.net
January 26th, 2011
7:51 am
[...] cats could lead to illnesses. UC Davis Veterinary School Professor Bruno Chomel conducted a …Sleeping with your pets: Cuddly or gross?Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)Sleeping with your pet could be harmfulAsiaOneSleeping with pets [...]
Sleeping with your pets: Cuddly or gross? – Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) « Better Off Training
January 26th, 2011
9:36 am
[...] Sleeping with your pets: Cuddly or gross? – Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) [...]
Techmom
January 26th, 2011
9:39 am
I didn’t say I didn’t like to have sex, I said I don’t like anything touching me while I’m sleeping. Sex & sleeping are two are different activities.
Who's in Bed with Mike? | Pawsley Barks
January 26th, 2011
9:56 am
[...] Mike’s Pick: Here’s an Atlanta Journal Constitution post about the dangers (probable?…I’m not so sure) of allowing your pet to sleep on the bed with you. Article: Sleeping with Your Pets: Cuddly or Gross? [...]
jarvis
January 26th, 2011
10:45 am
@Techmom, Someone needs to explain that to my wife.
Hey-Oh!
Carol
January 26th, 2011
2:29 pm
Phooey! If that was the case, I would have been dead by now. I have grown up with pets all my life and they were allowed to sleep on my bed.
Mary Lucisano
January 26th, 2011
2:42 pm
my 3 dogs all of which weigh 100 pounds sleep with me ,I have even recently purchased a king size bed so there would be enough room!
jarvis
January 26th, 2011
2:50 pm
Drinking urine won’t make you sick either. It’s just gross.
Sleeping with your pets: Cuddly or gross? « Cat window perch
January 28th, 2011
2:19 pm
[...] read original article Comments (0) [...]
CandyPalik
January 28th, 2011
4:00 pm
Whoa – this study definitely seems like a stretch if they have to mention an anecdotal incident from 1974. Seems kind of silly. Also, how can they prove that the animals caused any of these things? The bubonic plague thing seems like pure sensationalism. As for the meningitis, so one stupid person got meningitis POSSIBLY from their cat in 1980? (Probably would have got meningitis if he’d let his wife or kid lick his wound???? too.) Has this researcher heard about college dorms? How about hospitals, where if you enter sick, you have an excellent chance of leaving sicker? We’re far more likely to get diseases from another human.
At our house, one of our two dogs sleeps in our bed (the other prefers her own bed by the window so she can keep an eye on anything that might be going on outside.) He sleeps on top of the covers, not under them. If you keep your pets clean and in good health, it shouldn’t be a problem. Who are these people that are like, “Oh, ma dog might git fleas in ma bed.” Have you heard of spot-on flea preventative? You probably haven’t heard of vet visits, heart worm preventative etc. either.
I agree 100 percent with those who said pets = yes, kids = no! For those who said it’s “sad” to think that, no, it’s just practical. When was the last time you heard of someone getting the flu from their cat? Yet preschool and elementary school teachers are constantly getting sick from every nasty bug that goes around, and they have to worry about head lice too. Even the CDC says children are more likely to have poor hygiene: http://www.newswise.com/articles/simple-hygiene-focus-on-children-could-contain-flu-spread Have you ever watched little kids? They put their hands in nasty places, in their mouths, in their noses, use the bathroom and probably not wash their hands. I don’t have any, but if I did, mine would be taught to wash their hands properly and wouldn’t be “crawling” all over my bed, either. Sorry!
Pets Adviser
January 31st, 2011
7:19 pm
Typical media overkill. We posted a li’l explanation over at PetsAdviser.com titled: How the Media Exaggerated ‘Sleeping With Pets’ Disease.