[The hygiene of keeping dogs in city apartments]

16 family households with school-aged children and 15 elderly couples without children were questioned about their views on the hygienics of holding dogs in their apartment. The dogs of each household were clinically treated three times at intervals of four weeks. Samples were taken of dog feces and smears were made of the oral mucosa, skin, feeding dishes, water bowls and of their resting places for parasitological, bacteriological and mycological examinations. Families with children had a more positive attitude towards keeping a dog in the household than did elderly couples who had no children. At the beginning of the investigation all dogs were clinically healthy; most dogs had been dewormed and had received the usual vaccinations. On checking for ectoparasites, there were only two cases of dogs with fleas. An examination for endoparasites and the mycological examination were negative except for two unrelated and insignificant cases of dogs with Toxocara canis. The bacteriological examination demonstrated that among the majority of healthy dogs the very low concentration of bacteria of test areas remained unchanged. There was no difference between the two groups of households as far as the concentration of bacteria was concerned. In outbreaks of diseases such as occasional diarrhea and dermatitis there was a large concentration of E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus in all test samples. The lack of adequate hygiene leads to an increase of bacteria and to an extreme increase of pathogenic bacteria (staphylococci, Pseudomonas aeruginosa). During the study no one became sick (including children) and there was no food poisoning with staphylococcus although the dogs' feeding dishes and water bowls stood in the kitchen. Salmonellae could not be demonstrated. An assessment of the results of the study confirms that keeping dogs in city households does not pose a danger to the health of humans when hygienic conditions are good.