Chins and the dog water.

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broderp

broderp

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 17, 2011
Messages
169
Location
Ohio
Our chins have a working water bottle that they use regularly. Every night that they are let out to rumage thru our room they make a bee line to the dogs water dish and sit there for several minutes drinking the water.

At first I thought the water bottle wasn't working, but I could tell it was by the water spot on the floor as well as pressing the ball. I also saw my chin was sucking on it and gave it a gentle "squeeze" only to see water over flow and shoot out and down Chili's mouth. He quickly stepped back and promptly gave me the 'evil eye'..:impatient:

The water dish they drink out of (he appearantly has taught his younger brother Chalupa the drink at the bowl trick) is clean fresh water.

Is there any harm to letting them enjoy this?
 
I wouldn't have a bowl of water out where the chins could get into it, especially if it's the dog's water. Not only is that a great way to spread germs to your chins, you also don't want a chin jumping or falling into the bowl and getting all wet.

My advice is to put the bowl out of reach when the chins are out.
 
I'd think it was common sense to not leave an open container of water out where you have chinchillas running around. Considering what has been said in other threads about diseases that can be transferred from dogs to chinchillas, you would not want them drinking from the same source. Unless you bleach the bowl between your dogs drinking from it and the chins drinking from it, you are encouraging and allowing the transfer of germs and whatever else between the chins and dogs.
 
Aside from the possibility of your chins jumping in and out of the water, dogs bowls are gross. I don't know about your dog, but mine is a slobbery pig. The answer to your question is NO. Do not let your chins drink out of the same bowl as your dog.
 
RDZCRanch said:
I'd think it was common sense to not leave an open container of water out where you have chinchillas running around. Considering what has been said in other threads about diseases that can be transferred from dogs to chinchillas, you would not want them drinking from the same source. Unless you bleach the bowl between your dogs drinking from it and the chins drinking from it, you are encouraging and allowing the transfer of germs and whatever else between the chins and dogs.
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Well it's NOT common sense unless you are a chinchilla expert or have tons of experience with Chins. These are my first and if you can't tell by my current post count (96 as of this post) new to the wealth of information here and am educating myself. I havn't had time to read ALL threads on the forum!:cry3:

Not that it matters, but the dog water dish is cleaned out prior to them running free (part of the chin-proofing of our bedroom) and the dish is acually out of the way from the normal running path.

I guess since they seem to like this, I will buy them their own drinking bowl and swap it out with the dogs bowl so as to not break up thier routine. [
 
I would not get them their own water bowl. Chins are a pain in the rump to dry off. You can always add more toys to the play area when they are out. That is what I do. I personally have an extra large cube, old hidey house and a basket of chews when my chin is out.

EDIT: I just had a thought. What kind of water are you giving your dog? It may not be safe to give to your chins.
 
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I wonder if you can get them a trough style bottle for playtime and attach it to some wire or playpen or something? Like the ones birds use. That way, it would lessen the chance of them getting wet, but I think if you take the bowl away it's not going to impede on the playtime quality.
 
I am not ad advocate for chinchilla playtime. I have seem tragedies at my home due to playtime. As much as chins do not need playtime outside of the cage, they also don't need a water dish or bowl. While it's true they seem to like it, it's not good practice. I would definitely remove any open containers of water during playtime. If you're going to do playtime the best place really is a closed off hallway or the bathroom. When in the bathroom make sure the toilet lid is down.
 
I know you said their current water bottle is working, but maybe you want to try another style bottle in the cage. Perhaps the flow of water from that bottle is too slow/fast for their liking so they aren't drinking as much as they could.

Although it seems like drinking from the bowl is something they enjoy, and I understand you not wanting to take that away, it really would not be worth the trouble if they were to get wet. Maybe do as Cindy suggested and place some toys in the spot where the water bowl usually sits.
 
Maybe the chins are attracted to the dog's water bowl because it is something different that they don't have, but I agree with the others. No matter how clean it may be, I just wouldn't have it around for your chins to drink out of or to fall into. Mark your water bottle and check to make sure that is goes down to see if your chins are indeed drinking from it. If so, leave it in place and do not replace with a water bowl. A wet chin is susceptible to fungus that has to be treated. Best to avoid it.

I also do not let my chin have run of the house. She got herself into trouble constantly, even if I thought I was watching her the entire time. She got in the toilet once, she chewed on electrical cords, she ruined trim boards and cabinets...I have her run around in 2 playpens attached together, that are attached to her cage. She can come in and out of her cage and into the pens at will into a protected environment. She is not a jumper and the pens work well for her.
 
Im way in the minority here....

And Im with you being a newbie. This might be my 2nd post?

I have a peke. And a couple chins. My dog goes into the vet twice a year, is an indoor dog, and is fully up to date on everything a dog needs from heartguard to toothbrushing. Including anything Zoonotic diseases.

I have no problem with my chins curling up on the couch with my dog. I have no problem with my dog sticking his nose in their dust because he thinks it smells different. (and for the record, blue cloud on a pekingese does nothing for THAT coat)

I dont think I would have a problem if all my boys were to share a water dish. Chins dont get nice neat bottles out in the wild. Somehow they manage to not get drenched in their natural environment.

So I would say use common sense, practical knowledge, and enjoy your chinnies.
 
Regardless of whether you're a newbie or a "seasoned" chin owner, one thing that actually seems to be consistent on ALL sites, including the crap ones, is to keep chins away from water. To me, that would mean open water dishes as well...
 
The chins are going to end up in the water dish eventually. It's probably a good idea to just not let them near it during playtime. They'll drink out of the bowl, but it's just because it is there and not because they really need to drink. They'd probably drink out of someone's glass if they had soda or tea, too...that's just what chins do with new stuff. That's aside from there being a possibility of drinking dog germs. ewww..

Keep the waterbottle. Water dishes do nothing but get disgusting with everything in the cage ending up in the dish and the chins will end up splashing in them or dumping the water out all over the place.
 
I have a chin who had a stroke and ever since will not drink from his water bottle. I think he must have trouble with the suction? Anyway, he has to drink out of a ceramic dish so I only leave it out when I am home. He has certainly gotten wet before and it is no fun, plus food, hay, and poop all end up in the bowl as well. I would not recommend providing a bowl of water unless it was medically necessary; too much hassle and I'm sure you can find a new toy or something to make up for the disruption in their playtime routine :) good luck!
 
Magic_FROST said:
I dont think I would have a problem if all my boys were to share a water dish. Chins dont get nice neat bottles out in the wild. Somehow they manage to not get drenched in their natural environment.
Click to expand...

Chin in the wild are not drinking from sitting water sources where a dog that has recently licked is own anus has drunk either.

The mountains where chins come from are pretty much deserts, so no they don't get drenched often.
 
:hmm: Lots of good info. Thanks.

FYI, I removed the water dish last night and they spent about 10 minutes LOOKING for it! :confused3:

Lets see what happens tonight. I also just read that city water with flouride and other stuff may not be the best for a chin, yet another reason not to have it. (i'll also be using filtered water in the bottle.)
 
It bothers me that they seem frantic to look for water, its not a normal chin thing to look for anything frantically. I would investigate it further by putting a water bowl in their cage just prior to play and see if they are attracted to it.
 
I also wonder that perhaps even though you can get their waterbottle to work, perhaps they are having issues with it? Have you tried getting a different bottle and putting it on their cage? Or monitoring their water intake from the bottle by marking the side of the bottle with tape and seeing if it goes down in a day/night?
 
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