How hygienic are you with animals?

Qualitymark

Do you wash your animals' dishes after every use, the same way you do with human dishes?

I was surprised to see the food dish of a dog belonging to a couple of lawyers: it was caked with years of old food, and had obviously never been washed. Same with its water - it was just topped up in an unwashed basin.

cocker5

Qualitymark wrote: »

Do you wash your animals' dishes after every use, the same way you do with human dishes?

I was surprised to see the food dish of a dog belonging to a couple of lawyers: it was caked with years of old food, and had obviously never been washed. Same with its water - it was just topped up in an unwashed basin.

Good god yes... his bowls go into the dishwasher everyday - he eats dried food, with salmon oil and some cooked veg also.

His food bowls go in as he uses them ie twice a day and his water bowl each evening and he gets a new clean bowl / fresh water each night (and whenever else its needed).

His bedding / blankets are washed once per week, high temperature - I throw his teddies in here too

plus the blankets where he sits on the couch are cleaned twice per week.

He himself is washed as needed, maybe every 2/3 weeks in the winter - depends if he is swimming / running in muck... otherwise once a month. He is groomed every 2/3 months.

GardeningGirl

After reading the post above I'm questioning myself lol...

Dry food so wash bowls bow and then.

Water bowl washed regularly.

Beds washed every few weeks, more often in winter as they get dirtier.

Dogs never washed unless they've had a meeting with a present left by fox/badger, etc.

Brushed several times a week (for GSD, he's a hair beast, the other two get a cursory combing over as well).

I think common sense should prevail, different dogs have different needs
Maybe the lawyers have bad eyesight...?

Qualitymark

Dry food doesn't show as much, but saliva goes on the bowl when the dog's eating it, and maybe it's not so great for the dog - breeding ground for microbes of nasty diseases.

FlowerGarden

When I see what my dog eats outside his saliva is the least of my worries:D:D:D

Knine

I wash the beds once a week. I clean water bowls every day. Their food bowls- lets just say they lick them clean themselves.

I hand strip my dogs so they get groomed once a week & because the coats are not clipped or shaved they naturally repel dirt. They get washed only if they absolutely need it.

piperh

Water bowls are cleaned daily, food (dry) bowls every couple of days, beds weekly. Dogs brushed every couple of days cus if I didn't he'd be a matted monster. Bathed when I think "oh you stink" ;-)

loyatemu

dogs drink from puddles and other stagnant water when out walking, and many of them (literally) eat sh!t. I can't imagine a dirty bowl is going to do them much harm.

cocker5

loyatemu wrote: »

dogs drink from puddles and other stagnant water when out walking, and many of them (literally) eat sh!t. I can't imagine a dirty bowl is going to do them much harm.

My dog does none of the above in fairness...

Also if the dog is feed indoors (as mine is) a dirty bowl a haven for germs.. not just for my dog but for me!

miezekatze

I have a cat who I feed twice a day (wet food), I take her old bowl away before every meal and put it in the dishwasher. I wouldn't want her eating from a dirty bowl and if you have a dishwasher it's not much hassle. I do know people who feed dry food and only wash the bowl occasionally.. kinda yucky.

intheclouds

I feed both the cats dry food and both of them have a food bowl and a water bowl on a tray so that I can lift the whole tray off and wash the tray and both bowls each morning. One is far messier than the other so I clean the area around her tray as well as the tray and food bowls. I dont tend to put them in the dishwasher, I wash them by hand at the sink.

Both cats have a variety of beds and mats/cushions as well as using the human bed and couches! So I wash their beds, mats, cushions every few weeks and obviously I change our own bed weekly and hoover the couches and wash the cushion covers every so often.

The cats keep themselves immaculately clean so I dont wash them although I have been known to wipe them down with a dry towel if they are wet or a damp towel if they are particularly dirty for some reason.

I clean out the litter trays daily and top them up and once a week I completely empty them, wash the trays and start them off with completely new fresh litter.

I hoover the floors and soft furnishings and try to keep on top of hairs but I still find hairs on things - so I just live with it.

seamus

Feed her dry food and dog licks the bowl clean, clean enough for me for the most part. As others say, the stuff she eats when out for a walk means that her own germs from her mouth are the least of my concern. Rinse out the water bowl every evening. Both get a wash every couple of weeks.

Dog gets washed every two weeks, beds get swapped out/washed at the same time - no point in putting a clean dog in a dirty bed and vice-versa.

TopTec

Treat their, (2 Shih Tzu's), utensils the same as if they were mine. Washed after every use. They have a wet/dry mix. Waterbowl rinsed and refilled every couple of days although their favourite water bowl is outside and always full of rainwater.

We have lots of fleeces and covers so they are rotated and washed regularly. This time of year they are towled off after every walk, twice a day and I cut out burrs and mats as they appear. Due a groom and clip now.

Same goes for the recently arrived chickens, fed twice a day, and previous feed bowls, cheap rubber collapsible ones, brought in and washed. They have a warm mash every evening too.

Maybe the lawyers would like to eat their food off of plates rarely cleaned? Lazy sods.

TT

snor

Where do you get the Salmon oil Cocker5? Thanks.

intheclouds

loyatemu wrote: »

dogs drink from puddles and other stagnant water when out walking, and many of them (literally) eat sh!t. I can't imagine a dirty bowl is going to do them much harm.

No other point to this post than to be nasty. Hope you got a warm fuzzy glow from it.

eviltwin

intheclouds wrote: »

No other point to this post than to be nasty. Hope you got a warm fuzzy glow from it.

Huh? It's true...my dogs eat and drink all manner of disgusting things when they are out, they don't care about hygiene. That's not being nasty, it's been honest. In saying that I still clean their bowls daily but that's more to do with my need for cleanliness than anything.

CodeNameEagle

Qualitymark wrote: »

Do you wash your animals' dishes after every use, the same way you do with human dishes?

I was surprised to see the food dish of a dog belonging to a couple of lawyers: it was caked with years of old food, and had obviously never been washed. Same with its water - it was just topped up in an unwashed basin.

Wash it after each meal? Come on, no. Like humans? They are not humans, that's why they called dogs.

Do you eat the same food with the dogs? Or the dogs with yours?

I wash his plate when is dirty, usual he lick everything out of the plate and is like new.

Qualitymark

CodeNameEagle wrote: »

Wash it after each meal? Come on, no. Like humans? They are not humans, that's why they called dogs.

Do you eat the same food with the dogs? Or the dogs with yours?

I wash his plate when is dirty, usual he lick everything out of the plate and is like new.

If you're handling your pets' food dishes and they're not clean, you may pick up salmonella from them, so for you and your kids and your old people, it's important that the dishes be washed regularly.

Inexile

I feed dry food and I wash the food bowls when I think they need them. I don't clean the waterbowl every day but about 2 - 3 times a week.

Dogs don't get washed or maybe once a year unless they rolled in rubbish. One does go to the groomer two maybe three times a year.

Dog beds - oh god trying to keep up with the dog beds is hard. I have about 10 dog beds plus they lounge on the sofas. I wouldn't do the beds even once a forthnight more like every two months. I usually have to do about 5 washes when I do the beds and then have issues on where to dry them. Maybe if I had a separate washing machine for the dogs I would be more inclined to do them more often.

Sounds awful by comparison to some of the other posters but the dogs are all happy and healthy as are we.

loyatemu

Qualitymark wrote:

If you're handling your pets' food dishes and they're not clean, you may pick up salmonella from them, so for you and your kids and your old people, it's important that the dishes be washed regularly.

I think that's pretty unlikely. I pour the food into the bowl, I rarely handle it.

bluecherry74

Dogs are fed raw so their bowls are washed after every use and go into the dishwasher a few times a week. Water bowls are emptied and rinsed every day and go into the dishwasher once a week.

I clean their poop from the garden daily, usually right after they've done it. Jessie is a terrible poop eater so I have to clean asap.

Beds don't get washed all that often, mostly because they don't get used all that often! The bed in the living room is fab actually - it's a huge fake leather covered bed so only ever needs a wipe down and a hoover, and the blanket in it gets washed every couple of months. the blanket on the sofa is washed way more often!

The dogs themselves rarely get washed. Actually, I don't think Henry ever has. Their coats have amazing self cleaning abilities and seem to repel dirt. They don't smell or feel oily at all.

Cats stuff is pretty much the same routine. I scoop their litter trays daily but only clean the trays completely every few weeks. It's clumping litter and I really don't feel it needs to be done any more often.

Chickens - their food is in a 3kg dispenser which gets washed once a fortnight or so. Their water bowl is emptied and refilled once a day and washed once a week. Their coop is cleaned / bedding replaced once a week too.

I feel exhausted just reading all that!

Qualitymark

loyatemu wrote: »

I think that's pretty unlikely. I pour the food into the bowl, I rarely handle it.

If you don't, unless you have little kids who grab the dishes, or unless you occasionally drop food on the floor and pick it up, I suppose the germs may not getcha.

Beds: my dog sleeps at the front door at night - by her own choice; when she's been fed her morning meal she'll bark indignantly if her bed isn't moved to its daytime place in front of the stove

Dubl07

Our dog's bowls have a dedicated brush for a scrub every/other day and that brush gets put in the dishwasher after each use. Biofilm in the water bowl is supposed to be beneficial so the water bowl gets rinsed daily and dishwashered once a week as does the food bowl unless the dog's eaten home-cooked in which case it's dishwashered on the day. Beds, fleeces, coats and toys get rotated and batch washed as and when depending on weather etc. She currently has a green cuddly sheep as a result of washing a navy microfibre towel and a cream sheep in the same wash, even though there were colour catchers involved. Her favourite pink pig was purple for two washes but has now reverted to pink. None of it bothers me, really. I know she's vaccinated and treated for worms and the like. Using Bravecto for ticks and fleas gives me a lot of personal peace of mind.

RhubarbCrumble

I have a cat. Her food and water bowls are cleaned daily. Her bed is lined with an old towel so I can change this once or twice a week.
I brush her daily (she loves it, like a little mini massage for her) and the amount of hair that comes off, well I could knit another cat out of it!
I don't wash her obviously. She's a typical vain cat, always grooming herself. However if she comes in soaking wet, I dry her off with a towel and she's quite happy to let me do that.

The Sidewards Man

cocker5 wrote: »

Good god yes... his bowls go into the dishwasher everyday - he eats dried food, with salmon oil and some cooked veg also.

Do you have a seperate dishwasher for your pet and your family?

cocker5

snor wrote: »

Where do you get the Salmon oil Cocker5? Thanks.

Hey there, i get it online :

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/cats/supplements_specialty_cat_food/fur_skin_supplements/127318

I get all my stuff on here

Latatian

Considering the dishwasher is used to wash things that have been used to hold raw meat, I can't imagine dog bowls would pose much extra risk.

cocker5

The Sidewards Man wrote: »

Do you have a seperate dishwasher for your pet and your family?

Yes i do...

I have one for myself... my OH has one too.. and my dog has one.

our house has three dishwashers :pac::pac::pac::pac:

cocker5

Latatian wrote: »

Considering the dishwasher is used to wash things that have been used to hold raw meat, I can't imagine dog bowls would pose much extra risk.

Not to mention that is cleaned at 70 degrees + washes... im sure ill live

tk123

We're pretty lax tbh
Food bowls washed as needed which in reality is not very often - the dogs swap bowls with each other a few times after eating to see what the other one got lol so they're licked clean
Water bowl - rinsed whenever the water is changed throughout the day
Bedding - as needed - if looks smells/dirty it's washed
Dogs - only washed if they've rolled/swam in something putrid and at that if it's a roll I just wash the stinky part. They usually "dry clean" after they've gotten mucky so a run down/blast with the dryer is usually all that's needed.

Yes saliva carries bacteria but I'm not licking their bowls or licking their raw food off my fingers - I wash my hands after feeding them. We have two retrievers so drool happens - none of us have been killed from it yet!

SillyMangoX

Separate bowls for wet and dry, wet bowls go in the dishwasher each night, dry ones get washed out every couple of days. Water fountain topped up every few days and fully emptied and washed about once a month. Litter trays get scooped twice a day and a full change every week or two, bedding gets washed once a week or more depending on Dude, full wash of the utility/crate where they sleep at least once a week, again depending on Dude. He used to be washed weekly, now more along the lines of monthly now that he's improving. He wears a nappy around the house so things son't get dripped on, or else incontinence sheets where he is lying. His blankets that he likes to suck get washed with all the bedding. But his incontance has improved dramatically *touch wood* so things are getting better! Used to have to wash the floors on a daily basis!
Cats themselves getting wormed every 3 months, get a flea treatment maybe once a year (though getting advocate like mad lately cos Cream has ear mites ) and brushed when they are shedding heaviest in the summer! if we're coming up to a show they get their ears and eyes cleaned every day too!

Dubl07

SillyMangoX wrote: »

.../ Cats themselves getting wormed every 3 months, get a flea treatment maybe once a year (though getting advocate like mad lately cos Cream has ear mites ) and brushed when they are shedding heaviest in the summer! if we're coming up to a show they get their ears and eyes cleaned every day too!

Thornit is **brilliant** for ears. Have you tried it?

SillyMangoX

Dubl07 wrote: »

Thornit is **brilliant** for ears. Have you tried it?

I've heard of it but never tried it! When he's finished with the drops (have to put them in twice a day till christmas day! :eek: ) I'll definitely give it a go, where do you usually buy it?

tk123

SillyMangoX wrote: »

I've heard of it but never tried it! When he's finished with the drops (have to put them in twice a day till christmas day! :eek: ) I'll definitely give it a go, where do you usually buy it?

I got it on Amazon and found it brilliant for cleaning up Lucy's ears.

Dubl07

tk123 wrote: »

I got it on Amazon and found it brilliant for cleaning up Lucy's ears.

Yes, Amazon. The bottle I bought over a year ago still has about 1cm left. When herself had sore ears, she had antibiotics and ear drops from the vet, then I tried Zymox but the Thornit was the thing that really worked. Once you get on top of things a tiny bit weekly or even twice a month is amazing. Our groomer sniffed the dog's head and knew exactly what I was using. It smells a bit like TCP and works wonders.