You might want to think twice before accepting a furry kiss

They are loyal and provide you with unconditional love, and they will also be there to protect you when you need it, and to thank them for all this love and support many of you will cover your dog with kisses.

But stop!

Your furry best friend is carrying numerous nasty bacteria all over its mouth and when you pucker up for your pooch you are opening yourself up to potentially fatal infections.

Experts got together to explain why limiting your kisses to the air variety is much better for your health.

Professor John Oxford, emeritus professor of virology and bacteriology at Queen Mary, University of London, and an expert in microbiology, says it’s a ‘no go zone’ for a dog to lick his face, no matter how clean and fresh the dog smelled.

“It is not just what is carried in their saliva,” he says. “Dogs spend half of their life with their noses in nasty corners or hovering over dog droppings so their muzzles are full of bacteria, viruses and germs of all sorts.”

Well, when he puts it like that..

Salmonella, campolybacter that cause diarrhoea and gastroenteritis are carried by dogs and passed on through their poo, while e coli that can lead to diarrhoea, vomiting and dehydration can be transmitted by dogs. However, by far the worst condition is that dogs also transmit toxocariasis, a parasite that can cause cysts to develop in the brain and the eyes leading to blindness.

So while having a dog is good for your health and wellbeing in many ways, puckering up and giving your pup plenty of kisses is definitely not one of them.

Do you have a pet? How has it changed your life?