Does anyone use a drinking fountain??

[Magwart]

I tried one for my blind dog, thinking it would help remind him where the water bowl is. He thought it was weird and preferred the other standard water bowl, which he had no trouble finding (by following the slurp-slurp-slurp of the other dogs). I eventually put it up, as none of the dogs liked it either. I had a stainless steel burbling one (not a streaming one).

[llombardo]

Originally Posted by Chicagocanine

On the drinkwell the whole top piece where the water comes out is plastic too, isn't it?
My brother said the shape on the Drinkwell leaves a lot of angles and nooks that are hard to clean out (and reviews I've read complained about it being hard to clean also.)

You are right...Yes it is, but there are like 5 different thingy's that can be attached and they aren't hard to clean. I rotate them once a week. I think its the easiest thing in the world I'll have to look at the other ones to see if I see a big difference. I'm not opposed to finding and getting the very best for my pets.

[llombardo]

Originally Posted by msvette2u

I saw a notice the other day about those harboring bacteria and a dog had gotten very ill. The only think the vet could chalk it up to was the drinking fountain.
I can't find the email though.

I can see this happening if the filter is not changed and cleaned on a regular basis. I clean mine really good once a week.

[Mooch]

The big Max one can supposedly be put in the dishwasher (haha handy if you have a dishwasher)
The filters seem to be pretty cheap and easy to get hold of so it wouldn't be too hard to change them regularly. We have only have rain water at home (no mains water) so the dogs are used to water thats not chlorinated.

[sparra]

Originally Posted by msvette2u

I saw a notice the other day about those harboring bacteria and a dog had gotten very ill. The only think the vet could chalk it up to was the drinking fountain.
I can't find the email though.

You should see what our dogs drink from.....chook trough, sheep trough, dam, pig wallow and then there are the muddy puddles after garden watering..... the dirtier the better round here!!

[Mooch]

LOL Sparra same goes for my guys - if we run low on tank water they get their buckets filled with dam water they don't care LOL
The only reason I was considering the fountain was because they really like drinking "running" water

[pyratemom]

I just have the cheap toggle kind. The dog licks and water comes out. I've only had to replace it once and that was after 3 years. Sometimes when ordering a new one they may leak but if you just return it they send another one. My dog also likes to drink out of a bowl so I supply bowls of water in the outdoor kennel and the drinking fountain on the other side of the yard. Never had any problems with bacteria but I do clean it with bleach once in a while to avoid algae growth when she isn't going to be outside for awhile - like over night.

[kristinamatthew]

I have a lots of pets in my house and they need to have a pet water fountain because they are always drinking any where. So if they have a water fountain they don't need to drink any where and lastly I can ensure that the water they drink was clean. Thank you so much for sharing!

[pyratemom]

I use the toggle type drinking fountain. They have to be replaced every 2-3 years due to leakage but for the most part I've had good luck with only having to send one back that leaked when I got it. Other than that I have two bowls of water as well but I like the fountain especially in the summer because I know the water isn't going to get hot setting the sun. The side of the laundry room where I have the fountain is always in the shade.

Oops, I forgot I already answered this thread a few months ago!

[Chicagocanine]

I found an interesting option recently, it's a filter basically that you can put in any bowl/whatever container your dogs drink from to filter the water. It basically looks like an aquarium filter. I think Drinkwell makes them.