Can pets cause sicknesses in people??

[steppy104]

i want the dogs to sleep in my room! my parents keep saying "NO you'll get sick!" and blah blah...i don't ever recall getting sick because of our dog or my guinea pigs. i don't remember anything about the sickness that got sadie kicked out of my room. but i know it wasn't allergies, and i know it hasn't been bothering me lately, since i have re-invited sadie to sleep in my bed....my parents hate the idea, but i have been letting her sleep with me for a few weeks now. i DID get sick a couple weeks ago, but i am fine and dandy now....it was tonsillitis, which i looked up some stuff on it and did not see anything that connects pets to it.

so, besides the obvious allergies, which i DON'T have, or else 2 dogs and a gpiggy would be killing me....or at least affecting me, can being with hairy animals on a constant basis (sleeping with them everynight and living with them) make me sick in anyway?

i'd prefer something more than opinions....maybe doctors websites, or a detailed explenation...i'll be lucky if i can pound a detailed explenation into my dads head without him inturupting by saying "ME NO CARE, THEY STUPID...ME SMART...UGH UGH"....

ANYWAYS....any details on things? maybe something short-sweet and straight to the point? an opinion that can be backed up?

(a way to get both dogs in my room )

 

[Mr Miagi]

Hehehe. The eternal struggle....Parents Vs children....lol

The transfer of internal parasites (Intestinal Worms etc.) can be recieved by humans from dogs and cats when the animal has direct contact with your face and if u do not wash your hands immidiatly after any contact with your pet or its acssesories. (dont know if thats spelt right) For example, your pets toys it has just slobbered all over.

But other that, i was just wondering, why u would want to sleep with ya dogs anyways....lol.

http/mdmd.essortment.com/dogparasite_rzvn.htm

 

[Inchworm]

Hi steppy104

When I got my cat Pandora, she had some kind of skin disease called, "ringworm." This caused her to lose big patches of hair, but fortunately it cleared up by itself.

I caught it from her and wound up with big red patches on me. I wasn't as lucky as she was since I had to go to the doctor to get medicine to get rid of it.


____
BTW, how is Sadie doing these days?

 

[steppy104]

sadies doing much better than she was....ever since we got the puppy, she's slept less and played more....she even starts her own games of tug-o-war with blue! she used to snarl and bark when another dog tried to take her toys....until she figured out that her play-buddy can be something other than human, and still be fun! lol.

i want to sleep with my doggies because i like having someone with me at night. i have a nice full size bed with plenty of room for the both of them and me....and besides, they both love my bedroom....i used to call sadie to my bedroom every night to go to bed, but now i don't gotta....thats how it all started....she was in my room and i just let her stay in there....so she kept comin back everynight....

ok...i know the ringworm and parasites...lol. so there is yet to be proof hairy things costs sickness?

 

[Mr Miagi]

Why dont u ask your Vet, he/she would definately now. AND he could check your dogs for anything while your there. ??

 

[Maya~4Ix12chen]

I know how you must feel steppy. My parents were the same way about our dog by not letting him sleep with us. I guess that's their way of avoiding any unseen trouble that could arise from letting them sleep with you.
But now that I am older, I have 2 Labrador Retrievers & I sometimes let them crawl up in bed with or sleep on the couch as I watch tv (of course only when my husband isnt home) . he is not as avid an animal lover as I am

But my dogs are with me pretty much every where I go so why not sleep near by if not right in bed

I'll give my pros & cons of the idea

PROS: You feel safe, they keep you warm, your bond with them seems to get stronger, they won't let you over sleep lol, if there is any type of danger you'll be the first person they wake up! & Plus it just feels good to have your babies close to you

CONS: If they are bigger type dogs they can step on your stomach & other sensitive parts if they jump in or out of bed, If they happen to be sick or have eaten something that didn't agree with them there is always the possibility they can't make it out of the bed in time before an accident!!, if they havent been bathed in a while they'll stink you out!! also shed all over your blankets that MOM has to wash.

And of course the parasite thing, but that has never happened to me.

Also I know dogs have some pretty heavy dreams, but I have never heard of them biting someone in their sleep... so I am not sure if that's something to worry about.

 

[steppy104]

both my doggys are healthy and don't have any parasites or sicknesses themselves....my dad was just thinking that their dander n stuff can make me sick.....never heard of that happening to someone without allergies though....i dunno...i think he's just makin up crap, or has false beliefs.

as for the dogs stepping on people n wutnot, both my dogs are medium sized...it wouldn't hurt TOO bad if they stepped on me. lol. it might be a different story when Blue grows up though....the vets keep telling us how big he's gonna be. while they're cooing at him n stuff they say "oh my, your gonna be a big boy! yes you are!!" but i'd trust him to sleep through the night. sadie does.

 

[RandomWiktor]

If your dog is vaccinated, on parasite preventatives, and is generally kept clean, there are not many diseases you can catch from him. However, pets can most definately cause sickness in people; did you know it is speculated that you can actually get fish TB from handling ill fish? Diseases that hop species are known as zoonoses, and can be very serious! Parasites can sometimes be equally serious. Here are some common ones as examples:
- TB (From fish, cattle, elephants, etc.)
- Rabies (from saliva of infected mammals)
- Campylobacter (feces)
- Salmonella (from feces of reptiles, amphibians, and birds)
- Ringworm (fungal)
- Lyme disease, bartonella, babisiosis, ehrlichiosis, rocky mountain spotted fever (from ticks on pets)
- Bubonic plauge (from fleas on animals)
- Roundworm (racoon feces, undercooked meat)
- Brucellosis (Cattle)
and many, many more.
A link to zoonoses by species:
http/medicine.bu.edu/dshapiro/zoo1.htm

So, your parents concerns are founded in fact, though I think they have an exaggerated idea of how often these things happen; as I said, if you keep your dog healthy, chances are it won't give you anything.

edit: as a note to everyone talking about allergies/dander: lots of exposure to hair and dander, such as having the animal sleep with you, can either increase your immunity to hair/dander allergies, or make them a whole lot worse. Everyone's individual tollerances are different; some people will work with cats their whole life and never have a sniffle, some people will start going into anaphylactic (sp?) shock.

 

[steppy104]

thanks for the info....

my parents aren't worried about diseases....if they worried about that, we probably wouldn't have any pets at all. lol.

they're just thinking of common sicknesses...colds....tonsillitis...scarlet fever....any fever....

things like that.

 

[NinjaSmurf]

I've never gotten sick from our pets, but I know that when we had ferrets they used to catch colds from us Then it was just a mass of us all sneezing throughout the house lol. The only trouble I've ever had from sleeping with pets is either my stepdads dog decided I wasn't allowed to move while she was sleeping whit me (she was promptly kicked out of bed lol) or when I had kittens, and they thought anything that moved under the blanket was something to kill, or would wake me up by licking parts of my face. Cat's rough tongue+sensitive eyelids=pain!

 

[steppy104]

lol! neither of my dogs are aggresive towards people...just eachother.

my sadie still hasn't fully gotten used to blue, and growls at him when he tries cuddling with her. other than that, sadie doesn't mind that i move alot during the night.....and blue sleeps like a rock, so i don't think anything would bother him. lol.

 

[Sorrell]

When my husband is home we sleep with three cats on the bed and two dogs on the floor. When he's out of town I sleep with three cats and four dogs all in bed with me Calafornia King bed, fills up fast

I would think if the dander would make you sick it would do so in the daytime as well

 

[steppy104]

ya...but at night time i'm sleeping in all the hair that sadie has shed the night before....my face is all in it and wutnot...in the day, my head is away from the hair covered areas....not that i'm trying to side with my dad or anything...lol....