By Catherine Guthrie

Fido may be cute and cuddly, but can your dog make you sick?

While you won't catch a cold or a cough from dogs (or give them one, forthat matter), you may be in for other troubles. Just keep in mind that thehealth benefits of cohabiting with a canine far outweigh the potentialcontamination. Simply petting a dog lowers your blood pressure and heart rate.And in one study of heart attack survivors, dog owners were 8.6 times morelikely to be alive a year later than people without dogs. But here's thequestion: When Spot comes to plant a slobbery kiss on your cheek, should youdodge?

Absolutely, says Lisa Conti, a veterinarian and director of the division ofenvironmental health at the Florida Department of Health. "Dogs havebacteria around their mouths you don't want on your face." Every year, morethan 200,000 Americans get stomach flu after ingesting a common bacterium foundon the tail ends of dogs?and cats?called campylobacter. Another easilytransmitted bacterium is salmonella, which causes diarrhea and fever in humans.The bugs get around thanks to the typical canine meet-and-greet sniffing, andan innocent kiss can pass it to you. "Dogs lick themselves all over, sothese germs can be on the dog's nose when it's nuzzling you," says PeterRabinowitz, MD, associate professor of medicine at Yale School of Medicine andan expert in pet-related infection.

Now that you're ducking dog kisses, you should probably plan to wash upafter heavy petting. Soap and water are your best protection against ringworm,one of the most common infections dogs pass to people. A fungus like jock itchand athlete's foot, ringworm spores can lurk on a dog's coat or muzzle. Everyyear, ringworm makes the leap from pets to people an estimated 2 million times.Signs of ringworm include circular, scaly red patches on the skin. In dogs, thefungus can surface as hair loss or dry, flaky skin. "I'm not saying don'tpet your dog," Rabinowitz says, "but I am saying to wash your handsafterward."

Less icky but no less irksome is poison ivy. Although the plant's tenaciousoil won't bother Spot in the slightest, it can spread from his fur to your skinfaster than you can say "no jump." So if you think your pooch came intocontact with the plant after a frolic through fields and forests (maybe eventhe backyard), get out your gloves and give him a bath. "If it'slow-growing ivy, you may be able to get by with just washing the dog's feet andlegs," Conti says.

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Original Published on: June 1, 2008

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From O, The Oprah Magazine, June2008 ? 2008 Harpo Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.