What happens if you don't clean your dog's water bowl?
Sallie Waelchi
2025-06-23 18:04:05
Count answers: 7
Failing to regularly wash your dog's food bowl could pose health risks not only to your pet but also to you.
The research, carried out by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), explored the feeding habits of dog owners and evaluated the impact of FDA's hygiene protocols on contamination in dog food dishes.
According to the FDA, this lack of cleanliness poses significant health risks to pets and pet owners as it creates a breeding ground for harmful bacteria like salmonella and listeria.
Both these bacteria can cause symptoms such as diarrhoea, fever, stomach cramps or pain, and nausea in humans, with more severe symptoms in pregnant women, children, adults over 65, and those with weakened immune systems.
Exposure to contaminated dog food can have implications for canine and human health.
For example, there have been multiple outbreaks of both humans and dogs becoming ill after exposure to dog food contaminated with pathogenic bacteria.
These risks may be amplified in households with children and/or immunocompromised individuals, which were over a third of respondents' households.
Proper storage also prevents your pet from getting into his own food and eating too much or getting into your cat's special diet food.
Overeating or eating food that is meant for another pet can lead to health problems, such as vomiting, diarrhoea, or more severe conditions.
If you feel inside the bowl and it's slippery, that's most likely biofilm, a thin layer of bacteria that have been able to grow since the last cleaning.
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