I feed my dog twice a day (dry kibble) and feel the need to wash the bowl each time. DH thinks I'm crazy and the bowl is just fine. I think it's gross because there are little particles that end up on the bowl after she eats.
What do you do?
ETA: the bowl is stainless steel, if it makes any difference. I also rinse out her water bowl daily because there ends up gunk in it (either little food chunks or stray hairs, etc.)
No, but we just leave them food all the time so they can eat as they choose. They are super active dogs and don't over eat. I clean it maybe once a week and their water bowl twice.
It doesn't hurt to wash the bowl every now and then. After every feeding seems a bit much. I don't think we ever wash our dogs' food bowl. It's stainless steel though.
Definitely wash the water bowl periodically though!
His old plastic bowl, never. But you have to understand, he licks every single morsel out! His new bowl is stainless steel and shows residue, so I wash it every now and again.
Well, my dog likes to lick dirt off the floor, so it's not like he's complaining about his bowl not being washed haha.
Our boy has a stainless bowl and I wash it every week. Noooooo need to after every time (:
@Bebealways: I know, right... his favorite delicacy is half-rotten carcasses and several varities of animal poop. The bowl is the least of my concerns!
I leave food down all day for my boy. He's never eaten on a schedule, so it's just easier for everyone this way.
His food bowls get washed once a week and his water bowl gets washed out two or three times a week.
@Bebealways: exactly what i was thinking! my dogs lick their own butts, so i don't worry about their dish being a little dirty, lol
I dont have a dog, but do feed our cats dry food. We rarely clean the food bowl, but clean the water bowl every couple of days.
I said no, but we wash it once a week or so. Water bowl at least gets a rinse more often than that - she dribbles stuff in it. :)
I mean - she'll eat poop, so...
No we rarely wash her food bowl. We free feed her so theres food in the bowl 24/7 and she eats as and when she wants. She can have a bit of a finicky tummy and sometimes the smallest things can make her go a bit funny for a few days so Im always paranoid that if any cleaning products get left on (like soap spots or something) then it could knock her for six.
And Ive cleaned up enough dog yucky-ness to last me a lifetime
We wash occasionally using the hose in the yard. Dog food is known to contain salmonella, and there have been cases where a dog bowl was washed in a sink, and the sink wasn't cleaned afterwards, and someone ended up sick.
We're talking about DOGS here. They lick their own butts and privates. Some eat their own poo, or "kitty bon-bons" (aka kitty poops out of the litter box). If given a chance, many dogs will roll in and/or eat smelly, dead, rotting animals. I really don't think they mind a bit of dried slobber in their food bowl! lol! 
I voted "No" but I DO wash it on occasion...when it starts looking a little gross, I wash it out or run it through the dishwasher. I wipe out his water bowl every few days so it doesn't get build-up, and give it a thorough washing when it looks like it could use one. Other than that...meh.
Nope. I clean his bowl once a week. I clean his water bowl 2-3x a week cause it's a glass and I can see it getting grimey and I want him to have fresh clean water!
I don't even think I've ever washed our dog's bowls... 
I know I've rinsed out the water bowl... but never the food bowls..
@tksjewelry: Same here.
My dogs free feed and I typically put the food and water bowl in the dishwasher about once a week.
Ooof I don't recall the last time it was washed; poor baby. I'll wash it for him tonight.
LOL.
@nikkialys: That's actually a very misleading statement. There was an outbreak of about 40 cases due to contaminated food. It is not a known and accepted fact that dog food contains salmonella. And it's transmitted via fecal matter, not a dirty sink.
I wash my dog's bowl about every other day. He's a clean eater but the bowl is slimy from him licking it.
Every now and then I pop them in the dishwasher but certainly not every time I feed her...
Almost never? I mean, he licks food and stuff off the floor and eats grass. His bowl has got to be cleaner than that even if I dont wash it.
@nikkialys: We wash occasionally using the hose in the yard. Dog food is known to contain salmonella, and there have been cases where a dog bowl was washed in a sink, and the sink wasn't cleaned afterwards, and someone ended up sick.
Raw chicken, eggs, and meats can contain salmonella or e-coli as well. When you cut chicken, where do the dirty cutting board and knife go? In the sink. When you scramble eggs, where does the whisk go? In the sink.
Sinks are dirty. Which is why I wash my hands frequently, and if anything goes in the sink, it does not get taken out and used until it's been washed. Your odds of contracting salmonella from your dog's bowl have got to be stageringly low.
ETA: No offense meant, but I just got a mental image of a person washing their chicken-contaminated cutting board and dishes in the yard with the hose to avoid getting salmonella from their sink!
@relaxedabout it: That's actually a very misleading statement. There was an outbreak of about 40 cases due to contaminated food. It is not a known and accepted fact that dog food contains salmonella. And it's transmitted via fecal matter, not a dirty sink.
This!
@Miss Apricot: This exactly. The idea of washing the dog's bowls regularly seems kinda crazy to me for this reason (no offense to the OP). Also, my dog does a pretty good job of licking his bowl clean every time lol
We clean her food dish like once every two weeks when it starts to look gross from her kibble and wet food (she's teething right now and finds it hard to eat just kibble). We rinse her water dish everyday when we put fresh water in it.
I do every time.... food and water bowl. Honestly, its because Gamble is an American bulldog, and he SLOBBERS all over his bowl and theres tons of half eaten drool covered stuck food on one side, and waterlogged food pieces on the other.
Plus, he floods the kitchen when he drinks water, so I pick it up to dry underneath anyway.
Nope. Every week or so, sooner if I put a special, wet sloppy treat in there.
@relaxedabout it: There have been multiple salmonella outbreaks over the past ten years linked to dog food (not fecal matter). Yes in most cases it is transmitted directly by contact with the food or animal, however handling contaminated containers can also transmitt it. The problem is that most people know that raw chicken, eggs and meats can contain salmonella and clean up appropriatly after handling them. (hot water bleach or other cleaner etc). A lot of people don't know that dog food can contain salmonella, so they don't follow the same procedure to clean up after it- they give the items a "quick rinse" instead of cleaning with a method that kills the salmonella. If you treat your dog bowl like a used cutting board, and clean appropriatly of course you can clean it in the sink. We use the back yard because its convienent to the mud room area where we feed the dogs, and means I don't have to clean counters/sink after rinsing out a dog bowl.
Stainless bowls are impossible to keep clean. If even one wet nose print is in it the bowl looks filthy! I rinse my stainless bowls out every day and put them in the dishwasher for a thorough washing once a week. The water bowl (also stainless) gets washed by hand every 2-3 days since it would never fit in the dishwasher.
No I don't wash it every time... I wash the food bowl and the water bowl once a week.
@nikkialys: Good reply. Honest question - you said you rinse your bowls out in the back yard... but your dog goes in the yard, so is certainly romping around in the potentially salmonella-ridden bowl residue. Do you wash your dog's paws before they come inside? It's a slippery slope and some cleaning is better than none at all, I'm just curious.
@Miss Apricot: You are right, as usual!
I haven't washed my dog's bowl in a year and a half. I do change the water every day whether he drinks it or not.
We only wash their bowls every few days, we feed them dry food in the morning and usually just put it on the ground, they don't mind, and then in the evening we feed them this, and put it in bowls:
@ShiftedLobster: No but we have hard wood floors. I clean them daily with a steam mop, which is supposed to get hot enough to sanitize/clean. I wouldn't eat off my floor, but they're cleaned regularly. Our dogs aren't allowed on couches/beds/counters etc, so any germy yuckyness stays on the floor.
@nikkialys: Gotcha, thanks for clarifying! I use unscented baby wipes to clean paws as soon as they enter the doorway.
Dont they say that dog mouths are cleaner than ours as far as bacteria goes? Lol even with eating poop & licking their bums
I wash them about once a week or so. I usually wash the water bowl more often though.
You must log in to post.
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| MrsPanda99 | 38 |
| AlwaysSunny | 32 |
| jesssamesssa | 28 |
| vorpalette | 23 |
| This Time Round | 21 |
| Caroheart | 19 |
| Cyri | 19 |
| renierose | 19 |
| ajillity81 | 18 |
| MsBeer | 17 |
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| Omgbunnies | 3 |
| MrsPanda99 | 2 |
| JsDragonfly | 1 |
| Scorpio88 | 1 |
| mrs.stormylove | 1 |
| Nic01 | 1 |
| EmeraldTiger | 1 |
| Laurengrapes | 1 |
| princessggg | 1 |
| KJA00 | 1 |
