Can dogs get sick if their owners are sick? A Step-by-Step Guide

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What Diseases Can Dogs GIVE to Humans?

We’ve answered the question, “Can dogs get sick from humans?” but before we wrap up this post, we have to talk about which diseases you can get from your dog.

These diseases/parasites are transferable from dogs to humans:

  • Rabies — This requires being bitten by an infected animal. For instance, your dog would need to be bitten, then bite you to transmit the virus. This is a very serious but quite rare disease that is transferred from a dog to a human. (Make sure your dog is properly vaccinated!)
  • Toxoplasmosis — This can be found in contaminated dog feces, but is more common in cats.
  • Hookworm, Roundworm, Tapeworm — These are all parasites found in dogs that have a slim chance of infecting humans
  • Ringworm — This is actually a fungus, and it can be transferred from your dog to you.
  • Salmonella — Rare in dogs, but this bacterial infection can be transferred to humans and vice versa.

    • What Diseases Your Dog CAN Get from You

    You’re in the clear when flu season rolls around, but the question at hand is, “Can dogs get sick from humans?” The answer is yes. Though cases of a dog contracting a disease from a human are quite rare, they are still reported.

    The diseases that you have a (slim) chance of passing to your dog (if you ever even come down with them) are:

  • Mumps
  • Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
  • Tuberculosis
  • Salmonella

    • Now all of these diseases are quite rare, and the chance that you’ll pass them onto your dog is small, but now you know!

    Other infections can be spread through a dog bite

    One of the most common ways to pick up an illness or infection from a dog is through saliva. But, its important to know that it usually takes a bite or skin abrasion for a dogs germs to cause infection in a person. This means you can continue to let you dog lick your face — if thats your thing.

    “Most of the germs spread via a dog bite are part of a dogs normal mouth flora. While its normal for a dog to have these germs in their mouth, its not normal for you to come into direct contact with them,” Dr. Long explains. “But, again, it typically takes a bite or contact with an existing skin abrasion for the germs found in a dogs saliva to cause illness in a person.”

    The following illnesses can be spread through a dog bite:

  • Rabies – although very rarely spread from dogs to humans in the U.S., this can be a fatal disease in both dogs and humans
  • Pasteurella – one of the most frequently isolated germs from dog bites that can cause tenderness, pain and swelling
  • Capnocytophaga – a germ that causes serious infection and can ultimately lead to sepsis and meningitis
  • Brucella – occurs most commonly in farm settings, with symptoms ranging from fever to body aches

    • Scientists Confirm Dogs Can Detect 8 Diseases

    If our social feeds are any indication of how much we love our dogs, the answer is a lot. We let them into our hearts, we let them into our lives — a lot of us even let them sleep with us in our beds. Given how close we are with our dogs (and the fact that theyre not all that concerned about hygiene), it can make you wonder: Can my dog get me sick?

    “Most of the everyday illnesses were used to hearing about dont cross back and forth between dogs and humans, but there are some diseases our dogs can spread to us,” says Dr. Wesley Long, director of diagnostic microbiology at Houston Methodist.

    Dr. Long says the three most common ways for your dog to get you sick are through:

    But, my fellow dog lovers, theres no need to fret. Heres everything you need to know about staying healthy while sharing your home with your furry roomie.