It might be tempting to let your thirsty pet take a sip from communal water bowls – but a vet nurse cautions that these bowls could be exposing them to serious harm
It might be getting hot outside, but an expert has warned against letting your pet dog drink from communal water bowls for a major reason.
Communal bowls are commonly found outside of homes, outside of shops, or in parks frequented by dogs, and allow multiple dogs to drink out of them whenever they get thirsty. They are a dog friendly concept that many pet owners appreciate when out and about with their four-legged friends.
But, it does have some concerning downsides. Jade the Vet Nurse came onto TikTok to share the dangers of communal water bowls. She told viewers: “Whilst these bowls are put out with good intentions, they can often be a source of contamination. They can risk spreading infectious diseases through multiple dogs drinking out of them.
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“I don’t recommend that anyone let their dog drink out of these communal bowls, nor do I recommend you actually put them outside of your houses or shops or at the dog park.”
She continued: “The thing with these bowls is that you don’t know how long the water has been sat there. You don’t know if it’s fresh, if it’s stagnant. You don’t know the last time the bowl was cleaned or what it was cleaned with.”
She also added that you don’t know what other animals may have been drinking out of it. While these bowls are intended for dogs, they can also be accessed by pests like rats and foxes.
The reason why this is concerning is that the water can contain harmful germs. Jade warned that these bowls can spread dangerous parasites like roundworm, tapeworm, giardia and lungworm.
She explains that major reason for this is that water bowls are likely to attract slugs, who go “all around the edge of those bowls”, and which are known to transmit infections like lungworm.
Even worse, they can also spread deadly and infectious diseases like leptospirosis – otherwise known as Weil’s disease – kennel cough and canine papilloma virus.
She warned that communal bowls can also act as a kind of “reservoir” for bacteria, allowing for them to grow. This includes salmonella and E. Coli, which can make your dog very sick.
Of course, this doesn’t mean you have to let your dog go thirsty when out walking. Instead, Jade recommends: “Take a travel bowl and bottle of water and just stop occasionally to give your dog a drink.”
Dog-owners were quick to share their own tips in the comment section. “You can buy a bottle with a drinking dish attached to it and they aren’t expensive,” one wrote.
Another added: “Everyone saying their dog drinks from puddles and toilets, my dog only drinks freshly poured water. He never drinks from left over water in the bowl!”