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by Bob-O on 16 April 2010 - 03:04
It is fine at my home. All of the dogs here drink tap water - but there is a difference. I have a whole-house water filtration system that removes chlorine, ammonium (the purifying agents) from the water, as well as cysts and heavy metals. Our unfiltered water is safe (by federal standards) to drink, but it has a foul odor since it comes from a local lake.
I also have a pond in the front yard that is fed by a creek, but seldom does a dog drink from it. I am more concerned about the pond water, since it has leachate from agricultural fertilizers as well as the animal waste from the neighbour's farm.
In days past, chlorine was the only purifying agent added to public water supplies. But of course it evapourates and becomes ineffective. Hence, the use of ammonium to bind the chlorine and keep it suspended in the water. This mixture is referred to as chloromet, and it is more insidious than the chlorine alone.
I also have a pond in the front yard that is fed by a creek, but seldom does a dog drink from it. I am more concerned about the pond water, since it has leachate from agricultural fertilizers as well as the animal waste from the neighbour's farm.
In days past, chlorine was the only purifying agent added to public water supplies. But of course it evapourates and becomes ineffective. Hence, the use of ammonium to bind the chlorine and keep it suspended in the water. This mixture is referred to as chloromet, and it is more insidious than the chlorine alone.
So is tap water safe for dogs? I think it is. For puppies? Now, that is where I would err with caution if I did anything at all.
Best Regards,
Bob-O
by CrysBuck25 on 16 April 2010 - 04:04
I think most dogs do okay on it, but our old dog that passed away in December of 2008 had a real problem with tap water.
She was about twelve and began having bladder leakage problems. She would leak urine all the time, leaving puddles where she laid down, leaving a trail of dribbles wherever she walked. It was very messy, smelly and annoying, but we dealt.
When we moved out of town to a piece of land in the country with a nice well, the dribble problem, previously ascribed to the weak bladder of an elderly dog, cleared up completely, and she never left a mess again, until the night she died, at sixteen. If I drink tap water for more than a brief period, I find that I have issues with bladder infections, and nausea. On well water, no problem. So I believe that some dogs, and some humans, do not do well on tap water, while others are fine with it. Like everything else in nature, something that bothers one critter may not bother another...Just depends on the individual, I guess.
Crys
She was about twelve and began having bladder leakage problems. She would leak urine all the time, leaving puddles where she laid down, leaving a trail of dribbles wherever she walked. It was very messy, smelly and annoying, but we dealt.
When we moved out of town to a piece of land in the country with a nice well, the dribble problem, previously ascribed to the weak bladder of an elderly dog, cleared up completely, and she never left a mess again, until the night she died, at sixteen. If I drink tap water for more than a brief period, I find that I have issues with bladder infections, and nausea. On well water, no problem. So I believe that some dogs, and some humans, do not do well on tap water, while others are fine with it. Like everything else in nature, something that bothers one critter may not bother another...Just depends on the individual, I guess.
Crys
by steve1 on 16 April 2010 - 05:04
All my dogs during 60 years and living to over 16 years none less than 14 years old have always had Tap Water to Drink
i for one will not go out to buy Bottled water to drink myself I drink water from the Tap and i am still about after doing it for a long time
I cannot afford to spend money on bottled water and even if i could i would not
My Water bill costs me about 1500 USA dollars a year, over here in Belgium and to then go out and buy water to drink is really taking the P--S if you get my meaning
Steve1
i for one will not go out to buy Bottled water to drink myself I drink water from the Tap and i am still about after doing it for a long time
I cannot afford to spend money on bottled water and even if i could i would not
My Water bill costs me about 1500 USA dollars a year, over here in Belgium and to then go out and buy water to drink is really taking the P--S if you get my meaning
Steve1
by Dawn G. Bonome on 17 April 2010 - 20:04
I drink ONLY tap water. Chicago water is very good!
I WILL NOT buy bottled water, as I think it tastes bad , (odd tasting) from the plastic bottle. The ONLY time that I would buy bottled water would be if I was traveling to a different State, and the water is different, and the dog is not used to it, and WOULD NOT want the dog to get an upset stomach.
Dawn B.
I WILL NOT buy bottled water, as I think it tastes bad , (odd tasting) from the plastic bottle. The ONLY time that I would buy bottled water would be if I was traveling to a different State, and the water is different, and the dog is not used to it, and WOULD NOT want the dog to get an upset stomach.
Dawn B.
by starrchar on 18 April 2010 - 01:04
Chlorine is a carcinogen and is in most, if not all municipal drinking water. There are numerous research studies that show chlorine in our water is part of the problem with the increase in cancer and other health issues in both humans and animals. Yes, I know that is only part of the problem. The other issues are the air we breathe, the food we eat, the medications we take, the pesticides we use (although I don't use any anymore) and houses we live in. At least water is something I have a little control over. We get our water from our personal 200 ft. deep well and our drinking water goes through our reverse osmosis system, so our dogs drink the water we drink. I also don't feed commercial dog food and am very conservative about vaccines and other "preventatives". Will all I do for myself and for my dogs really be of any help? I don't know, but I am doing the best I can do with the knowledge I have and the money I make! I think that is the goal of most people. Who is right? Only time will tell.
by steve1 on 19 April 2010 - 12:04
Starrchar
Yes, if i had Well then i too would use that to drink and give to the Dogs, But few people have that opportunity, So anyway all my life i have had Tap water to drink, it has not done me any harm that i know of besides one can never put any illness problem to one specific thing there are as you say too many
But i refuse to spend money on Bottled water for me or my Dogs To me it is one big money making racket which the gullible people fall for
Steve1
Yes, if i had Well then i too would use that to drink and give to the Dogs, But few people have that opportunity, So anyway all my life i have had Tap water to drink, it has not done me any harm that i know of besides one can never put any illness problem to one specific thing there are as you say too many
But i refuse to spend money on Bottled water for me or my Dogs To me it is one big money making racket which the gullible people fall for
Steve1
by GSDtravels on 19 April 2010 - 13:04
...and all of the bottles end up in the doldrums. Google "plastic in the doldrums" if you want to see where the bottles end up. Scary stuff.
by Jyotisdad on 19 April 2010 - 14:04
If travelling would you simply drink the unknown quality of the water at your destination or would it be better to purchase the water locally. If the bottled water is found to be contaminated you can sue the butt off the vendor.
The plastic can be recycled, or, as is more common here, just lob it out of the window when you have finished it?
by GSDtravels on 19 April 2010 - 15:04
When I was going across/around the country last year, I bought gallons at the supermarkets. I also had a large 2 gallon Brita with a spout, to use in a pinch. I always had at least 3 gallons of water, plus the Brita. Of course, at times, I purchased small bottles for convenience, but for the most part used the largest quantities I could find.
by hodie on 21 April 2010 - 01:04
For anyone who cares to think logically about this subject, it might be useful to know that:
1) Chlorine is NOT a carcinogen, on ANY list anywhere. This includes the U.S. EPA, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) who lists just a little more than 100 known human carcinogens because that is what the data says. Other agencies include the National Toxicology Program and others involved with listing known, probable, or possible human carcinogens. Simply because a high dose experiment demonstrates some carcinogenic potential in a given rat, for example, does not mean at all that this same chemical would be carcinogenic to humans.
2) Research is finding that many cancers are caused by genetics.....missing genes, DNA errors, for example.
3) Misconceptions abound about cancer and this is a good article to read to get some perspective:
http://potency.berkeley.edu/pdfs/misconceptions.pdf
4) Waterborne diseases used to kill in this country, just 100 years or so ago, thousands and thousands of people. In third world countries today, the overwhelming majority of people lack clean drinking water. They often become ill and/or die because of this lack of clean water.
5) It is useful to understand how carcinogenicity is tested. It involves testing certain species with HIGH DOSES of the substance of interest. In most cases, such high dose exposure does NOT exist in the real world.
A useful link for people with little or no toxicology background is:
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ped/content/ped_1_3x_known_and_probable_carcinogens.asp#What_is_a_carcinogen
It is important also to note that the exact composition of water all over the planet varies considerably in constituents. In general however, it is a mistake to be drinking distilled or deionized water. One misses out on important minerals doing so. To suggest that drinking water from a tap caused a dog to leak urine is silly. It may be that the dog had a UTI that cleared up. Some of the other stuff here is good, if you are into incorrect information.
Water pollution in our country is a concern because people dump all kinds of things into it, including RX drugs, chemicals, and things we won't talk about. The drinkable water on the planet, 97% of which is water, is only 3%. It is very, very important to make water conservation a priority. It is equally as important to make sure that we don't as a species, continue to pollute the limited amount of drinking water available. But in many parts of the world, people have little or no drinking water available that a drop of chlorine would not make drinkable and safe. In the next 50 years, more and more people will be struggling to find drinkable water. And here we are, lucky to have a sanitation system that early in the 20th century was non-existent and resulted in many deaths from water borne diseases.
I strongly suggest people read the article linked above to see what the statistics really are as concerns the "causes" of cancer. Secondly, if someone wants to pay $2 for a bottle of water, often what is exactly what you would drink from the tap, be my guest. In my state, most of the water in bottles is no different than what comes out of the tap, and in some cases, some minerals are added back in. Many of the claims made on this thread simply are not correct.....
1) Chlorine is NOT a carcinogen, on ANY list anywhere. This includes the U.S. EPA, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) who lists just a little more than 100 known human carcinogens because that is what the data says. Other agencies include the National Toxicology Program and others involved with listing known, probable, or possible human carcinogens. Simply because a high dose experiment demonstrates some carcinogenic potential in a given rat, for example, does not mean at all that this same chemical would be carcinogenic to humans.
2) Research is finding that many cancers are caused by genetics.....missing genes, DNA errors, for example.
3) Misconceptions abound about cancer and this is a good article to read to get some perspective:
http://potency.berkeley.edu/pdfs/misconceptions.pdf
4) Waterborne diseases used to kill in this country, just 100 years or so ago, thousands and thousands of people. In third world countries today, the overwhelming majority of people lack clean drinking water. They often become ill and/or die because of this lack of clean water.
5) It is useful to understand how carcinogenicity is tested. It involves testing certain species with HIGH DOSES of the substance of interest. In most cases, such high dose exposure does NOT exist in the real world.
A useful link for people with little or no toxicology background is:
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ped/content/ped_1_3x_known_and_probable_carcinogens.asp#What_is_a_carcinogen
It is important also to note that the exact composition of water all over the planet varies considerably in constituents. In general however, it is a mistake to be drinking distilled or deionized water. One misses out on important minerals doing so. To suggest that drinking water from a tap caused a dog to leak urine is silly. It may be that the dog had a UTI that cleared up. Some of the other stuff here is good, if you are into incorrect information.
Water pollution in our country is a concern because people dump all kinds of things into it, including RX drugs, chemicals, and things we won't talk about. The drinkable water on the planet, 97% of which is water, is only 3%. It is very, very important to make water conservation a priority. It is equally as important to make sure that we don't as a species, continue to pollute the limited amount of drinking water available. But in many parts of the world, people have little or no drinking water available that a drop of chlorine would not make drinkable and safe. In the next 50 years, more and more people will be struggling to find drinkable water. And here we are, lucky to have a sanitation system that early in the 20th century was non-existent and resulted in many deaths from water borne diseases.
I strongly suggest people read the article linked above to see what the statistics really are as concerns the "causes" of cancer. Secondly, if someone wants to pay $2 for a bottle of water, often what is exactly what you would drink from the tap, be my guest. In my state, most of the water in bottles is no different than what comes out of the tap, and in some cases, some minerals are added back in. Many of the claims made on this thread simply are not correct.....
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