Is it okay for Dog to drink pool water?

[mshumack]

My dog likes to drink from the pool more than his bowl. Is it safe to allow this to continue? My chlorine is maintained around 4ppm, Calcium and Alk in normal range for in-ground gunite/plastered pool. The CYA is 50ppm. I also have a SWG so the salt level is around 3500ppm.
It seems that if dogs can drink from dirty puddle water they should be able to handle clean pool water. I'm just not sure what safe chlorine levels are for animals.
Thanks.

[Bleach=Chlorine?]

I am not 100% but I believe drinking water *can* contain up to 10ppm of chlorine so I don't think the occasional drink from the pool will harm them. Other chems like some algeacides might cause problems. Also, I would not let them only drink from the pool.

[cwstnsko]

I would always make sure that other water was available, but I wouldn't worry about the dog drinking from the pool inless you were in the middle of a major algae clean-up / or shock treatment.

[Tredge]

I would say its a lot better for your dog to drink from the pool than from a puddle....and a puddle would never hurt a dog.

Even if the pool was his only source of water....dogs have enormous livers that allow them to deal with toxins better than most animals.

Unless your pool was grossly unbalanced with chemicals, chocolate, or antifreeze I think you are safe

[mshumack]

I am not 100% but I believe drinking water *can* contain up to 10ppm of chlorine so I don't think the occasional drink from the pool will harm them. Other chems like some algeacides might cause problems. Also, I would not let them only drink from the pool.

Thanks for the replies. My pool water is maintained at 3 to 4 ppm Chlorine. I test every other day. And I don't shock or add anything (other than muratic acid to keep PH in range) to the pool.
I did a lot of internet searching on this and it seems about 50/50 for and against. I aways have clean fresh water available for the dogs as well.
Thanks.

[aylad]

My dog has fresh, clean water available at all times. I also have a sparkling clear pool and a not-so-sparkling koi pond. My dog invariably drinks out of the pond. Drinking the pool water is fine (for the dog .

Janet

[cleancloths]

Think about this for a moment. Most animals live out in the wild - where do they drink from (puddles, ponds, streams, rivers, garbage containers, etc....) A pool is probably one of the cleaner sources of water for an animal. If you leave a water bowl outside for the dog it probably has all sorts of bacteria growing in it that you cannot see. As long as you don't put strange chemicals in the pool the dog should be just fine drinking from it.

Heck, we all swallow pool water when we go swimming and it does not hurt us. I many times will just taste the pool water (rather than hauling out the test kit) to determine my chlorine needs.

[ytngt]

I got tired of putting fresh water out everyday just to find that my lab prefers pool water. It likes stagnant puddle water even better than pool water! The dog is still alive and digging holes despite drinking pool water for three years.

[ThePoolGuy]

I would always make sure that other water was available, but I wouldn't worry about the dog drinking from the pool inless you were in the middle of a major algae clean-up / or shock treatment.

Ditto, the only other time I worry about them drinking out of the pool...is when they put their muddy paws on the steps to take that drink

[waterbear]

My dogs avoid the pool (Yorkie, Miniature Schanuzer, and Long Haired Daschund). The Schanuzer is not the most graceful dog in the world and has fallen in the pool a few times and had to be rescused (she is a good swimmer and always gets to the swim out or the steps and waits for someone to lift her out.) The other two just don't like water....too much like bathtime I guess.
All three of them prefer to drink from the water in the potted plants around the pool!
Now my cat is a different story. He thinks the pool is his own big water bowl and when the deck jets or falls are on he thinks it is his private water fountain! It hasn't seemed to hurt him. He will drink and play with the water for hours! He doesn't seem to mind getting wet! I am expecting to see him jump in and swim any day now because when I am in the pool he keeps dipping his paws in the water like he is testing the temperature.

All 4 of them have a fresh water bowl outside and a water fountain inside. They only drink out of either of them as a last resort.