Mum defends letting her dog lick baby's face
A mum has sparked an online debate after sharing that she allows her dog to lick her baby's face.
26-year-old mum Linzi, known as @linzz_xo on TikTok, shared a series of photos alongside captions about 'things we do as parents that not everyone agrees with'.
The first image shows a snap of her little girl in her cot as Linzi explained that she and her partner moved the tot into her own room at four months old.
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Apparently her daughter 'absolutely loves it' and has been sleeping an impressive 12 hours since going in there - every parent's dream!
The next image of her little girl, thought to be called Daisy, grinning at the camera.
Linzi wrote next to it as she shared her second controversial way of parenting: "Absolutely NO DUMMIES! She doesn't rely on any comforters and she found her voice at 4 months old. She loves chatting away and said her first word (Daddy/Dada) at 5 months old."
Next showed baby Daisy led on the floor next to a black Labrador pooch as Linzi revealed that she allows her dog to 'lick her and give her kisses'.
Apparently her daughter 'absolutely loves [the dog]', but Linzi assured her TikTok followers that she doesn't leave the pair alone together.
Linzi went on to add in the comments section: "We try not to [let the dog lick her] but occasionally he does, it doesn’t hurt her but some things can’t be avoided."
In another post, the mum-of-one said: "We didn't do tummy time til she was ready. Whenever we tried, she cried. So we did it when she was ready, which was about 3-4 months old."
Linzi's next controversial statement was sharing that she didn't wash her baby's clothes before she wore them.
"If it was in a pack, we left it there," wrote Linzi.
She also noted that baby Daisy came early so she wouldn't have had the chance to wash the clothes even if she had wanted to.
Elsewhere she said that she doesn't sterilise any baby toys and, sometimes if they're in a rush, Daisy's bottles.
She also shared that she never used a baby bath - Daisy just bathed with them instead.
As Linzi expected, not everyone agrees with her parenting techniques and took to the comments section to discuss them.
Addressing her letting the dog lick her baby, one person said: "The dog thing is just disgusting sorry!! I'm a dog lover but absolutely not.
"You should see how much dirt and bacteria a dog had on its tongue."
Another added: "Please don't allow them to lick/kiss her - she's beautiful!"
While it looks sweet and the dog obviously means no harm, American Kennel Club has echoed similar sentiments to some concerned parents on TikTok and urges parents to not let their dog like their baby's face.
The advice, as per its website, reads: "A dog’s mouth carries a lot of germs, which can easily be passed to people.
"This is especially problematic for babies and immune suppressed adults. Both are at an increased risk of contracting infections and parasites from dogs. So, even though it may look cute, a dog licking a baby’s face should not be allowed."
Niamh Shackleton