How Hard Water Can Affect Your Dog’s Health

When you give your dog a fresh bowl of water, are you pouring directly from the tap? If your home has hard water, your dog’s health could be at risk. The last thing you want to do is put your pup in harm’s way!

Pup at Water Bowl | Hard Water Testing Minnesota

  • Hard Water – Water with a high mineral content — contains high traces of dissolved calcium and magnesium.

Is Hard Water Bad for Your Dog?

This water is commonly known for leaving behind water stains, making it hard to lather soap and shampoo, and causing clogs and wear and tear on plumbing pipes and fixtures. While there are studies that show hard water has no negative health benefits, Trupanion (a veterinary medical insurance company) has found a link between hard water and urinary health issues in pets.

Urinary Health Issues

Dogs (and cats) are prone to developing urinary issues, and Trupanion took notice of a recent increase. After mapping out the country and locating areas of hard water, Trupanion concluded in their study that pets living in areas with extremely hard water were three times more likely to have urinary issues. Additional information to support this hypothesis is that magnesium (which is found in hard water) can contribute to the growth of urine crystals and struvite stones.

How to Hydrate Your Dog

To avoid exposing your pets to high levels of calcium, magnesium, and fluoride, do not fill their water bowl from the tap. Instead, provide them with filtered or bottled water. The best choice for your pets (and yourself, of course) is to install a drinking water filtration system. This system will filter out impurities, leaving you with safe, clean drinking water. Water softeners can also be installed to completely remove all hard water from each and every plumbing fixture.

Before you fill up your pup’s water bowl, find out if you have hard water as it can negatively affect its health. Luckily, testing for hard water in Minnesota is easy! For more information regarding drinking water filtration systems and water softeners, contact Aquarius Water Conditioning. To learn more or to schedule an appointment, give us a call at (888) 741-9025!

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+!