Do you let your doodle drink from the common water bowl at the dog park?

[Pat & "Tucker"]

Everyone is being very kind by bringing a gallon jug of water to the dog park to fill the water bowl (s).  I do not like Tucker drinking from it at all but it is very difficult to keep him away.  I bring my own bottle of water and offer it frequently hoping he will stay away from the bowls  One dog had a big slobber hanging from his mouth! Gross.There must have been at least 15 dogs drinking from one bowl. Does anyone every wash it-I wonder.  What do you all think?  It really isn't a healthy thing in my mind. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I would drink from that bowl myself before I would let Jack drink from it. There can be a lot worse than slobber in there.

[Kathy Spyker]

I know what you mean!!Yuck.. I know its a nice gesture, but when I see someone filling a bowl I call Lilly and try to get her to go another way. I do take my own bowl and water for her but I keep it in the car. It dosen't look healthy to me either.

[laurie lehr]

We bring our own water and dish because Jasper tends to guard the dish , also he has also had gotten the papilloma virus which may have been passed on by sharing the water dishes from other dogs . I would try to keep your dog out of the public one .

[Lee Seidman]

We just spent $245.00 at the vet after two visits to the dog park. Lexi developed a terrible case of Diarreah and the vet put her on an antibiotic, had to give her fluids to hydrate her and a shot to control the diarreah.. We can not say that she caught it from the common water dish or elsewhere, but I do know of one dog that had some problems, and saw another spit up three times after drinking from the common bowl. I do not know the solution other then everyone brings their own water and eliminate water in the park.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I don't go to "dog parks" that are just big fenced public yards where everyone stands around in one area. We go to the big forest preserve dog exercise parks, and walk the trails, or go off to our own area of the field and play ball. They don't even have water bowls at this kind of place. They have pumps for water, and you bring your own container or just let the dog drink from the flow from the pump.
If your only choice for exercising your dog off-leash is the kind of place that has a communal water dish, I would get a group of owners to lobby whoever runs the facility to rid of the common bowl. Or walk the perimeter of the park, go play ball away from the bowl, and give your dog a drink away from the other dogs. It's much safer.

[Adina P]

We have a fountain at our dog park...and someone left a bowl there and that's what they all use. I'd have to steal it to get rid of it and the next hour or day someone else would bring one to replace it. Sad, but true.

[Pat & "Tucker"]

Yes- the only place to be off leash around here except for the back yard!. I've only been to the dog park twice -two different ones and both had the common water bowl. I think it is good place for for socializtion / play once in a while but not routinely a good place to visit. The parks are not in my township so I really don't know the key people to talk with or to educate. I would recommend though to anyone involved in creating a new dog park in their area to make this one of the rules- "No water bowls" on the ground! Being in hospital epidemiology, this sort thing turned me off to the parks. Adina- good idea to snatch them- if I was there alone, I would have done that! The people have no clue to whats lurking in those bowls.

[Adina P]

When we went to the dog park it always kinda grossed me out too. I mean regular 'ol dog slobber of an otherwise healthy dog is not a big deal and won't hurt another dog...even if it looks gross. But I was always afraid of some dog having giardia or some other communicable disease and giving it to my dogs. However, even if I brought my own water dish and water...the chances I could KEEP any of my dogs from drinking out of the communal bowl was -0- -- he's way too fast and the park is too big for me to stay next to him even though I keep my EYES on him.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

We don't go to the dog park any longer, but the one that we did go to on a couple of occasions had an interesting set up. There was the spicket that you turned on that flowed water down into a dish of sorts, but the dish had holes in it so that the water never stayed in it but long enough for the dogs to get a little drink or drink from the flow from the spicket. The dogs could never just walk up and get a drink, you had to turn the water on for them and you could sort of rinse out the dish before they got their drink. Our girls never got far enough from us that we had to worry about their going to get a drink and I always took water for them in the car, but I thought it was an interesting set up. Gotta agree with everyone here though that I wouldn't want them drinking from a communal bowl!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

This started me thinking. I don't take the dogs to a regular dog park, but Guinness used to go to Daycare where there were communal water bowls. There is also an indoor park at our training facility where I have taken Guinness to play...also the communal water bowl. Since we got the puppy I haven't been, but at some point I will be back on occasion. I'm thinking that presents the same concern, although I'm assuming the bowl is at least washed with some regularity at these facilities, because they are extremely clean. Anyone else have problems with this at Daycare? Perhaps I should be talking to them about how often that water is changed and the bowls are cleaned.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Peri goes to daycare and boards there from time to time. I really can't worry about the drinking water they leave out there - they have to drink and communally is the way they do it most of the time. I think if you are using a really good place, the facility should be cleaning those out - I see them do it on the webcams, so I am not too concerned.
It is always a risk with daycare and boarding - you know your dogs are just more susceptible to sickness, even though the places require vaccinations, etc....

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I agree. A decent daycare asks for proof of immunizations, and hopefully would also notice if a dog had diarrhea, coughing, or other signs of illness. I think there's a big difference between strange dogs in a public park, and the dogs at a trustworthy daycare facility.
One issue with the water bowls at dog parks is that wild animals also have access to them during off-hours. (during the hours they're open, no sane squirrel or rabbit would be near the bowl, lol.) That's not the case with indoor facilities.