Dogs are special members of your family that you want to take care of. Your dog is an important part of your life so you want to do what you can to ensure that it stays healthy and happy.
Sometimes dogs will do silly things if you don’t supervise them well. It’s no secret that they will drink water out of the toilet bowl if you leave the seat up.
They’ll also drink pond water directly out of your pond if you have one. You might be concerned about this and whether the pond water will harm your dog.
Can dogs drink pond water safely? Or is this something you shouldn’t allow them to do?
Continue reading to learn more about dogs and your pond. It should make it easier to figure out how to approach things so you can protect your canine companion.
Can My Dog Get Sick From Drinking Pond Water?
It’s not wise to allow your dog to drink pond water. This is true whether you have a natural pond or an artificial pond.
Natural ponds are very likely to contain bacteria and other things that will be harmful to animals. If your dog chooses to drink the pond water, it’ll be exposed to harmful bacteria and parasites.
Any type of standing water has the potential to be dangerous for your pet. While it’s unlikely that your pet will die from drinking pond water, it could get rather ill.
It’s common for dogs that drink pond water to experience symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea. Your dog will be a bit sick for a day or so depending on how bad the water is.
Artificial pond water can also be dangerous for the same reasons. To add to this, it’s very likely that your artificial pond water contains chemicals.
Often, people will add chemicals to pond water to make it look a certain way. There might be chemicals to help with the pH balance of the water if you’re keeping certain pond fish in there as well.
So you want to keep your dog away from your pond if at all possible. It’d be wise to build a little fence or some other type of blockade to separate your dog from the pond.
This protects the dog and keeps it from becoming ill due to drinking unsafe water. You can have a pond and keep your dog safe so long as you’re proactive and take the right steps.
Are Pond Lilies Poisonous to Dogs?
Pond lilies are dangerous to animals. You might have heard that pond lilies are especially dangerous if you have cats.
Cats can potentially be killed if they consume pond lilies. The same is true for dogs, but it’s rare for pond lily poisoning to be lethal in dogs.
All water lilies are poisonous due to the fact that they contain an alkaloid known as nuphorin. If a dog chooses to eat a pond lily, it’s going to get rather sick.
Typically, this will cause a dog to start vomiting and it’ll experience abdominal pain. It’s also possible that the dog might experience some issues with its mouth and throat when eating certain types of lilies.
All lilies should be thought of as dangerous for your pets. You don’t want your pets to consume them.
This doesn’t mean that you can’t have pond lilies, though. You just need to keep your dogs away from them.
Most pond enthusiasts note that dogs don’t typically try to eat pond lilies. They usually seem to know better than to eat them, but dogs will make bad decisions sometimes.
So it’s better to keep your dog away from the pond so it doesn’t have the chance to consume pond lilies. Don’t even let the dog get close to the pond unless you’re supervising the situation.
Now that you know this, you can plan ahead and make good choices. It’d be a shame for your dog to get sick from eating pond lilies since the experience can be quite painful.
What Pond Plants Are Safe for Dogs?
There are a few types of pond plants that are known to be safe for dogs. One of the most popular options is duckweed.
Duckweed doesn’t contain any toxins that will harm your dogs. If a dog consumes a little bit of duckweed it won’t harm it in any way.
The same is true for water lettuce for the most part. Water lettuce can cause indigestion and mild pain if you consume it in large amounts, but eating a little bit of the plant would do no harm.
That being said, there is no real reason to look for pond plants that are safe for dogs. Drinking pond water is unsafe and you shouldn’t let your dog near the pond.
Since the mere act of drinking the water is unsafe, you don’t want to give your dog the opportunity to interact with pond plants. It’s best to set up your pond how you want to and then create a barrier that will keep your dog away from it.
Even if you don’t want to build a fence, you can keep your dog on a leash so that it won’t be able to get too close to the pond. Make good choices so that your dog won’t get sick.
Will Pond Dye Hurt Dogs?
Pond dye is not supposed to harm humans or dogs. So if you use pond dye, it should be safe for your pets.
There are some people who like to swim in their ponds. Sometimes people might choose to let their dogs swim with them.
If you’re using pond dye, the pond dye itself isn’t going to harm the dogs. Drinking the water still isn’t going to be a good idea for humans or dogs, though.
Swimming in a pond isn’t as safe as swimming in a swimming pool that contains chemicals. If your goal is to have a body of water to swim in, it’d be better to go with a swimming pool from a safety perspective.
Regardless, it’s good to know that pond dye is safe for humans and pets. This dye is even safe for fish and birds that might choose to utilize the pond in your yard.
Final Thoughts
You should feel that you have a greater understanding of the dangers of allowing your dogs to drink pond water now. Dogs can get rather sick from drinking pond water.
The pond water probably won’t kill your dogs, but it will expose them to bacteria and parasites. You want to avoid such issues since they can make your dog ill.
Do your best to keep your dog from drinking pond water or eating pond plants. It’s best to put up some kind of barrier or keep your dog on a leash so it won’t be able to reach the pond.
You want to do things safely so your dog can stay as healthy as possible. Take what you learned today and use the information to make good decisions moving forward.
Ben has a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering. When not constructing or remodeling X-Ray Rooms, Cardiovascular Labs, and Pharmacies, you can find him at home with wife and two daughters. Outside of family, He loves grilling and barbequing on his Big Green Egg and Blackstone Griddle, as well as working on projects around the house.
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