Stagnant doggy drinking water

[catfancier]

Hi everyone

I'm trying to work out whether stagnant drinking water is harmful to dogs (and other pets). I'm talking about the type of water that is just left sitting in bowls/buckets/puddles to the point where it attracts green algae.

Does anyone know whether algae affects the quality of the water and if it is potentially harmful to pets?

Would you leave your dog's drinking water for so long that the container began to grow algae?

Thanks very much
catfancier

[IRescue452]

Blue-green algae is deadly to humans and pets if consumed, even the tiny bit that might be swallowed while swimming can be deadly. There are many websites addressing this issue. I post signs at our dog park each summer when the algae starts as well, warning against letting dogs use the pond. I change my animals' water daily, all animals, even the mice.

[mr.chiwawa]

Mister has one of those running drinking fountains for that very reason. Plus he loves to play in it. :p :rolleyes: And with the filter I get peace of mind :D

[pitc9]

Inside the dog water bowl is emptied everyday (thanks to the water buffalo I call Buddy :rolleyes: ) and I clean it a few times a month.
It never gets slimy.

But I have a 5 gallon pail outside that I keep near the garden hose and I dump it and refill it once in a while and I have to make sure to remember to wash it out once in a while. Only once have I seen the bottom of it getting green and slimy. I felt so bad. :(

[moosmom]

Would you leave your dog's drinking water for so long that the container began to grow algae

Um, let me put it this way...would YOU drink green water????

[Taz_Zoee]

The water bucket that my brothers dogs use in the kennels gets green and slimy. It makes me SOOOO angry!! :mad: :mad: If I ever leave Zoee there I will stop and clean out the water dish completely. I can't believe they let their dogs drink out of it. OH, and the water bowl at their house gets icky too. All they do is refill it. When I'm there I clean it out then fill it.
I don't say anything because I don't want to anger my big brother. He is, afterall, always watching Zoee for us. So I just quietly (well, most of the time I'm quiet about it :p) take care of it myself.

I had read a story before, I'm sure it was here on PT, about a dog that went swimming in a lake or something then died a few hours later. And it was due to the algae in the water. The dog wasn't even "drinking" the water. It was just the small amount that the dog accidentally ingested while swimming. Probably swimming out and fetching toys. :(

[cyber-sibes]

I had read a story before, I'm sure it was here on PT, about a dog that went swimming in a lake or something then died a few hours later. And it was due to the algae in the water. The dog wasn't even "drinking" the water. It was just the small amount that the dog accidentally ingested while swimming. Probably swimming out and fetching toys. :(Yes, it happened a couple summers ago. Not all algae is toxic, but there was a toxic bloom in the lake the dog was in.

I clean my dogs inside & outside water bowls every few days. They certainly don't seem to mind drinking from puddles after a rain, but I try to prevent them from drinking puddles in streets when we're walking, I figure they are full of gas & oil runoff from the road..

[lute]

Irefresh my dogs water every couple of hours. Sometime more often if it has fur or something in it. I wouldn't want to drink it. Why should they? I wouldn't doubt it a bit it could kill an animal or human.

[lizbud]

Um, let me put it this way...would YOU drink green water????


That's one way to put the water question. :)

There no need to worry about water bowls at my house, I refresh and
fill it several times a day. My pups & cats love clean water. I wouldn't
let my animals drink any water that I wouldn't drink. :)

[Catlady711]

I'm not positive about stagnant water in a drinking bowl, however there is a possibility of a dog contracting Giardia from stagnant/contaminated water from say a pond, or puddle. I wouldn't think it would be far fetched for them to get Giardia from a drinking bowl if it was stagnant and contaminated.

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977277273

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex736

[Rachel]

We have two water bowls in different locations in the house. Each is filled with fresh water twice a day and thoroughly washed about twice a week. They are both stainless steel. Hannah is very picky about her water being fresh. If she feels it is not up to her standards, she will make it known that she needs fresh water by scratching on the toilet bowl. I think this is her way of saying...*I'd rather drink out of the toilet bowl than that water that has been sitting there all day.*

[Seravieve]

We have two main water bowls, one upstairs and one downstairs. Both are stainless steel bowls. The bowl upstairs gets filled every day. They seem to drink it dry right before bedtime. The bowl downstairs is a little bigger, gets filled maybe every two days. They also have little bowls (That attach to the side walls) in their crates. Those get refilled less often, but I watch them for any kind of 'floaters'... ie hairs, backwash, build-up, etc. Never seen algae in our bowls. But I'd never let them drink it if there was.

[catfancier]

It's so great to hear that you are all so pro-active in keeping your pets' bowls clean. I work for a pet-sitting company and more often than not unfortunately, the drinking bowls are stagnant and have the slimy green algae in them.

I have read articles about the toxic blue-green algae that grows in lakes and ponds and can't imagine what it must be like for an owner to lose their dog so quickly.

I imagine that the green algae that does grow in water bowls is the same type that grows in fish tanks, and is stimulated to grow by the sunlight. I understand that green algae grows when there is too much sunlight and brown algae grows when there is not enough.

I try to make sure that my clients keep their pets drinking bowls clean and avoid the green algae, but I'm still not 100% sure if the green algae would actually be harmful to them.
I imagine that if it got to a point where the bowl was coated in the algae, it could cause stomach upsets or diarrhoea but as yet I haven't actually seen any proof of this, hence why I'm asking.

Can anyone give a definitive answer as to what the presence of green algae could lead to?
And once again, I am so glad that you all provide only the best care for your wonderful fur-babies.

[moosmom]

I've emailed my brother who is a Chemical Engineer. I'll let you know what he has to say.

I've googled it and get tons of sites that SELL devices to prevent algae. So that was basically no help.

[moosmom]

Well, my brilliant millionaire of a chemical engineer brother said water isn't chemical engineering, but in his opinion, it's not a good idea to drink it.

Well DUH!!!! And to think my parents spent thousants of dollars on his education. *sigh*

[Tora Oni]

Well as far as I know Stagnant water isn't good for anyone. I mean stale water isn't but when its been sitting there for days it kinda can get pretty nasty, expecially being in a bowl open to the air.