Dog licked public bathroom trash. Can she catch or spread disease?

There are a couple of diseases that a rat can give a person, but it's very unlikely it could be spread this way. Bacterial and parasitic diseases usually require a certain amount be ingested before they cause disease. It would take more than a lick to the outside of the mouth to give a substantial amount. There are some scary diseases like hantavirus that can be spread quite easily though. However, it is relatively rare. The best thing you can do to rule-out disease is by taking the rat to a state laboratory for testing. The government has disease monitoring laboratories that will examine and test the body for diseases of concern in your area. You can call your local vet, or Texas A&M veterinary diagnostic laboratory (https://tvmdl.tamu.edu/) for more information. Otherwise, I would not worry too much. It appears that you have done a good job washing away any potential contaminants and it would be rare for you to have contracted anything. If you happen to feel ill in the next week, then please contact your doctor and mention the rat incident. I hope that helps and all is well.

I am sure that was a very lovely surprise! Of course there are no guarantees what s/he chewed on but many dogs do this without us even knowing and without any long-term concerns. I think you are right to keep your dog from licking your child for a while, just in case, as well as monitoring your dog for diarrhea. Be aware that peroxide can cause vomiting in dogs. If you would like something topical to spray on, you could try something like this: Finally, it would be a good idea to discuss checking for internal parasites with your vet as these can easily be transmitted to children. They can typically screen for them with a simple stool test. I hope this is helpful!

There is no chance this person will get rabies from being licked. Rabies is only passed via a bite from an infected animal, and if your dog did have rabies, you would see signs such as foaming at the mouth, loss of appetite, weakness, seizures, sudden change in personality, and disorientation among others. There is no need to worry. There has been no cases of human rabies acquired in the UK since 1902. The last recorded case of human rabies was in 2012, but the patient acquired rabies in India after being bit by a dog. I would recommend having your dog vaccinated for rabies, distemper, parvo, canine hepatitis, and parainfluenza for her health.

While I'm sure the game would be funny and entetaining. I do have a few concerns. There is always the potential for a person to accidentally be bitten on the face if the dog is over stimulated while trying to lick the food. Secondly, the dog could develop vomiting and diarrhea from too many snacks of human food. Finally, while it is uncommon, dogs can spread parasites to humans.

Rabies is usually transmitted by saliva being transferred into a wound. If your dog is vaccinated against rabies and had no wound in the area where he was licked, then the risk of him getting infected with rabies is small. However in the future do not let your dog interact with street dogs. They can have not only rabies, but also mange, distemper and other communicable diseases.

The only way to know if a dog was infected with rabies is to monitor for signs of rabies. The test for rabies uses brain tissue so it can't be done on an alive animal. There is a 15 day window of time from when an animal can transmit rabies until the animal would be showing clinical signs of rabies and then death. If there is no history of a bite wound on the pet dog than the likelihood of rabies is very low. If you ever see any signs of rabies than have him/her examined by a veterinarian. There are other diseases that can be transmitted to humans, like Ringworm, Salmonellosis, Leptospirosis, Campylobacter infection, Giardia infection, Cryptosporidium infection, Roundworms, Hookworms, etc. If your dog was examined by a vet and appears healthy, vaccinated, as well as treated for common intestinal parasites than it is not likely you will get an infection from him/her, especially if you have a normal immune system. Use a monthly heartworm pill that also contains a dewormer, like Heartgard or Interceptor to decrease the chance of your dog getting intestinal parasites in the future.

Hello. I would not be overly concerned. While there are some important safety warnings for use in people, this generally involves long-term & full dose contact. Emma licking a small, diluted amount will not present any danger to her at all. I would not worry one bit about this. She will be fine. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.