How often do you wash your dog’s bowl?

Washing your dog’s bowl is a measure to prevent diseases. If a long time passes before cleaning the containers where you serve food, you deepen the contamination and the risk of contagion.

Usually, when some dogs finish their meals, the containers appear to be empty of residue. But behind this screen, infection-transmitting agents are hidden.

Above all, if you live at home with immunosuppressed patients, with children or with elderly people, it is essential to increase the hygiene conditions of pets and their surroundings.

Why is the hygiene of the dish where your dog eats important?

Bowls intended for animal meals harbor bacteria. the scientific magazine Pls One released the results of a survey based on dog owners’ feeding practices and dish hygiene.

After dividing the sample into 3 groups that totaled 417 consultations, the analysis showed that 2 of the teams followed health protocols, both in food handling and dish hygiene. This conclusion reflected a significant decrease in possible adverse impacts, compared to the group that did not receive any hygiene guidelines.

The same experiment shows that exposure to contaminated food could harm the canine and human body. It happens that in the mouth of dogs there are many microbes that are usually transferred to the bowl, where they accumulate and grow if you do not clean the bowl constantly.

On the other hand, not all owners provide cooked food for their dogs; raw diets increase the risk of bacteria transmission Escherichia coli (E. coli) Y Salmonella. Contact between the dog and its owner extends the chain of contagion.

The Veterinary Journal argues that pets do not always show symptoms when they are infected, but they warn to be attentive to the following signs:

• Fever.
• Diarrhea.
• Threw up.
• loss of appetite
• Decreased activity level.

How often should you wash your dog’s bowl?

Each person has their own hygiene and processing habits for their pet food. Nevertheless, washing the dog’s food bowl is necessary every day, every time the animal eats.

It is advisable to abide by the regulations specified by the Food and Drug Administration of the United States (FDA, according to the acronym in English). The institution advises preventing diseases spread from raw food, thoroughly cleaning or disinfecting all surfaces and objects touched by this kind of food.

For it, The FDA suggests washing the dog’s bowl with hot, soapy water and supplementing with a little disinfectant. As a recipe, they propose to mix 1 tablespoon of bleach with ¼ gallon of water.

After scrubbing the utensil in a sink outside the kitchen, it is acceptable to put it through the dishwasher.

The organization insists on the importance of discarding the leftovers that remain on the plate. In case you want to save them for a future batch, it is appropriate to cover and refrigerate them.

With the same intent to reduce the rate of human infection from animal food contact, the FDA urges people to wash their hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds after serving raw feeds and touching bowls or surfaces. potentially contaminated.

Recommendations for washing your dog’s dish

To avoid the proliferation of bacteria in your dog’s feeder, implement the advice outlined below:

• Put away a clean spoon or cup, solely to serve meals on the canine’s plate.
• Change sponges regularly. Also, they can’t be the ones you use for family dishes.
• throw away the waste, although the pet when licking does not leave traces. Even if you don’t see them, there are always microorganisms.
• Don’t use the kitchen sink. At least the first cleaning, do it in another sink, since you prevent cross contamination.
• Use fragrance-free detergents since you expose the animal to allergies. Industrial disinfectants are also compromising.
• Check that there is no hardened food. If this is the case, you take it off with hot water. Soap residue should not remain on the plate either.

Covering the plate with hot white vinegar is a feasible remedy for disinfection.

What type of dish is suitable?

Plastic, ceramic and stainless steel are the common materials in the manufacture of dog bowls. Although the 3 types are functional, the plastics have among their components bisphenol A, an additive that could affect the immune system of animals. Also, feeders of this kind are sensitive to scratches and cracks harbor bacteria.

Ceramic, meanwhile, would hurt pets if it breaks while eating or if the edges of the dish are sharp. Instead, stainless steel is strong does not store bacteria toxic free and very easy to clean.

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