# Can you catch a dog's cold?



## jonomo (Jun 13, 2007)

I've been having this argument with my wife last night... So I just need to settle this...

If a dog has a cold, can it be transfered to humans?

My wife is convinced she caught the dog's cold...


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## dansamy (May 15, 2007)

No. Dogs do not get the "common cold" that humans get. Their URI are caused by bacteria and virii that do not infect humans. While kennel cough sounds just like whooping cough and is, in fact a mutation of the same originating virus, it is still a different organism. She didn't get a cold from the dog. There are zoonotic illnesses, most commonly several types of worms, but respiratory infections aren't among them.


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## jonomo (Jun 13, 2007)

Ha!!! That's what I pretty much told her!! thanks for the info...


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## tirluc (Aug 29, 2006)

that would depend on how fast you are  ....sorry, couldn't resist 

but, honestly, i don't believe that you can.....as mentioned above, i believe they are 2 different strains.....but i also don't believe that you can catch other things from them unless you are totally unsanitary.....


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## borzoimom (May 21, 2007)

The only animal that can catch a "cold" is a guinea pig- and that is from the PEOPLE not from the guinea pig to human- ... Guinea pigs can catch ours though...


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## SFury (Apr 12, 2007)

I don't know about colds, but there are some virii that can cross between animals and humans. There aren't many, but it can happen.

The most common animal that can transfer diseases between humans and themselves are cows. Our symbiotic relationship with cows has made this possible.


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## dansamy (May 15, 2007)

SFury said:


> I don't know about colds, but there are some virii that can cross between animals and humans. There aren't many, but it can happen.
> 
> The most common animal that can transfer diseases between humans and themselves are cows. Our symbiotic relationship with cows has made this possible.


The virii responsible for the syptoms we label "the common cold" aren't zoonotic, meaning we can not acquire a cold from an animal. 

Yes, guinea pigs can catch the common cold from humans. 

There are zoonotic illnesses, but the most common ones that we get from household pets are worms and other parasites, which a little prevention easily prevents.


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## Chloef_2799 (Feb 1, 2007)

haha....this reminds me of a funny story. A friend of mine had a cat and it had been sneezing for a few days. Well a few days after this started she got the flu really bad. After she healed the cat was STILL sneezing so she brought it to the vet and said she was SURE that the cat must have made her sick. Well the vet checked the cat over and determined that it was not sick....it was allergic to her very dusty carpets!!


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