Seems to me, dogs drink pool water and that's got a LOT of cholrine in it! Just don't use too much. Over time, (not much) the chlorine dissipates or at the very least, gets much weaker.

I don't think dirty water would hurt them..... if the water's running it can't be that bad..... if it's sitting with pond scum well that's a different story..... but it's not right?????? A little bit of chlorine would probably be fine..... but I don't know how the plants would like it..... I'd be more worried about the plants than the dog..... dogs are hardier than we think they have some pretty tough stuff in their stomachs that helps them fight off illnesses not like us..... look at the stuff they eat.... off the ground uggghhhhh........

: ) man, you must be lucky not to have chlorinated tap water like most of us do...

if you put enough bleach in there, he won't drink from it, and nothing at all will grow in it...

I'd be more concerned with him trying to SWIM in it...and don't think that it being too small will stop him... I've got one 'red-headed step-golden' of my own, and that dog's tried to swim in the toilet!

Why put chlorine in it at all? I have a fountain that is similar and I keep it running consantly to keep my water plants happy and the algea down to a minimal. The other thing that I have occur is lots of tadpoles that help keep the mosquito population down.
Keep the water running and free of chemicals, like MaNat.
good luck with fido!

Oh Retrievers, you gotta love em.

Chinacat, my co-workers now officially think I am nuts. Your post made me laugh so hard, I had tears in my eyes.

Zone.. I have 2 fountains that run continually & every week or so, we put about 2 tbls of bleach in them. Dogs drink out of them all the time. No ill effects.

Good luck & enjoy your fountain & goldens.

Tammy in Sunny Surprise Arizona

Mastiff and Great Danes- they drink it all the time. They also drink out of toilets! No ill effects yet although I stop them when I catch them and watch water literally fall out of the sides of their mouths.

I have a lab/retriever that absolutely loves my bird bath water. It's actually perfect when I'm in the yard all day, I know and she knows she has fresh water, she just has to share it with the birds and squirrels!

Linda

Dont you love the sound of a waterfall on the deck? Several years ago we purchased a barrel and old fashioned pump as well. When we first put it up of course the dog was attracted to the giant water dish. At first it was fine...but the pump is made of cast iron and began to show signs of rust. I changed the water often for the "dog". But by the end of the summer she developed a bladder infection, repeated trips to the vet, urine samples, meds, etc. At some point I ask the vet what could be causeing the problem. She ask me if we had well water. We didn't have well water, but I suspected the now very rusted old fashioned pump might be the cause. The following summer my dad built a special stand out of treated lumber to set the barrel on. The dog can not reach it so I don't worry about her drinking from it. I placed different sizes of potted plants around it and it looked great. My husband sanded and repainted the old-fashioned pump with an anti-rust paint. But it rusted anyway.....The rust gives it a really old look, but the stand keeps it out of reach from the dog..........Dianne

My dog always drinks from our pool so out of curiosity tested pool water against our tap water....and tap water showed way more clorine then the pool.

Tap chlorine will have a residual of about 2-3 ppm. I go the opposite way and eliminate it for growing from seeds. It takes about three days for a 5 gallon bucket to lose the chlorine (outside, inside it takes a bit longer).

The dog would rather go outside and drink some crappy cold water without chlorine from his dish, than drink some fresh tap water inside.

Animals are attracted to running water because of the waterfall sound. Instinctually, animals know that running water is more likely to be fresh and clean then water which has been sitting.

Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Waterfall Fountains