Traveling With Your Dog

When dogs get hurt, they lick their wounds. Those who know about animals have said that dog wounds heal without infection when they lick them. Is there something to dog saliva being applied to a wound? If it works for dogs, will it also work for people?

High school students, in two unrelated experiments decided to test the effects of dog saliva on bacteria. Since dog saliva healed dog wounds without infection it was assumed that their saliva contained substances that killed bacteria. Before, people had always believed that to be licked by a dog was unsanitary and dirty. These students could prove otherwise with their experiments.

In both cases, saliva was collected from dogs: one, from the dog drool and the other, swabbed directly from the salivary glands of different dogs. In each case, the saliva was applied to bacterial mediums in the lab. The results, the saliva did kill several types of common bacteria including E. Coli and Streptococcus canis. Also, it was discovered that the saliva contained some bacteria.

Then there is the story of a medical case from the United Kingdom. A man’s leg was saved by his dog, a Jack Russell Terrier. The story goes that the man was hurt in an industrial accident. He had to have surgery for his injuries and he came through it pretty well. As a result of everything he developed Sudeck’s Atrophy. This condition caused the muscles to wither and die.

The man noticed weakness in his leg and this he found out, was the reason. Over time the condition worsened. The man’s dog began to lick his withered leg. He would lick the limb every day for several weeks. The limb was still deteriorating and doctors thought that the only way to save him was by amputating the leg before it was too late.

Then, something strange and wonderful happened. The leg began to get better. The man reported feeling in the limb again. He could even move his leg. Nerve stimulation was produced from the constant licking by his dog. The man’s leg was healed and he no longer needed an amputation.

While this incident and the experiments by the high school students prove that there is something to the theories about dog saliva, no one is in a hurry to create a salve from the stuff. What may be in order is more serious study of the properties of dog saliva. We know of some effects that it has but on a larger scale, it is still virtually untested.

Experiments done on human saliva in London revealed the existence of antimicrobial agents. Human saliva produces nitric oxide on the skin from nitrite in the saliva when you like your hand. The nitric oxide is known to kill bacteria. So, maybe all saliva has some type of medicinal properties.

So, is dog saliva the next wonder cure of the decade? I don’t think so. While the phenomenon exhibited is extraordinary, without more study, it is still just that—a wonderful phenomenon.

Fran Gratton

Fran Gratton RubMyBellyToo.com POB 107 116 Gay Street Phoenixville, PA 19460 610-933-5810 888-558-3837

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Phillipians 4:13