How often do you clean your pet’s bowls? Are you washing them daily in soapy water as hot as you can stand it, followed by air-drying them, and also sanitizing them once a week? No? Well, according to Dr. Jerry Klein, an emergency and critical care veterinarian in Chicago and chief veterinary officer for the American Kennel Club, it’s time to up your pet bowl game.
Here’s the thing. Pet bowls are disgusting. DISGUSTING. According to NSF International, a public health and safety organization, pet bowls are the fourth germiest thing in our houses, not far behind your kitchen sponge. Would you feed someone you love off that sponge?
So what’s lurking in those innocuous-looking bowls? We’re talking a veritable cornucopia of nastiness. They’re swimming with salmonella, E. coli, staph, maybe even parasites like giardia (especially if you have puppies), and, of course, everyday yeast and mold.
But many of us (sheepishly raises hand) give the bowl a cursory rinse when we think about it and toss it in the dishwasher on occasion. I mean, dogs eat poop — what’s some crusty leftovers from breakfast in their bowl? “A lot of people think that way,” Dr. Klein said when I fessed up to my bad dog parenting. Yet “you wouldn’t leave food out for your family and children for 12 hours and think it’s OK to eat it.”
He’s right. So what should we be doing?
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