Owners should take water and a fold-up bowl from home when they head out to explore nature, and never let dogs drink from untreated streams or other bodies of water that may be contaminated with bacteria, chemicals and parasites that can make pets sick, advises veterinarian Lee Pickett. Possible dangers, which can also affect humans, include the parasite giardia, which causes bloody diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pain, and the bacteria leptospira, which can result in kidney and liver failure.

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