# Why do dogs like puddle water? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 30, 2001, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-like-puddle-water/78890 "2001-08-30T05:27:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-like-puddle-water/78890/1 "2001-08-30T05:27:55Z")
I noticed this a long time back with my dog. I would bring him nice clean water, in a nice clean bowl and boom off he’d go to the muddy leafy puddle to drink that. Now today I noticed my neighbor’s dog. He had a bowl of water on the porch and there he was drinking the puddle water from rain or the hose or God knows what. ---
**Author:** ![Sue\_Duhnym](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@Sue\_Duhnym](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sue_Duhnym)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-like-puddle-water/78890/2 "2001-08-30T06:05:43Z")
Dogs? Hell, my CHILD prefers puddles! ---
**Author:** ![mmmiiikkkeee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/edb3f5/32.png) [@mmmiiikkkeee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mmmiiikkkeee)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-like-puddle-water/78890/3 "2001-08-30T07:06:35Z")
Maybe they don’t like the chlorine smell or aditives in city water (then again, chlorine disapates off fairly soon). Wait, scratch that since they like toilet water which is the same thing. Perhaps it’s the interesting smells or tastes from “wild” water (which toilet water might also have). It’s probly just natural for them to slurp out of whatever water source is the most handy… and not sharing the same squeemishness and high standards as us, don’t care whether it’s Evian or a cocktail of diluted battery acid and horse piss complete with oil slick. ---
**Author:** ![thinksnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thinksnow/32/2849_2.png) [@thinksnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thinksnow)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-like-puddle-water/78890/4 "2001-08-30T13:31:29Z")
Probably for the same reason one of my cats likes the water on the shower walls and dripping in the sink better than the water in his bowl: Just because. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-like-puddle-water/78890/5 "2001-08-30T15:06:24Z")
Hey…water! And it’s free! ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-like-puddle-water/78890/6 "2001-08-30T23:14:56Z")
All the dogs I’e ever seen are like this, but their absolute favourite is running water direct from the tap. ---
**Author:** ![TheThill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheThill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheThill)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-dogs-like-puddle-water/78890/7 "2001-08-30T23:21:21Z")
Dogs just like to check out everything that has a smell. And if they can lick up some of it too, so much the better!