Dogs are “dirty”……… but despite the muddy paws, continual hair shedding and drooling/slobbering, we love them.

Most of us – there are exceptions.

The exceptions are seldom against dogs per se – what is not to like about tail wags of love and devotion. Dog friendships are unconditional and can be beneficial.

The problem is the DIRT.

But dog dirt is special ……

Home microbiomes

You’ve heard of your gut microbiome – the trillion or so bacteria, either living or passing through, your Hotel Colon & Entertainment Centre. But, it is not just your inner world that has been “invaded” by microorganisms, they’ve moved you’re your house too.

They’re

• on the bread board
• chilling in the refrigerator
• catching forty winks on your pillow case
• watching your favourite TV shows
• guarding the doors
• sitting on the toilet seat

And just like your gut microbiome is unique, whose sharing your house is unique too – everyone’s home is a little bit different.

This is what the research from the Wild Life of our Homes initiative has discovered.

Looking for wild life in suburbia

The Wild Life of our Homes is a big research project, which is taking advantage of advances in DNA sequencing, to explore our home microbiome. The team specifically looked at the 16S bacterial rRNA gene, which is characteristic of bacteria.

In the first part of the study, the research team went on a wild life safari in 40 homes in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina, in the USA. Nine different spots within each house were swobbed and then analysed, to create a picture of just who was who, in the zoo.

Not just paint and furniture is different

We are NOT ALONE, the team found 7,726 different kinds of bacteria in the forty homes. Everyone’s home was a little bit DIFFERENT, but there were some common patterns.

• Kitchen surfaces, tended to have fewer bacteria, probably a reflection of ALL the cleaning that goes on in a kitchen. The types of bacteria were also those most often associated with food.
• The loo seat, pillow and door handles had a lot more microbial activity, the bacteria on these surfaces, were those typically found on and in, humans
• The door frames and TV set, showed the highest diversity of species, the bugs on these surfaces were most associated with soil and leaves, suggesting they blew in with the breeze.

At this stage, the research does not include enough homes to assess the impact of housekeeping routines, on the home microbiome.

But the presence of a dog, DEFINITELY impacts the house microbiome.

Who let the dogs in – woof, woof

Houses with dogs have EXTRA bacteria.

Yup, just like we leave a trail of our bacteria behind us…. so do dogs. So homes with dogs, have dog microbes EVERYWHERE, and I do mean everywhere, they’re on the TV set and the pillow case.

Plus…. a lot more soil bacteria – courtesy of those muddy paws.

Oh dear ! Your fears / reservations are not unfounded….

YOUR DOG IS CAUSING A GERM INVASION !

Not really a germ invasion

They’re not necessarily GERMS, they’re more often than not, good bacteria, not bad bacteria that cause disease. 132

WE NEED MORE GOOD BACTERIA IN OUR SQUEAKY CLEAN WORLD.

When these good guys are missing, our immune systems have a tendency to get a little bored – causing inappropriate immune responses, leading to auto-immune diseases.

PLUS

In the dog-eat-dog microbial world , when good bacteria dominate, the bad bacteria can’t get up to mischief.

In the dog house

Cultivating the RIGHT microflora helps create BETTER BODY CHEMISTRY. You want to live in a DOG HOUSE, to ensure you’re exposed to lots of good bacteria.

PS. If you’re really can’t handle the dirt that comes with having a dog as a pet or you live somewhere that doesn’t allow dogs, make sure you choose friends who have dogs and then visit often, this is what I do !

Further reading

If you need to bring peace to the board room, hire a dog	A hairy hound in the house help little lungs relax	Playing dirty on the sports field encourages the coming of germs

Want to learn more tips and strategies to create Better Body Chemistry ?

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