A vet is advising dog owners to avoid letting their pets drink from shared water bowls and instead is encouraging owners to bring their own water supply, warning that communal bowls carry a risk of transmitting illness to dogs.
Jade, known on TikTok as @jade.the.vet.nurs, has gained over one million likes for her informative content on animal care.
Using the platform to educate and spread awareness, the registered veterinary nurse stated: “Don’t let your dogs drink out of communal water bowls.
“Communal water bowls are any dishes left outside someone’s home, a shop, or at the dog park. Essentially, they’re water sources accessible to multiple dogs, which increases the risk of disease transmission.”
Although it may appear to be a kind gesture, it can actually cause more harm than good. She emphasises that even with the best intentions, these bowls can become sources of contamination.
They pose a risk of spreading infectious diseases among dogs that drink from them. For this reason, she advises against allowing dogs to use these communal bowls and does not recommend placing them outside homes, shops, or dog parks.
Jade stressed that not only could it risk your dog getting a disease and being sick, but you don’t know how clean it is, and if it’s been cleaned at all.
She continued: “You don’t know how long that water has been sat there, you don’t know if it’s fresh, if it’s stale, you don’t know when the last time that bowl was washed or what it was cleaned with, and you don’t know what other animals have been drinking out of it because don’t forget, wildlife can drink out of these bowls as well.”
From foxes to rodents, these animals can “spread parasites like roundworms, tapeworm, giardia, and lung worm, because again, you’re going to get slugs that come up and go all around the edge of those bowls which is a great way to transmit lung worm.”
Communal bowls can “also transmit infectious diseases, such as Leptospirosis” which she says is commonly spread through rodents from drinking or entering the water bowl.”
Kennel cough and parvovirus are also common issues she warns with these bowl also being the ideal “reservoir for bacteria to grow such as salmonella and E. coli, which can really upset your dogs tummy.”
So whilst these dogs are put out with good intentions, she concluded: “I strongly advise any dog owners to not let your dogs drink out these water bowls.
“If you want to take some water with you, take a travel bowl and a bottle of water and stop occasionally to give your dog a drink. But please don’t let your dogs drink out of communal water bowl.”
Backing up her claims, Pets4Homes adds there’s even more dangers lurking around you need to be aware of.
They warn: “There is a large variety of illnesses that your dog could catch from dirty bowls or indeed, dirty and infected lakes, puddles etc, some of which just give them a nasty tummy upset (that’s bad enough in the house, for both of you), but there is a potentially devastating cyanobacteria that can have deadly consequences.
“No wish to alarm you, but this is more prevalent in the summer months, and can not only be contracted through drinking, but also it can be absorbed through the skin.
If you notice really bad smelling water, it could contain BGA (Blue Green Algae) which can be seen on top of the water, which is why it gives off such a stench. It can form almost anywhere there is water.”
