Can I keep a dog while pregnant? What should I pay attention to when keeping a dog while pregnant?

You can keep a dog while you are pregnant, as long as you pay attention to keeping the dog clean and hygienic during pregnancy, and the pregnant mother has less direct contact with the dog. Dogs are not carriers of Toxoplasma gondii and will not be infected with Toxoplasma gondii.

Can I keep a dog while pregnant?

When it comes to keeping a dog during pregnancy, many people will say that women should pay attention to cleanliness during pregnancy, saying that dogs carry a lot of bacteria and parasites, and are carriers of Toxoplasma gondii, so the fetus should be prevented from being infected with Toxoplasma gondii. Especially the elderly at home may think that the dog at home should be sent away, or even thrown away. But this will actually greatly affect the mood of pregnant women, especially for expectant mothers who have kept dogs at home for many years, and it is even more impossible for them to be willing to give up the dog. In fact, as long as you pay attention to the hygiene of pregnant women on a daily basis, bathe and deworm the dog regularly, and do a good job of daily prevention, there is absolutely no problem in keeping a dog during pregnancy.

Precautions for raising dogs during pregnancy

Before pregnancy: You should first do a toxoplasma antibody test, but pregnant women infected with toxoplasma generally have no symptoms and are difficult to identify. Therefore, you should go to the hospital for consultation before pregnancy, especially for high-risk women who have a history of adverse pregnancy and childbirth, low immune function, have pets at home, like to eat half-cooked meat or raw vegetables, etc., and must have a blood test to check whether the anti-toxoplasma antibody in the body is positive.

Pregnancy: While planning for the baby, the owner should also adjust the relationship with the dog. First, in order to prevent the dog from becoming overly dependent, the time spent with the dog should be appropriately reduced. Calculated on a scale of 10, it should be reduced to 8 or 6 from now on, and the dog should be able to entertain itself when left alone. For large dogs that need long-distance walks, for their health, it is better to entrust other friends to do it for you.

After giving birth: The ideal situation is to leave the dog in a pet hospital for 2-3 days before the owner returns home. It is most important to get familiar with the smell before meeting the dog, so let the dog smell the clothes and items with baby smell first. When the dog comes home, avoid meeting the dog immediately and never let them stay in the same room.

How Toxoplasma is transmitted

"Keeping a dog during pregnancy can cause infection with Toxoplasma gondii." We want to speak up for the dogs who can't speak. In fact, dogs are not hosts of Toxoplasma gondii. Like us, if they carry Toxoplasma gondii, they are infected from other channels. The only confirmed final host is cats. The main route of Toxoplasma gondii transmission is the ingestion of food contaminated by cats' body fluids or feces. Toxoplasma infection is ultimately through food ingestion.

How to avoid Toxoplasma gondii

The problem of Toxoplasma gondii is what worries everyone the most. Toxoplasma gondii has a great impact on the fetus and can easily cause miscarriage and stillbirth. However, Toxoplasma gondii is usually carried by cats, and dogs, cows, and humans are just hosts. It is generally not directly transmitted, and only contact with cat feces containing oocysts can cause infection. Therefore, pregnant women should avoid cleaning up feces and not eat undercooked meat to minimize the chance of infection.