{"id":45484,"date":"2026-03-03T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thefarmersdog.com\/digest\/?p=45484"},"modified":"2026-03-02T22:46:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T22:46:33","slug":"should-your-dog-drink-filtered-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thefarmersdog.com\/digest\/should-your-dog-drink-filtered-water\/","title":{"rendered":"Should Your Dog Drink Filtered Water?"},"content":{"rendered":"<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><p><strong>In this article:<\/strong><\/p><ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"#is-tap-water-safe-for-dogs\">Is tap water safe for dogs?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#is-filtered-water-better-for-dogs-than-tap\">Is filtered water better for dogs than tap?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#when-should-dogs-not-drink-tap-water\">When should dogs not drink tap water?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><div style=\"height:19px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div><hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"><div style=\"height:19px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div><p>Providing your dog with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefarmersdog.com\/digest\/how-to-keep-your-dog-hydrated\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">fresh water every day<\/a>&mdash;and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefarmersdog.com\/digest\/how-often-to-wash-dogs-food-bowl\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">keeping their bowl clean<\/a>&mdash;is a simple but vital part of helping them stay happy and healthy.<\/p><p>While carrying out this quotidian task, you may have wondered if you should upgrade their water bowl&rsquo;s contents from straight-out-of-the-tap to the filtered water you might pour yourself from a refrigerated pitcher.&nbsp;<\/p><p>The basic rule is simple: If water is safe for you, it&rsquo;s likely safe for your dog. Here&rsquo;s a deep dive into the details.<\/p><h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"is-tap-water-safe-for-dogs\">Is tap water safe for dogs?<\/h4><p>Ideally, tap water should be clean and safe for people and dogs to drink. Drinking-water safety is regulated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/dwreginfo\/drinking-water-regulations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sets legal limits on over 90 contaminants<\/a>, including arsenic, lead, certain chemicals, and bacteria like <em>E. coli.<\/em> While the EPA sets these limits for human health, they also serve the interests of our pets.<\/p><p>&ldquo;If tap water is safe for people to drink, it is also safe for dogs and other pets,&rdquo; said <a href=\"https:\/\/cvm.ncsu.edu\/people\/dcdorman\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">David Dorman<\/a>, DVM, PhD, a professor of toxicology at North Carolina State University.<\/p><p>On the other hand, when drinking water is unsafe for humans, it impacts our pets, too. A <a href=\"https:\/\/avmajournals.avma.org\/view\/journals\/javma\/251\/8\/javma.251.8.912.xml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2017 paper<\/a> published in the <em>Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association<\/em> looked at 331 dogs living in Flint and East Lansing, Michigan following a declared water crisis and measured their blood for levels of lead. Lead is a known toxin to humans and dogs that can build up in the body over time, and high enough levels can be dangerous. Dogs in Flint&mdash;the center of the crisis&mdash;had higher blood-lead concentrations than the control population in East Lansing.<\/p><h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"is-filtered-water-better-for-dogs-than-tap\">Is filtered water better for dogs than tap?<\/h4><p>Most at-home commercial water filters use porous, activated carbon, which improves aesthetic qualities like taste and color.&nbsp;<\/p><p>&ldquo;Even when tap water is safe, its taste can vary,&rdquo; Dr. Dorman said. And aesthetic improvement can go a long way, especially if your home&rsquo;s tap water has a distinct flavor. &ldquo;In some cases, filtered water may taste better to dogs and encourage them to drink more.&rdquo;<\/p><p>Just make sure you stay on top of replacing your filter, which after about two months or 40 gallons of water starts to collect bacteria.&nbsp;<\/p><p>Some pitcher filtration models can also reduce levels of substances including asbestos, and heavy metals like lead and mercury&mdash;but they won&rsquo;t make your tap water safe if it has dangerous levels of those materials.&nbsp;<\/p><p>Heavier-duty filters, like reverse osmosis (RO) or home filtration systems, surpass the abilities of commercial pitcher filters. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/watersense\/point-use-reverse-osmosis-systems\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">RO systems<\/a> connect to single fixtures&mdash;on a countertop or under the kitchen sink, for example&mdash;and use pressure to force water through a filter, separating it into a stream of clean, treated water and a stream concentrated with contaminants like lead, volatile organic compounds, bacteria, and more.&nbsp;<\/p><p>&ldquo;Filtering helps minimize exposure to substances that could potentially have harmful effects with long-term exposure,&rdquo; said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.petpoisonhelpline.com\/about\/staff\/renee-schmid-dvm\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Renee Schmid<\/a>, DVM, Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Toxicology, director and senior veterinary toxicologist at the Pet Poison Helpline.&nbsp;<\/p><h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"when-should-dogs-not-drink-tap-water\">When should dogs not drink tap water?<\/h4><p>In some cases, tap water is dangerous for dogs and humans to drink. If a water supply is contaminated, the law requires public water systems to inform customers of any short-term health risks to people. If you find out drinking the water is risky for you, you should assume the same is true for your dog.<\/p><p>One short-term risk may be from water contaminated with harmful microorganisms. This contamination could result in a boil-water advisory, during which residents must boil water to kill bacteria before consuming it&mdash;this is true regardless of what filtration system you may use. &ldquo;If a boil-water advisory is in effect, dogs should drink boiled and cooled water,&rdquo; Dr. Dorman said.<\/p><p>In some parts of the country, deleterious chemicals or metals may render tap water unsafe to drink. Dr. Dorman listed arsenic, radium, nitrates, lead, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as a few possible contaminants. And &ldquo;no single home-water filter removes all contaminants,&rdquo; Dr. Dorman said.<\/p><p>Substances like lead may leach into your water from old pipes in an aging house or apartment building. If you&rsquo;re concerned about this, Dr. Schmid recommended testing your water to better inform your choices about the water you and your dog drink; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/ground-water-and-drinking-water\/protect-your-tap-quick-check-lead-0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the EPA offers resources<\/a> on lead testing.<\/p><p>Ultimately, you should give your dog water you would drink yourself. That can be straight from the tap or filtered. Just know that, if there are hazardous materials in what&rsquo;s coming out of your tap, a typical store-bought pitcher filtration system won&rsquo;t make it safe.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Water that\u2019s safe for humans is safe for dogs, too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":45514,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[416],"tags":[221],"class_list":["post-45484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-wellness","tag-safety"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thefarmersdog.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thefarmersdog.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thefarmersdog.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefarmersdog.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefarmersdog.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45484"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefarmersdog.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45484\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45527,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefarmersdog.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45484\/revisions\/45527"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefarmersdog.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thefarmersdog.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefarmersdog.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefarmersdog.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}