Is it true that a dogs saliva has antiseptic qualities?
No, the antiseptic qualities of saliva do not outweight its infectious qualities. Dogs lick their own wounds to aid in healing, this is to some extent true; some enzymes found in mammalian saliva speed healing. A dog licking your wounds will introduce new bacteria and increase the risk of infection. Humans and most mammals have the same enzyme (I think it’s called lysozyme, anyway it sounds like lysol 😉 and dogs do not have any extra special antiseptic qualities to their saliva. In clinical matters, when a dog bites another dog and the wound is deep enough to require stiches a drainage hole is left because of the infectious qualities of canine saliva. Kissing your dog is mostly safe, having him lick open wounds is not so much.
