Tap water bad for dog?

whats this for?

I'd say it is, with all the Flouride and crap the clever people are having put in it, which is being linked to all sorts of health problems including flourosis.

I've being catching rain water for my new pup.

andreac

Ive never had a problem giving my dogs tap water and i dont know any dog owners that dont give tap water and i know A LOT of dog owners.

lorebringer

If it's good enough for me, then it's good enough for my dogs! I know a few people who buy bottles water for their dogs (madness IMO) but as long as there is no reason you would not drink it, there is no reason it would be bad for a dog.

CookieMonster.x

My dog usually prefers to drink out of pots outside than from his own bowl. He never really drinks from it unless it is fresh out in front of him and he is very thirsty and even then he drinks from pots.
I'd say it's grand though

kylith

I doubt flourine would do much damage as they'd have to be drinking gallons and gallons to get a large enou dose. Mine drink tap water, or from the pond.

Carol555

Same here. The water bowl is the last thing our dog will drink from. His favourite is watering can. Both dogs I had, liked the water that was standing in a container for a while, maybe they don't like the smell of chlorine?

TG1

I was giving my dog rain water collected in a water butt in our garden for a while, until I saw loads of tiny worms floating round in his bowl one day... He was put back on tap water after that!
since then we've had a filter tap installed and I've been using that as it's there and handy. He loves the filtered water and will drink it over puddles and rain water in flower pots which he never did with the unfiltered water.
That being said, he got unfiltered water for 7 years before any of this started and he was fine on it!:)

Whispered

One of mine will lick the patio before drinking from his saucepan. For AGES I was worrying and thinking there was a taste off the bowl. So he'd lick the patio, I'd pick up the saucepan and scrub it with boiling water. :rolleyes: Now I realise I'm being a fusspot and if he wants to drink off the patio then I leave him too it. When he gets thirsty and needs a proper drink he'll drink from his dish so it's fine.

Kali_Kalika

Its really suprising how many people state their dogs will not drink the water in their bowls but instead "prefer" rain water from pots, patios, etc etc - and noe one has realized the reason they prefer the rain water is because the water in the bowl is tap water. It tastes awful! I don't blame the dogs for not drinking it! The water that comes out of my tap smells stronger than the local pool does! And I don't see queues of people lining up to drink the pool water or fill their dogs bowls.

I refuse to use tap water in my house - I will only use bottled water. This applies to drinking, filling the kettle, cooking and teeth brushing. Showering and laundry and toilets are the only things that tap water are used for here. So back to the point - my dog only drinks bottled water as well. Anyone who has even spent more than 2 minutes looking into exactly what is in the water in this country wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole let alone put it into their bodies. Florosis is only the tip of the ice berg!

Someone gave my dog tap water (I didn't realize as I was still outside) and I came in and she had been gasping for a drink and was standing and whining at the bowl - even in desperation she wouldn't drink it! Animals are smart - they know whats good for them and not good for them. Tap water is a poision and they KNOW IT! That's why they avoid it and will prefer to drink "dirty" out of pots, or the back garden or ponds.

Please - if your love yourselves or your dogs - DON'T CONSUME TAP WATER. Its a poison! If you doubt me or what I've said - you are obviously online - pop over to google and do some research into it! I can highly recommend http://www.fluoridefreewater.ie/

mikemac

We've our own spring so the dog gets natural mineral water
The council water from the town is foul, very strong smell off it

But tends to drink from the tank up in the farmyard
Being a retriever he loves water and jumps in, drinking his bath water I suppose :rolleyes:

kylith

Kali_Kalika wrote: »

Its really suprising how many people state their dogs will not drink the water in their bowls but instead "prefer" rain water from pots, patios, etc etc - and noe one has realized the reason they prefer the rain water is because the water in the bowl is tap water. It tastes awful! I don't blame the dogs for not drinking it! The water that comes out of my tap smells stronger than the local pool does! And I don't see queues of people lining up to drink the pool water or fill their dogs bowls.

I refuse to use tap water in my house - I will only use bottled water. This applies to drinking, filling the kettle, cooking and teeth brushing. Showering and laundry and toilets are the only things that tap water are used for here. So back to the point - my dog only drinks bottled water as well. Anyone who has even spent more than 2 minutes looking into exactly what is in the water in this country wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole let alone put it into their bodies. Florosis is only the tip of the ice berg!

Someone gave my dog tap water (I didn't realize as I was still outside) and I came in and she had been gasping for a drink and was standing and whining at the bowl - even in desperation she wouldn't drink it! Animals are smart - they know whats good for them and not good for them. Tap water is a poision and they KNOW IT! That's why they avoid it and will prefer to drink "dirty" out of pots, or the back garden or ponds.

Please - if your love yourselves or your dogs - DON'T CONSUME TAP WATER. Its a poison! If you doubt me or what I've said - you are obviously online - pop over to google and do some research into it! I can highly recommend http://www.fluoridefreewater.ie/

If only we could all afford to pay €2 a litre for the stuff, but unfortunately it'd cost me about €50 a week for me, OH, and the dogs.

Much of the info on anti fluoridation sites is hyperbole and propaganda, IMO. Studies have shown that there are higher levels of bacteria in bottled water, and some bottled water companies have been found to be selling tap water anyway.

Kali_Kalika

kylith wrote: »

If only we could all afford to pay €2 a litre for the stuff, but unfortunately it'd cost me about €50 a week for me, OH, and the dogs.

Tesco do 5 liter bottles for under 2 euro. Dunnes also has 5 litres for under 2 euro. Aldi/Lidl also do cheap water but I don't like the quality of it. Its really suprising how many people can put a price on their health, their pets health and their kids health.

I, personally - cannot put a price on the health of anyone in my house! A mere 2euro for water (5 liters lasts 2 days in my house) its a bargain really in my opinion. But to each their own really - that's the joy of being free individuals!

Asphyxia

I've never had a problem giving my dogs tap water they drink it fine, on a hot day I might see them drinking from the empty follow pot at the side of the house but that's because it would be more cool in the shade.

Shanao

Honestly, I'm getting a bit fed up with the sudden inclination that just about everything can kill you. I drink tap water and so do my dogs and that's the way its going to stay. If I was that bothered about things like this, I'd stop using my mobile phone in fear that it'll give me a tumour, I would drinking alcohol (not that I drink much) as its going to ruin my liver, and I'd stop going out in the sun cos you know, i could get skin cancer. Like most of these 'deadly' things, I think its all extremely exaggerated. As long as you aren't drinking gallons a day then i'm sure you and your dog will be fine.

Besides, what about the materials that go into making the bottles that bottles water is kept in? Surely if they get into the water they're highly dangerous?

tricky D

kylith wrote: »

Much of the info on anti fluoridation sites is hyperbole and propaganda, IMO. Studies have shown that there are higher levels of bacteria in bottled water, and some bottled water companies have been found to be selling tap water anyway.

This. Just take a look at the 'ingredients' listed on the side of mineral water bottles. They're contaminants and often at very high levels. Eg. Ballygowan has 400mg/litre of bicarbonates which is very high and will scale up your kettle in no time. It's only in rare cases that public mains water is inferior to bottled water. Some local supply schemes, as opposed to public mains, do have significant purity problems, but in general mains is way better. Mains is tested continually, many times a day. Bottled waters are tested much less frequently, more like monthly, sometimes only 4 times a year. Blind taste tests consistently rank in the order: purified/filtered mains water, mains, then bottled waters.

Nevermind the costs for the consumer and the huge environmental burdens.

Justask

Never crossed my mind that tap water could be bad for them, but obviously its not, any dog I know drinks tap water. Mine all drink tap water. One is 13 and just grand

If its ok for me to drink then its grand for my dogs

Buying bottled water is mad IMO for dogs never mind the waste of water and building up on plastic bottles to bin. Maybe if you had a tiny dog, but for big mutts like mine I'd be broke :rolleyes:

kylith

Kali_Kalika wrote: »

Tesco do 5 liter bottles for under 2 euro. Dunnes also has 5 litres for under 2 euro. Aldi/Lidl also do cheap water but I don't like the quality of it. Its really suprising how many people can put a price on their health, their pets health and their kids health.

I, personally - cannot put a price on the health of anyone in my house! A mere 2euro for water (5 liters lasts 2 days in my house) its a bargain really in my opinion. But to each their own really - that's the joy of being free individuals!

Working out what I'd use
2 pints for tea/coffee per day
6 pints between me and OH daily (approx 3 pints each)
1.5 pints indoor bowl
1.5 pints outdoor bowl

So that's 5l per day, not counting cooking (do you use bottled water to cook?). At 1kg per liter that's 35kg a week which, considering that I don't drive, is a lot of weight to be lugging around, on top of the cost factor, and the environmental effect of producing so many bottles.

If I lived in a very hard water area I might buy bottled water, but since what comes out of the tap is fine I'll keep using that.

aisher

I use tap water and I dont see the problem. If I had a fresh water spring on my land then I would happily switch but I dont see the benefits of buying 'stale' water in a plastic bottle from a Supermarket - each to their own I guess.

Bill G

Kali_Kalika wrote: »

Please - if your love yourselves or your dogs - DON'T CONSUME TAP WATER. Its a poison! If you doubt me or what I've said - you are obviously online - pop over to google and do some research into it! I can highly recommend http://www.fluoridefreewater.ie/

Ok, did my "research" on google, and found that fluoridation has no negative impact on my health:

http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/guidelines/publications/eh41a

Oh, and love the link on the fluoridefreewater.ie site to the "the agents listed on page 192 of the report by the Department of Health and Children". They have added the title "Results of samples taken from Water Tanks" to the chart page. This is completely false! They are sample from the fluoride tanks taken before adding to water, so any concentration (e.g. arsenic at 1mg per kg) is diluted further in water at a rate of 1 part per million. So arsenic would be 0.000001 mg per kg of water. So please stop spreading your sciency mumbo-jumbo-floridation-is-evil jive and post any real evidence, as i have, for your beliefs.

axle108

whats this for? wrote: »

I'd say it is, with all the Flouride and crap the clever people are having put in it, which is being linked to all sorts of health problems including flourosis.

I've being catching rain water for my new pup.

have you thought about how clean this rain water is after your pup sticks its bacteria filled mouth into it , no offence meant . dogs sniff each others butts, stick their noses into just about anything they find, especially pups. personally i think its going too far with rain water and bottled water for dogs. incidently bottled water has a use by date, why. what about rain, how many pollutants are in the air.

mikemac

axle108 wrote: »

incidently bottled water has a use by date, why.

Plastic degrades, some of the bottles can be sitting in warehouses for several months

tricky D

axle108 wrote: »

incidently bottled water has a use by date, why.

mikemac wrote: »

Plastic degrades, some of the bottles can be sitting in warehouses for several months

.. and dumps leachates like: Bisphenol A (mimics estrogens and carcinogenic, not good), phthalates (carcinogenic and birth defects) and a few other toxins.

axle108 wrote: »

what about rain, how many pollutants are in the air.

From rain's own constituents and the surfaces it travels over: Bird pooh, mosses and lichens, windblown dust, particulates from urban pollution, pesticides, and inorganic ions from the sea (Ca, Mg, Na, K, Cl, SO4), and dissolved gases (CO2, NOx, SOx).

star-pants

I guess it might depend on where you live / what the tap water is like.
My little one is a divil for licking rain water off things out the back, yet she won't drink tap water in her bowl if it's been down for longer than an hour or so. She'll go over sniff it then look at you as if to say 'um I don't believe this is fresh?'. Soon as you put down fresh water (if you can get the bowl on the floor before her head is in it!) she'll have a big drink.
Then again, would you drink a glass of water that had been sitting out for ages either?

Carol555

I think that golden middle is the best option and I wouldn't limit my dog's water supply to a single source whether it is bottled, rain or any other type of water. It would only create a risk that the dog's tummy can get upset by any sudden change (what if you run out of bottles, what if the dog goes to kennels where they don't have rainwater, what if he drinks from somewhere where he shouldn't?).

Saying so each dog is different and what is good for one, can be a big 'nono' for the other.

axle108

star-pants wrote: »

I guess it might depend on where you live / what the tap water is like.
My little one is a divil for licking rain water off things out the back, yet she won't drink tap water in her bowl if it's been down for longer than an hour or so. She'll go over sniff it then look at you as if to say 'um I don't believe this is fresh?'. Soon as you put down fresh water (if you can get the bowl on the floor before her head is in it!) she'll have a big drink.
Then again, would you drink a glass of water that had been sitting out for ages either?

stagnant water, whether it is tap, bottled or rain water will contain drool. some dogs wont drink anything with a lot of their own drool in it. im not saying tap water is pure, just that i dont see the case to avoid it and supply either of the others which could contain other things.

Kali_Kalika

kylith wrote: »

Working out what I'd use
2 pints for tea/coffee per day
6 pints between me and OH daily (approx 3 pints each)
1.5 pints indoor bowl
1.5 pints outdoor bowl

So that's 5l per day, not counting cooking (do you use bottled water to cook?). At 1kg per liter that's 35kg a week which, considering that I don't drive, is a lot of weight to be lugging around, on top of the cost factor, and the environmental effect of producing so many bottles.

If I lived in a very hard water area I might buy bottled water, but since what comes out of the tap is fine I'll keep using that.

Its just myself, the dog and the cat so seemingly less than your house. So comparing who uses what isn't really going to factor into this debate really. 5L lasts 2 days in my house (on average, some days more - some less) Yes, I use bottled water to cook. Tap water never enters my system. So I use it to drink, cook with and brush teeth with it as well. Tap water/mains water is only used for laundry, toilets/sinks, and showering. I've only recently started driving myself, which yes, you win on that point - its alot easier to stock up. But before I drove myself I'd either try and combine shopping trips with someone who did drive or failing that - just buy 4 of them and home I'd go - yes it was a long, heavy trip home with them all - but again, (IMO) you can't put a price or amount of effort into your/pets health! The cost factor I cannot understand, at least in my world, I'd rather live long and healthy and not as wealthy and stick with the bottled water than to have a short, unhealthy wealthy life! Again - these are my opinions and I'm not forcing them on anyone! I respect anyones opinions (yes, we can debate opinions, but at the end of the day I'll never say you are hands down wrong for doing what you do or believing what you do). Regarding the environmental effect - many tesco stores also give you the option of bringing your own bottles and refilling them (I've had the water tested from the refilling option and it was confirmed to me that it was not tap water/mains water. The report read nearly the same as the bottled water on the shelves). So, yes you'd need to make the initial purchase of bottles but after this they can be refilled - which cuts down totally on the waste side of things. Its also cheaper to do the refilling than just buying them off the shelves as well.

lorebringer

Not wanting to get involved or anything (just want to throw it out there) but most bottled water, unless stated as "spring water" or from a specific source, is actually the same as (if not actual!) tap water. Some are filtered, some are not but if a company can get away with selling you tap water, slightly chilled, they will.

I'm sure you have heard of Dasani water (made by Coca Cola) being reprimanded for mislabeling their water (it was actually London mains water)?! Well, arising from this labeling of water has become very specific as to what companies can and cannot say - unless it clearly states "spring water" or from a listed source the likelihood is that it comes from a tap or a mains supply somewhere. Hell, even if it is called "Super Mountain Water" and says it comes from The Alps - it can still be from a mains supply (unless the specific source is named). There are a lot of people paid a lot of money to make sure the labelling does not violate any conditions but still make the product seem as natural and pure as possible. "Mineral Water" "Fresh Water" etc. are just a more sexy phrase for, you guessed it, tap water!

kylith

Kali_Kalika wrote: »

Its just myself, the dog and the cat so seemingly less than your house. So comparing who uses what isn't really going to factor into this debate really. 5L lasts 2 days in my house (on average, some days more - some less) Yes, I use bottled water to cook. Tap water never enters my system. So I use it to drink, cook with and brush teeth with it as well. Tap water/mains water is only used for laundry, toilets/sinks, and showering. I've only recently started driving myself, which yes, you win on that point - its alot easier to stock up. But before I drove myself I'd either try and combine shopping trips with someone who did drive or failing that - just buy 4 of them and home I'd go - yes it was a long, heavy trip home with them all - but again, (IMO) you can't put a price or amount of effort into your/pets health!

But you do accept that for, say, a family of four using maybe 15L of water a day spending money on water, spending money on petrol to transport the water, and storing 105L of water a week is just unfeasible?

The cost factor I cannot understand, at least in my world, I'd rather live long and healthy and not as wealthy and stick with the bottled water than to have a short, unhealthy wealthy life!

I have to disagree with you there; there is no evidence that people who drink bottled water live longer than those who drink tap water. Many millions of people worldwide drink tap water and live to be well into their 70s or 80s, some even live to over 100; all drinking tap water. As has already been said the fact that the water has been sitting around in bottles for, possibly, months means that levels of bacteria have been found that just aren't present in tap water which is properly flouridated and chlorinated.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100525140954.htm

Again - these are my opinions and I'm not forcing them on anyone! I respect anyones opinions (yes, we can debate opinions, but at the end of the day I'll never say you are hands down wrong for doing what you do or believing what you do).

You kind of do when you say things like "you can't put a price or amount of effort into your/pets health". You are insinuating that by using tap water people are negativly affecting their family's and pets' health.

Regarding the environmental effect - many tesco stores also give you the option of bringing your own bottles and refilling them (I've had the water tested from the refilling option and it was confirmed to me that it was not tap water/mains water. The report read nearly the same as the bottled water on the shelves). So, yes you'd need to make the initial purchase of bottles but after this they can be refilled - which cuts down totally on the waste side of things. Its also cheaper to do the refilling than just buying them off the shelves as well.

Plastic bottles are known to leach chemicals into the water. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090521141208.htm
And reusing bottles of water can lead to dangerous bacterial build up.
http://health.ninemsn.com.au/whatsgoodforyou/factsheets/694247/are-water-bottles-safe-to-be-reused
So there you go; if you wash them in hot water they leach cancer causing chemicals, if you rinse them in cold water you don't kill the bacteria that builds up in them.

I really don't care what you drink, tbh, just don't come on here insinuating that we don't care about our health, our family's health, or our pets' health by using tap water when you haven't done your homework on bottled water.

**Vai**

Tap water is fine for me and the dogs. Once you clean out their water bowls every few days of course. This fad of buying bottled water for everything is just another way to get people to spend money on frivolous products. I mean, theres flouride in your toothpaste but you dont stop brushing your teeth.

Its quite annoying when someone comes on preaching the evils of tap water when its obvious they have just been sucked into that belief.

axle108

**Vai** wrote: »

I mean, theres flouride in your toothpaste but you dont stop brushing your teeth.

well said. so flouride is getting into the ops system albeit in less amounts !

lrushe

When I hear things like this I sometimes wonder how people image dogs have managed to live with people for as long as they have :rolleyes:
My dogs will drink tap water, rain water, river water, heck they'll even enjoy lapping a muddy puddle when we are out on mountain trails and shock horror in 25 years I haven't had one die yet;)

Kali_Kalika

kylith wrote: »

But you do accept that for, say, a family of four using maybe 15L of water a day spending money on water, spending money on petrol to transport the water, and storing 105L of water a week is just unfeasible?

I have to disagree with you there; there is no evidence that people who drink bottled water live longer than those who drink tap water. Many millions of people worldwide drink tap water and live to be well into their 70s or 80s, some even live to over 100; all drinking tap water. As has already been said the fact that the water has been sitting around in bottles for, possibly, months means that levels of bacteria have been found that just aren't present in tap water which is properly flouridated and chlorinated.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100525140954.htm


You kind of do when you say things like "you can't put a price or amount of effort into your/pets health". You are insinuating that by using tap water people are negativly affecting their family's and pets' health.


Plastic bottles are known to leach chemicals into the water. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090521141208.htm
And reusing bottles of water can lead to dangerous bacterial build up.
http://health.ninemsn.com.au/whatsgoodforyou/factsheets/694247/are-water-bottles-safe-to-be-reused
So there you go; if you wash them in hot water they leach cancer causing chemicals, if you rinse them in cold water you don't kill the bacteria that builds up in them.

I really don't care what you drink, tbh, just don't come on here insinuating that we don't care about our health, our family's health, or our pets' health by using tap water when you haven't done your homework on bottled water.

Sorry if you thought what I was speaking about was a rant or insulting. All I can honestly say is it wasn't intended as such. It was merely my opinion. I certainly have done my homework and I'm happy with how I live. I've read enough into it to know how I'm choosing to live. And that is without fluoride.
The OP asked opinions on tap water, and I gave them. It is a public forum and we are all welcome to our different view points. Its quite clear that I stand incredibly alone with mine. That's fine. I wont argue anyones point or belief in what they do and how they live. And I'd hope that this same courtesy is returned to me as well.

As a side note to those who were suggesting that I use toothpaste containing fluoride - I certainly dont. The health food shop does a fantastic one with no fluoride and it actually cleans and whitens teeth better than any mainstream fluoride toothpastes I used to use. Again - this is just my opinion and my experience. For everyone of you who will knock this - hopefully there's one out there for everyone of you who didn't know that fluoride-free toothpaste exists and might change over. Again, this isn't slating anyone who does or wants to use fluoride toothpaste!

As many of you have gotten a bit ruffled at things I've said on this thread this will be my last post on this thread as I don't want to cause extreme controversy for the OP of the thread. And my appologies extended to the OP as well for the off topic nature this thread took.

**Vai**

Thats fair enough, you live a flouride free existence. I have heard of the flouride free toothpaste alright. Thats your own choice and fair enough if thats what gets you by. I just felt some of your comments about not wanting to take a risk with people and animals lives were a bit much. Bit overly dramatic considering we're only talking about tap water.