Dog owners have been reminded of the importance of keeping their pets’ environment and belongings clean to prevent the spread of diseases.
One item often overlooked by dog owners is their pet’s food bowl. According to research conducted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2022, 22 per cent of dog owners clean their pet’s dish once a week, while 18 per cent wash it every three months or not at all.
The study highlighted that this “poses significant health risks to pets and pet owner”, as it creates a breeding ground for harmful bacteria like salmonella and listeria. Salmonella and listeria can cause symptoms such as diarrhoea, fever, stomach cramps and nausea in humans. These symptoms can be more severe in pregnant women, children, adults over 65, and those with weakened immune systems.
Dr Sean McCormack, head vet at tails.com, is urging pet owners to wash their dog’s food bowls after each use to prevent illnesses. Speaking to the Mirror, he said: “Just as we wouldn’t eat repeatedly from the same plate with leftover food remains nor should our pets. Residual food can lead to bacterial growth over time, and some of those bacteria are potentially harmful not only to our pets but also ourselves.
“Our pets also don’t tend to have the best oral hygiene unless we are brushing their teeth daily, so allowing food and water bowls to go days without washing can make for some pretty unpleasant and unsanitary surfaces for them to eat and drink from.” Dr McCormack advises pet owners to clean their furry friend’s dish and scooping tools “every day to be on the safe side”. He suggested: “Washing them with hot, soapy water and a scrubbing brush daily is a good idea.
“It’s probably a good idea to separate pet washing utensils from our own, again due to the risk of cross contamination of bacteria our pets may cope with just fine but could cause illness in humans.” He highlighted the importance of this practice for households with young children, elderly members, those who are immunocompromised, or pregnant individuals.
Addressing the topic of doing pet dishes in the family dishwasher he said: “This is particularly important if you have young, old, immunocompromised or pregnant people in your household. This is another reconsideration whether you wash your pets dishes in the family dishwasher or separately.
“Some people don’t mind mixing them in, but we all have our own hygiene ‘icks’, and if you want to be totally safe I’d recommend washing pet food and water bowls separately.”
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