Study: Kissing Your Dog Can Transmit Disease

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Don't do it, dogbreath.

That's the conclusion of a study that looked at what could happen when owners kiss their pet dogs. Turns out it can cause gum disease.

Japanese researches took dental plaque specimens from 66 dogs and 81 people from the families who own them. Several different kinds of bacteria found in more than two thirds of the dogs' mouths were found in their owners'. One - Porhyromonas gulae - was found in 13 humans and each of their dogs.

"These results suggest that several periodontopathic species could be transmitted between humans and their companion dogs," reads the conclusion in the Archives of Oral Biology.

Vets at the Animal Medical Center in Manhattan said the study doesn't prove conclusively that kissing dogs poses any danger.

"Dogs have a lot of bacteria in their mouths," Dr. Ann Hohenhaus told the New York Daily News.

"Dogs have been kissing me on the mouth and licking my face for years and I've never had a problem," Fran Grimaldi of the Staten Island-based Anarchy Animal Rescue told the News.

Would you still kiss your pooch after the results of this study? Let us know in our comments section.