ANDY N
OCTOBER 14,2022
Does your Dog use a Stainless Steel Bowl?
If you Answered No, You may be risking your Dog's Health.
Regardless of how clean you may think your house is, you'd be wrong. All sorts of microbes lurk on your floors, your bed, on your toothbrush, and in your toilet, not to mention the kitchen dish cloth. From these seemingly innocuous places, nasty, vile, disgusting germs and bacteria can build up, take hold and make you sick.
Now, we need to add one more thing to our home-cesspool list: the dog's bowl..
“Ceramic and plastic bowls are toxic breeding grounds for E. coli, salmonella and MRSA.”
All Bowls are NOT created Equal
Plastic, Bamboo, Ceramic, and Stainless Steel. There is a HUGE difference - and it all comes down to Bacteria.
Researchers from Hartpury University in the United Kingdom say dogs' water bowls are the third most contaminated item in the household and they can pose a serious health risk for us and our four-legged friends.
Most Dog owners we talk to are shocked to hear this- but quickly say "well that makes sense actually".
What the Scientists Discovered
Pictured: Aisling Carroll from the Hartpury research
1: The Scientific Study
Carroll and Wright studied several sets of bowls over six weeks. All the dogs that used the bowls (there were six medium-sized dogs) were healthy and the bowls themselves were brand new and sterilized prior to the investigation. As the dogs used the bowls, scientists swabbed the bowls several times over the six weeks to see what bacteria lingered.
2: What they thought they were going to discover
They hypothesized that bacteria would thrive in the plastic bowls.
"We thought this because out of all the other bowl materials, plastic typically wears away over time, leaving groves and ridges that could help bacteria to adhere to the bowl's surface and make cleaning less effective due to the protection these areas would give,"
3: The Findings from Scientific Study:
As expected the Highest number of bacteria in plastic bowls, BUT the most harmful pathogens, including E. coli and MRSA, exploded in ceramic bowls.
The stainless-steel bowls, on the other hand, had far less germs.
4: In Summary:
"From the results of this study,stainless steel is the preferred bowl materialfor pet owners to use to limit the number of bacteria that can colonize on the water bowl surfaces."
What should I do to ensure my Dogs Bowl is Safe
-
Switch to a Stainless Steel Bowl
BUT - it must be Grade 304 (Kitchen Grade), which is what Dazy Dog Dura Bowl is made from.
The cheap ones you see in discount shops and bargain bins are not kitchen grade, and just as bad as the plastics.
-
Clean your Dog Bowl regularly
Carroll (the scientist from the study) says all of us should clean our pet dishes with hot water regularly and a "pet-safe disinfectant."
-
Separate Bowls for unwell Dogs
Carroll recommends that if you have a sick pet, or one that has a compromised immune system, it might be wise for each animal to have their own water dish "to ensure no further cross contamination can occur."
Explore our Bowls below - there's a lot of features packed into them beyond the Anti-Bacterial properties