Dog Saliva Hypothesis

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Introduction

It has long been said, even in biblical references (Luke 16:19-31) that dogs have somewhat of ‘special powers’ with regards to their healing abilities. (Patching, 2008) In some areas of the world dog saliva would be used as an antibacterial because it contains some similar properties to that of disinfectants, which would theoretically be able to kill harmful bacteria in wounds and aid in the process of the healing.
If a dog has an open wound, the dog is likely to lick the wound in order to ensure that their saliva has direct contact with the open sore to prevent growth of bacteria that could lead to infection.
Can the same be done to bacteria infecting human wounds, by use of the dog saliva? If it would be possible to use a substance …show more content…

The wide availability of the dog saliva disinfectant makes it easier to produce.
The means of gathering the dog saliva are humane and would in no way hurt the animal or hinder it in being able to survive and care for it.
Research Question: Is dog saliva effective in killing bacteria?
Hypothesis:
It is hypothesised that dog saliva will be effective in killing bacteria.
Aims:
To prove that dog saliva has the ability to kill bacteria. To find possible uses for dog saliva as a disinfectant. To compare the effectiveness of dog saliva as a disinfectant to commercial …show more content…

I think that it can be fairly said that the dog saliva was effective at killing bacteria as is most cases the application of dog saliva to the bacteria colonies resulted in the majority of the bacteria being killed. A visible reduction in the amount of bacteria in the petri dishes could be seen after the introduction of the dog saliva to the bacteria colonies.
As one of the aims was to find uses for dog saliva as a disinfectant, if the dog saliva does not have its own pathogens or harmful bacteria it can be humanely gathered and used as a temporary disinfectant for human wounds in the more rural areas where it is difficult for people to afford commercial brands of disinfectant.
In comparison to commercial disinfectants, dog saliva as a disinfectant, is much weaker that the household detergent. The household detergent kills more of the bacteria than the dog saliva does.
It can be made a generalisation that dog saliva can kill bacteria, and that dog saliva can be used as a disinfectant. Because the majority of the results in the experiment reflected that the dog saliva was effective.
Therefore with regards to the experiment done, it had been proven that the hypothesis was accurate and dog saliva can kill bacteria.
It is then easy to say that many myths about the healing properties of dog saliva are scientifically

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