Why Do Dogs Lick Your Wounds?
Wanting to care for a wound is instinctive to most animals—and to most people, as well. It doesn’t take much training to teach a child that an open sore needs to be attended to, and in fact, many children will instinctively stick an injured hand or arm in their mouth immediately after the injury occurs.
This is true for many mammals—dogs, cats, primates, and even rodents attend to their wounds by diligently licking them.
So yes, most dogs do instinctively try to clean a fresh wound by licking it. Some lick more intensely than others, which can cause significant damage to the wound. Other dogs just clean the wound and move along. So although it is instinctive to most dogs to take care of a fresh cut, the degree to which they approach the task varies widely.
The belief that allowing dogs to lick wounds will help them heal is deeply rooted in human culture. It started in ancient Egypt, continued through Grecian times, and carried through to common folk culture. But is there science to support this? Yes and no!
Dog saliva and human saliva contain some ingredients that can help heal wounds. Wounds in the mouth tend to heal faster than those elsewhere in the body.
This was studied by Menno Oudhoff of the University of Amsterdam, who found that saliva contains proteins called histatins, which have the ability to ward off infection. Histatins can also prompt cells from the surface of the skin to help close over the wound quickly—all good things to promote healing.
Another pharmacologist from the London School of Medicine and Dentistry found that the nitrite in saliva, when it comes in contact with skin, breaks down to nitric oxide, which can help protect cuts from infections. And researchers at the University of Florida discovered a protein called nerve growth factor in saliva, which also speeds healing of wounds.
Perhaps even more importantly, gentle licking of wounds can help remove dirt and debris that may slow healing and cause infection. The mechanical action of the tongue loosens the foreign matter, which then sticks to the saliva and is removed from the wound.
So there are plusses to licking wounds. But there are also some minuses, including infection.
Unfortunately, dog saliva can infect wounds. There are a number of bacteria present in animals’ mouths that can cause infections in people, some of which can be severe.
One example is a bacteria called Pasteurella that grows well in areas without air, such as deep wounds. When this bacteria is introduced into a cut, the infection can be severe enough to require amputations, and in some cases, it has been life-threatening.
Quite a few cases of severe complications have been reported, including a woman with a small burn that was licked by her dog. She ultimately lost all of her fingers and toes as well as a leg secondary to the infection that was induced.
Another man developed acute kidney infection from an infection introduced into a hand wound by his dog. There is even a case of a man who developed meningitis after his dog licked his ear when he was recovering from a perforated eardrum.
So while there are many good compounds that can be found in saliva that help heal wounds, there are significant potential complications to allowing your dog to clean your wounds.
Will Licking Help To Heal Wounds?
We’ve all heard that a dog’s saliva is antiseptic. Therefore, some people reason that it may be a good idea to allow them to lick your wounds. However, this is typically a bad idea. Especially dogs that are very attached to their owners (such as many herding breeds or Pitbulls) will try to lick wounds that the owner has. However, this does not mean it is a good idea or that you should allow it!
The act of licking is troublesome for a few different reasons. Firstly, while a dog’s saliva does have some antiseptic properties, these are usually minor compared to modern medicine. You’re much better off using an antiseptic cream of some sort. The antiseptic properties of a dog’s saliva are often overblown.
According to one study, a dog’s saliva only withstands the growth of some strains. Others will flourish. For instance, E. Coli has a hard time growing in canine salvia. This is a bacterium that commonly infects newly born puppies, so a dog’s resistance to this bacterium makes perfect sense. However, Staphylococcus is not affected by the antiseptic properties and grows freely.
Interestingly enough, most wound infections on dogs are Staph infections, which are caused by Staphylococcus. It is likely due to the fact that the growth of this bacterium isn’t affected by a dog’s saliva.
Secondly, a dog’s saliva contains a different microbiome than a human’s skin. We all have “good” bacteria in our bodies, including our saliva. Dogs have significantly different bacteria in their saliva than we do on our skin. Therefore, if we allow a dog to lick our wound, we’re introducing bacteria that may potentially be dangerous. The bacteria may not be harmful to our dog, but they will be harmful to us.
Finally, a dog’s tongue is simply not very soft. It can damage wounded tissue and prevent tissue from growing back. It can reopen sores with some ease, which can cause infections to occur. If your wound has already started to heal, new tissue can be destroyed by a dog’s tongue.
Your best bet is to use some sort of antiseptic cream and keep your wound away from your dog. Some dogs seem to have an instinctual need to lick wounds if they are presented. However, this is not recommended in the least. Keep it away from them, using a band-aid or something similar if necessary.
Clubs Offering:
Dogs instinctively lick wounds. Something hurts, so they lick it. That’s all they can do. The idea that dogs need to lick wounds in order for them to heal is so pervasive that many people, including ancient societies, believed that dog saliva can also heal human wounds. This belief has some basis in fact, but over time has achieved mythic proportions.
Why do Dogs Lick your Wounds? Here are reason Why Dogs lick you Wound Explained and Answered
When we are injured, it is normal to want to be with our dogs for comfort and companionship. Cuddling them is a guaranteed way to lift our spirits. But sometimes, our dogs take it upon themselves to try and help. One such behavior is the habit of licking our wounds when they see or smell them. But why do they do this, and should we even allow it? Let’s find out!
So, why does my dog lick my wounds? Your dog licks your wounds as a way to show care for you as a member of its pack. A dog’s natural instincts when injured are to lick at the injury in an attempt to clean and care for the wound. Dogs will do this to people they care about. Although, it could be that your dog likes the taste and wants more of it!
If you have had this happen to you, you are probably wondering why your dog would be interested in licking your wounds.
And there are reasons and benefits of this behavior, as we will find out in the following sections.
We’ll be exploring whether it’s dangerous for a dog to do so and some practical ways of stopping it.