Is this gross?

[goldengirlz]

Low stakes Friday question.

My ILs have a very spoiled dog. I like dogs okay but my mom was always afraid of them so I admittedly am not very experienced around them.

After we eat, my ILs let their dog lick our plates and utensils clean before they put them in the dishwasher. Even though I know logically that the dishwasher sanitizes everything, I still think it’s sort of gross. I mean, this dog will literally try to eat horse poop when we’re hiking.

Is this like … normal?

We have a cat and we let her lick us, but we never let her eat off our dishes!

[mala]

Pets eating off human dishes doesn't bother me, but letting your dog lick leftovers off plates is TERRIBLE for them, both behaviorally and because not all people food is good for dogs. 100% not normal.

[gummybear]

Eh. So, I think occasionally giving the dog a plate to lick if it has something doggy delicious on it (maybe like smear of PB) is acceptable, and of course not in front of guests. I think it is totally gross to use your dog as a pre-rinser for every plate and utensil, and abominable to do in front of guests.

This made me laugh bc when I was in my early twenties my crazy roommate made friends with the late middle-aged SEPTA train conductor and he invited her over to his house for lunch and she made me come and after he showed us his sword collection and fed us his wife put all the plates and utensils on the floor and let their dog lick them clean. And that was what horrified us the most. Many red flags in that scenario.

[followyourarrow]

I'm a dog person and still think this is gross.

[spindle92]

I'm not a dog person and think them licking anything, including anyone's face is disgusting.

[VillainV]

Aug 19, 2022 11:00:50 GMT -5 goldengirlz said:

Low stakes Friday question.

My ILs have a very spoiled dog. I like dogs okay but my mom was always afraid of them so I admittedly am not very experienced around them.

After we eat, my ILs let their dog lick our plates and utensils clean before they put them in the dishwasher. Even though I know logically that the dishwasher sanitizes everything, I still think it’s sort of gross. I mean, this dog will literally try to eat horse poop when we’re hiking.

Is this like … normal?

We have a cat and we let her lick us, but we never let her eat off our dishes!

Probably normal, but also a little gross. I also think it’s gross when people lick plates.

[agnes]

I let my dog do this when it's food he can have. So, I guess I'm gross. haha

[Susie]

I'm not grossed out by it, but it's not what I'd consider a good pet parent choice.  

Occasionally if one of my kids declines to eat something that is safe for my dog to eat, I'll scrape it into her dog bowl instead of throwing it away.  When my kids were babies/toddlers, that happened with scrambled eggs from time to time, and fish/shrimp that had only been sautéed in butter (no garlic, onions, etc.).  I'm really selective about what she (dog) gets though, so I wouldn't let her lick a plate because the odds that everything on it is ok for her is pretty low.  I also don't want her licking things in the dishwasher, mostly out of concern that she could lick something either sharp or bad for dogs to ingest.  As the kids get older and less of their food is single-ingredient, she rarely gets any human food at all.

[sofamonkey]

I mean, it’s not good for the dog for sure. It’s not totally gross for them to lick a plate here and there though.

Funny story, using my first marriage we had some friends over at my in-laws house for a bbq. We were cleaning up, and my mil let the dog lick the cutting board the roast had been on. We decided to play a trick on a friend, and once the dog was done, we put it in the cupboard under the sink. The friend asked if that was the pre-wash area, like where we put things before we washed them. I said no, it was just cleaned, so I just put it away away. Her eyes got so big! My mil and I cracked up so hard, and let her in on it! If anything, I’d clean things a little extra. Lol

[goldengirlz]

Aug 19, 2022 11:06:56 GMT -5 mala said:

Pets eating off human dishes doesn't bother me, but letting your dog lick leftovers off plates is TERRIBLE for them, both behaviorally and because not all people food is good for dogs. 100% not normal.

Well, that’s a whole other issue. The dog is obese. They give him all kinds of crap.

Somehow seeing him lick the plates doesn’t bother me as much as when he’s licking the utensils but today at breakfast my MIL was doing this while I was still eating and it was turning my stomach a bit.

[cmeon]

I've fork fed dogs- one was at end of life, one a complicated foster situation- I didn't throw away the forks. I trust our dishwasher.

But, it's obviously shitty table manners, and I would not do that in front of guests.

ETA: I'll add that I understand the gross-out factor. There is a lot - A LOT- I have to actively avoid thinking about to successfully eat in a restaurant or in someone else's home. This is just not one of those things for me, but plenty of my quirks aren't exactly rational, either.

[plutosmoon]

I think it's really gross, but I also think pets licking people is super gross. I think animals should have separate dishes from humans. My grandfather's wife used to do this same thing they hand washed all their dishes, they didn't have a dishwasher. I always thought it was something pet people did and part of why I don't usually eat at houses with pets. I am not a pet person.

[mrsslocombe]

I have zero logical explanation why-but licking a plate doesn't bother me, but the idea of a dog licking all the utensils is like 10/10 level gross.

But more than anything I would just judge them for it because it's bad for the dog. ALL of the dishes my god.

[dexteroni]

Yes it’s objectively gross, and yes we have done it, lol. Only once or twice and I would NEVER do it when we had people over. Doing it regularly is bad for the dog. That’s too much people food.

[newnamesameperson]

For me it's a hard pass. I've been at my in-laws house where they let their dog do this too. It's gross to me, but their house their rules before someone @s me on how there is something wrong with me...I know. Anyways, it bothers me to the point where internally I rather bring my own plate even though I guess I realize logically the plates are clean.

Also, I think it's not the best idea in terms of health for the dog and creating an environment where a dog expects people food...but eh, admittedly I'm not the most educated on animal health. Lol.

[fivechickens]

Growing up we had a bulldog that would put his front legs on the dishwasher door and lick all the plates clean. He did a really good job too. Lol

The only way it would be gross, IMO, is if the dirty dishes were put away because someone thought they were clean. Otherwise, the dishwasher cycle will clean the dishes right up.

I loathe dog licks.

[foundmylazybum]

We have a dog who loves to come to the dishwasher and "help out," by licking the dishes and utensils. We both do not encourage this behavior, but it does happen.


I feel like...this (plate licking and utensil licking) is a secret, personal behavior or habit that is acceptable in the family context, but maybe not with company.

[gummybear]

foundmylazybum fivechickens our dog thinks he's "helping" by going in the dishwasher too. Drives me crazy. I usually send him outside during clean up

[circa1978]

Aug 19, 2022 11:36:17 GMT -5 foundmylazybum said:

We have a dog who loves to come to the dishwasher and "help out," by licking the dishes and utensils. We both do not encourage this behavior, but it does happen.


I feel like...this (plate licking and utensil licking) is a secret, personal behavior or habit that is acceptable in the family context, but maybe not with company.

I'm here. HAVE our dogs licked things off our plates or grabbed a fork off the counter  - yes, that has happened in my 20 years of dog ownership. But I don't advertise it. 

[mofongo]

Gross, and I live in a zoo! If I have meat leftover or something the animals would like we put it in their bowl. Well, for the cats, with penny we just hand it to her.

If I did it, I’d never do it with anyone else over though. lol

But I’d be annoyed every night at a begging dog.

[expectantsteelerfan]

I'm a dog person, I have 2 spoiled dogs, I feed my dogs human treats (but I try to be healthy about it, my piggy dog gets slices of apple, cucumber, pear, green beans, etc. any time I'm preparing food for the actual humans. My other dog is super picky so only gets things like small bites of chicken/steak, cheese, yogurt, etc. But even I don't let them lick the plates, beg at the table, etc. I feed them from my hands when I'm giving them stuff, but anyone else has to give them food in their bowls unless it's like treats they are doing tricks for or something. My piggy dog does try to sniff the dishwasher when I'm loading it and I shoo her away and put a stop to that right away because I don't want her learning she can do that because heaven forbid she lick a clean plate when I'm unloading the clean stuff or something!

[dochas]

The utensils bother me more for some reason too, though I know it's not rational. I confess that I've let mine lick the bowl when I've made canned chicken or tuna but I wouldn't do it in front of people and dog tongue precleaning isn't part of our dishwashing ritual. LOL He definitely tries to "help" at the dishwasher and I chase him away every time. Why are they so obsessed with food?!?!

ETA - I do consider him to be spoiled too. My son gets a bowl of fresh fruit every night after dinner and the dog would die if he didn't get his too. He sits by my husband while he's cleaning and slicing the fruit and gets his sliced apples while my son eats his!

[Pilsy]

Hmm. I don't know how I feel about that happening behind closed doors - I've really never conceived of this happening, ever, anywhere - but I sure as heck don't like the idea of seeing it. Everyone does gross stuff privately, but that's the point: nobody else is subjected to it.

I do trust the dishes are clean after going through the dishwasher, so part of me wonders why it bothers me. But I'm back to thinking nobody needs to see that. And of course it's horrible for the dog, but that's not even the point here. More than anything, OP, I find this really weird. Like, why?? Are they eager to kill the dog? Do they know it bothers you and they like to get under your skin? Are your ILs generally socially clueless?

I'm tempted to start a thread about the grossest things we all do, but I don't need that on the spreadsheet. lol Who was the toenails person??

[foundmylazybum]

Aug 19, 2022 11:50:58 GMT -5 gummybear said:

foundmylazybum fivechickens our dog thinks he's "helping" by going in the dishwasher too. Drives me crazy. I usually send him outside during clean up

We practice "sit/stays" with moderate success during loads 🤣.


The force is quite strong during certain periods and loading the dishwasher is one of them!

[lilafowler]

My dog has never even seen or smelled human food. We feed her in a specialized vacuum chamber we got at iamaperfectpet.com. The 4th behaviorist/animal psychologist we hired (the first 3 jumped to all sorts of conclusions!) said that specialized organic raw dog food is best thing for dogs that need to eat.

[lilafowler]

I don’t actually have my own dog. I just borrow my mom’s.

[W.T.Faulkner]

I’m not eating at your house if I find out this happens there. I can’t imagine what happens behind closed doors with no company over, jfc.

[starburst604]

Our dog discovered that licking dirty dishes and utensils in the dishwasher is delicious so he'll try it anytime I'm loading it, but I don't let him. As for your in-laws yes that's kind of gross and also just a bad habit for the dog. If there are any leftovers suitable for a dog they should be put in the dog's dish.

[puppylove64]

I am a dog person and that is gross! Dogs leave a slimy film on dishes they lick. I don’t share dishes with the dog. I will toss her a leftover if it is something she would enjoy

[circa1978]

OK, I have a follow-up "is this gross" question. Do you put your dog's bowls in the dishwasher or how do you wash them out every day otherwise? Specially dedicated sponge? I'll admit that I do throw them in.