When was the last time you gave your dog’s toys, food bowls, and bed a deep clean? If it's been too long to remember or you never bothered cleaning your dog’s stuff, it’s definitely time. Research show that your dog’s belongings can contain a dangerous amount and variety of germs that can lead to different diseases.
Imagine giving your dog a rope toy and it dragging the toy through every surface in your home - you can picture the amount of dirt and germs it will contain! If your dog is touchy about a specific toy, the chances are that it’s the dirtiest of all. Similarly, not cleaning your dog’s food and water bowls is another mistake you might be doing unintentionally.
But if this practice continues, your dog can get sick, or worse, the germs from its toys can risk your health. Therefore, following a practical cleaning schedule for your dog is essential. Besides bathing and grooming your dog, keeping its stuff clean is also your duty as a pet parent.
No worries if you didn’t pay attention to this step earlier because doing so is quite easy. Here’s a quick cleaning regiment you can follow to ensure your dog’s belongings are always germ and pathogen-free:
Cleaning Food and Water Bowls
First things first, your dog’s food and water must always be safe for consumption. Sure, you feed your dog safe and healthy food, but if its bowl is laden with germs from multiple surfaces, you’re quite not there. Dogs tend to lick their food and water bowls, resulting in saliva and germ transfer. That’s why cleaning dog food and water bowls is essential. Even if they lick their bowls clean and leave nothing behind, the saliva builds up bacteria that can lead to upset stomachs, diarrhea, or worse.
It’s better to thoroughly clean these bowls every week to ensure your dog doesn’t get sick. Here’s how to clean dog bowls:
Get a dog-friendly dish soap to clean these bowls because the regular soap at your home can be toxic for the pet.
Soak the bowls in warm soapy water to ease the cleaning process for yourself.
Once the hardened food particles come off from the bowl, rinse it with clean water until the product comes off.
Carefully dry the food and water bowls to ensure there’s no rust or mold accumulation.
Disinfect the bowls with a store-bought disinfectant or use distilled water-vinegar solution to keep the germs at bay.
These quick steps will keep your dog’s water and food bowls clean, along with repelling germs and pathogens from entering its digestive tract.
Cleaning Stuffed Toys
Your dog’s stuffed toys are probably the most germ-laden surfaces it comes across. Dogs chew, lick, and drag their toys around the house and outside without caring about germs or pollutants. But if you also overlook these stuffed toys’ cleanliness, it can be a recipe for disaster. Follow these steps to clean the stuffed toys and stop multiple pathogens from impacting them:
Soak your dog’s stuffed toys in distilled water-vinegar solution for 1 hour to take the dirt and grime out. Since vinegar is also a disinfectant, it’s suitable for stuffed surfaces.
Mix some pet-safe liquid soap or detergent in warm water to give these toys a careful wash in it. You can also put the stuffed toys in a washing machine if doing so by hand feels tough.
Once the stains are off the stuffed toys, give them a deep dunk in hot water for 2-3 minutes to remove the remaining germs.
If you follow these steps, your dog’s beloved stuffed toys will remain clean and germ-free, no matter how old they are.
Cleaning Rubber, Plastic, and Nylon Toys
Rubber, plastic, and nylon dog toys are badly chewed and dragged around. Whether your dog loves a rubber bone or it loves the kong-kong, keeping them germ-free is your duty. But since cleaning rubber and plastic toys is different from stuffed ones, many pet parents do it wrong.
Follow this simple process to free your dog’s rubber and nylon toys from lingering germs:
Make a distilled water and white vinegar solution to soak the rubber toys.
Soak all dog toys in this solution and let them sit for 30-60 minutes.
Mix a dog-friendly soap with warm water and apply it to the rubber toys with a sponge.
Carefully remove all dirt and grime particles from the toys and rinse them.
Some toys are also dishwasher safe, but make sure to check since some plastics might melt in the dishwasher.
Let these toys air dry, and disinfect them before returning them to the rightful owner.
Cleaning Rope Toys
Dogs love rope toys because they can play with them however they want and these toys won’t snap or break. If your dog is also fond of a rope toy, learn to clean it the right way if you want to keep the germs at bay.
Dunk the rope toys in clean water to remove the loose dirt and grime.
Put this water bowl in the microwave and run it for 10 minutes. This hot water will remove germs from the rope toys and disinfect them.
If you want, you can also use a disinfectant after removing the rope toys from the microwave.
Let the toys cool down and dry out before giving them to the dog.
Summing Up
Dog owners often neglect cleaning their buddies’ belongings, thinking they don’t matter. But studies prove that germ-laden bowls, toys, and bedding can pose multiple health risks to dogs. If you want to prevent this situation, become proactive about your dog’s surroundings and never neglect the cleanliness aspect.
Yes, regularly bathing and grooming the dog is essential, but its daily use items also deserve some care. Don’t neglect these things because they directly impact your dog’s health. You can easily find a dog-friendly soap that’s suitable for its toys, food bowls, and bed to kill all germs from these surfaces.
Never let your dog’s toys go unwashed for more than two weeks because this carelessness can quickly backfire. Maintain an overall healthy environment for your pup to provide it with a good quality of life and enjoy its friendly company for the years to come.