Should I leave my dog's water bowl outside?

So taking this into account – allowing your dog to drink from a communal water bowl is fine if you know it has been recently cleaned – however in most instances you will not know when the bowl was last cleaned, so it could be risky allowing your dog to drink from it. Often left outside cafes, pubs and pet shops – these bowls are seemingly left there for our convenience, but have you ever stopped to think how safe these are for our dogs, or wondered how long the water has been stood there for? A bowl left out at a park, for instance, may never have been washed properly, whereas a bowl left outside a pet shop, you would presume gets washed at least daily. If you need to let your dog use a communal bowl, it may be worth asking the owner of the shop or pub to wash it for you, just to be safe. Plastic communal bowls are possibly the worst type of bowl to allow your dog to drink from, as they are so easily scratched, chewed and generally damaged, creating a breeding ground for germs and nasty bacteria. There are a number of different bacteria and parasites that your dog is at risk of from water bowls. A number of pubs and restaurants that are dog friendly now keep clean bowls behind the bar which are to be asked for, which is brilliant as you know your dog is the only one who will be using it and it will be cleaned between dogs.

Many of us are likely to sit our pet’s water and food bowls outside in the summer months for them to enjoy their dinner or a cool drink in the good weather. But did you know that our pet’s bowls need to be cleaned just as regularly as the dishes we eat and drink from especially if they are left outside. If your pet’s bowls are left outside, they should be cleaned twice a day, due to the increased risk of contamination from insects and plant debris. Studies have shown that pet bowls are the third most contaminated item in the household and are a breeding ground for bacteria and germs, such as Salmonella and E. coli that can make you and your pets ill. Ideally, after every use. It is recommended that bowls are washed and cleaned immediately after your pet has finished eating to avoid bacteria growth.