Drinking from a river/puddle?

[NateBazooka]

Originally Posted by sinsa

ROFLMAO

Dude! How long have you lived here? You drink and use that water daily! That lake is what supplies us with our drinking water!

Well... yeah... but...

They're also talking about building a water reclamation facility in town. Are you planning on going over there and taking a sip from those reservoirs?

[VOLVOROTTIE]

My dogs were always swimmig in a local reservoir and it's stream fed with a strong current, problem was this; it has a lot of wildlife too - plenty of those annoying dirty Canadian Geese, who drop tons of poo in the water, and there's also the beavers and the other critters. Mine were fine until they weren't and they weren't in a big way - huge explosive diarrhea and it lasted for a long time. I took to the vet and he immediately told me to put them onto PANACUR immediately, which I did -got it online cheapest at KV Vet.com, shop around, the symptoms of GIARDIA are tough to combat with the old remedy of an anti-biotic, the Panacur worked instantly, and it showed me that they can not drink from what I call the 'stinky water' anymore. I stopped lletting them swim 2 summers ago and now wouldn't let them do any dog parks either - parasites are rampant and many people have no clue - esp. GIARDIA. it's a tough little protozoa parasite, and only seems to go away after 2 courses of the Panacur, which is safe for puppies too. Problem is, the poor dog is sick until you get the panacur and loses not only weight but nutrients.

SO NO, drinking from stagnant lakes or slow moving ones with water fowl [foul] is not okay if you want your dog to remain parasite free. Plus, dog parks are breeding grounds for behavioral issues and round worms and tapes too. ugh. Double think any decisions to go to a dog park - instead, consider taking your dog for long hikes and working on obedience in th park on a long line if necessary and buy a good 6 ft. leather leash instead of a flexie if you use FLEXIE.

Cheers!