# It's a Water Bowl, Not a Swimming Pool



## debr1776 (Feb 4, 2018)

Our sweet GSD puppy, Gracie, is 9 weeks old. Since we brought her home (at 8 weeks old), she has nearly always drunk from her water bowl with her left front paw in the water bowl. Cute, right?

Well now she takes a couple sips of water and then puts both front paws in the water, and maniacally "digs" with them (think of the motion of a dog's front legs when digging a hole in your yard). Water splashes all over, a tsunami on the hardwood floor, requiring many full size towels to wipe up. Telling her no (more of a sharp "Eh eh!") does nothing, of course, which you'd expect with a pup who has just discovered something new and fun. Lifting her paws out of the water is useless, too, since she puts them back in the bowl as quickly as I can remove them.

So I try putting just a small amount of water in the bowl. She picks it up and tosses it. Still a flood to clean up.

So I try offering water only when I think she wants some, and she still has to dig in the bowl. I try holding the bowl (with just a little water) up to mouth height. She lifts up a paw to push it down or grabs the bowl with her mouth (the only time she's interested in a game of tug, by the way).

I hate not having water out for her at all times. But it's just not possible right now. I swear, I'm ready to mount a giant hamster bottle on the wall near her food bowl! 

Any suggestions other than waiting it out? Thanks in advance.


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

Okay, I have known dogs that continued to do this as adults, and it is a total PITA! VERY annoying bad habit that can drive the owner nuts! Some of these dogs will also learn how to destroy the water bowls as well as dumping them.

Things you could try: anchor the water bowl to something immovable. You can get bowls for kennel use that have clips on them to allow this. However, this will not stop her from wanting to dig in the water.

Offer her water numerous times a day. If she is not thirsty, take it away again. Discourage any effort she makes to dig in the bowl.

Give her lots of fun toys to play with, so she has something else to occupy her mind.

And as a last resort - hamster bottle!! (GSD sized version...) Though she will probably want to play/chew on that as well!

Maybe someone else can come up with other suggestions. I think there are automatic waterers out there, that only dispense a small amount of water at a time, and are shallow enough to prevent digging??


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

You can try a stand that raises the bowl off the ground. Keep her busy and well exercised and she will lose interest in the water.


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## debr1776 (Feb 4, 2018)

She is well exercised for a young pup and has a good number of toys (chew toys, puzzle type toys, squeeky toys, rolling toys). But it only takes two seconds to go from "I'm so thirsty I need to drink this whole bowl of water" to "surf's up!". 

I really appreciate your ideas, though!


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

One of my dogs loves to pick up the water dish (FULL) and dump it, then carry the empty bowl to his bed. WHY??? I don't know. He's been blind for years, and it has something to so with the smell and feel of the bowl. He's at least 11-12 y.o., so they don't necessarily grow out of it. He's just a mischievous old fart, and always has been. 

So the water dish lives on the bathroom tile floor (water can't harm the tile), on top of a no-slip rug. The dish is BIG (very heavy when full), to make it hard to pick up (the so-called "no tip" kind of stainless bowl). It _is _tippable, and if he succeeds, there's water all over the bathroom....but he has to work at it and treat it like a puzzle. It's usually not worth the effort unless he's bored and wants to get into something. We give him a buster cube puzzle toy with kibble in it most days, and that takes care of the mischief for him -- he feels like he's getting into something and isn't bored, which keeps him from going after the water bowl.

The digging is very, very common. Other than correcting it when you catch it in progress, I've got nothing.


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## andywhite (Dec 18, 2017)

Raised bowls were linked with increased occurrence of bloats. 

(Basically air trapped inside stomach. Which leads to twisting of stomach. = Emergency surgery or death of dog.)

Whatever you decide to do; I would keep drinking bowl on the floor level.


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## Mareesey (Aug 25, 2016)

andywhite said:


> Raised bowls were linked with increased occurrence of bloats.
> 
> (Basically air trapped inside stomach. Which leads to twisting of stomach. = Emergency surgery or death of dog.)
> 
> Whatever you decide to do; I would keep drinking bowl on the floor level.


Just raised water bowls or raised food bowls as well?


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

Both: One traditional preventative has been to raise the height of food and water bowls, but this was found to actually increase risk by 110 percent. This correlation of risk was verifiable; the dogs of the breeders in this study did not have close relatives that had experienced bloat.

https://www.vin.com/apputil/content/defaultadv1.aspx?meta=Generic&pId=11165&id=3848657


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## GandalfTheShepherd (May 1, 2017)

Sunsilver said:


> Both: One traditional preventative has been to raise the height of food and water bowls, but this was found to actually increase risk by 110 percent. This correlation of risk was verifiable; the dogs of the breeders in this study did not have close relatives that had experienced bloat.
> 
> https://www.vin.com/apputil/content/defaultadv1.aspx?meta=Generic&pId=11165&id=3848657


How high exactly is too high when it comes to raised bowls? We have always used water & food stands with our dogs for the OPs exact reason... don't like the dogs tipping the bowls over and making a mess. We also used raised because our vet said raised bowls decreases the chance of bloat :surprise:! So which is it really? Does the bowl need to be all the way on the floor? I don't really understand the mechanics of how it would make a big difference like that.


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## Heartandsoul (Jan 5, 2012)

This may not work but easy enough to try. Get a decent sized cardboard box. All sides closed except for the top. Flip the box over so the top becomes the bottom. On one of the sides cut out a hole that the pup can stick her head through. Make sure the hole is spaced so that the cardboard between floor and bottom of the hole is about chest high but low enough so that she can easily bend her neck down when her head is in the hole. Also make the hole so that her shoulders can't pass through. Put the water dish under the box.

You may have to try with just one piece of cardboard with a hole and put it in front of the water dish and entice her to try it out by using treats to see if the idea is worth it or even safe. If the cardboard box works and you or a loved one is handy, a more sturdy box be can be made of wood

Also I wouldn't use it unless you are at home to supervise. Pups have a habit of getting themselves stuck in spaces a mouse couldn't get through.

This is just an "invention" I thought of while reading your thread. I won't feel bad if you think it's a nutty or bad idea.


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## andywhite (Dec 18, 2017)

GandalfTheShepherd said:


> How high exactly is too high when it comes to raised bowls? We have always used water & food stands with our dogs for the OPs exact reason... don't like the dogs tipping the bowls over and making a mess. We also used raised because our vet said raised bowls decreases the chance of bloat :surprise:! So which is it really? Does the bowl need to be all the way on the floor? I don't really understand the mechanics of how it would make a big difference like that.


Different position of neck, head, muscles = affects if air goes into stomach with food/water or not.


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

GandalfTheShepherd said:


> How high exactly is too high when it comes to raised bowls? We have always used water & food stands with our dogs for the OPs exact reason... don't like the dogs tipping the bowls over and making a mess. We also used raised because our vet said raised bowls decreases the chance of bloat :surprise:! So which is it really? Does the bowl need to be all the way on the floor? I don't really understand the mechanics of how it would make a big difference like that.


I think the raised bowl allows the dog to swallow more air.


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

Heartandsoul said:


> This may not work but easy enough to try. Get a decent sized cardboard box. All sides closed except for the top. Flip the box over so the top becomes the bottom. On one of the sides cut out a hole that the pup can stick her head through. Make sure the hole is spaced so that the cardboard between floor and bottom of the hole is about chest high but low enough so that she can easily bend her neck down when her head is in the hole. Also make the hole so that her shoulders can't pass through. Put the water dish under the box.


Mine would think we'd made him a puzzle box....to shred. Ripping up boxes is great fun. In fact, if the Amazon boxes don't get flattened and put in the recycling, he loves to pull them apart. He would _definitely_ be interested in dismantling that water bowl contraption, and probably leaving me wet cardboard in a puddle on the floor. Or he'd carry the wet cardboard shreds all over the house. :|


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

I had a Dobe that did the same thing. Made it her mission to dump the water bowl. Tried the wide based no tip kind, and a super heavy crock type. She just had to outgrow it. It was seriously obnoxious.


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

I apologize, forget the raised bowl. They also sell spill proof water bowls.


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

There's a plastic bowl advertised as spill proof that has a big lip on the inside of it -- if they tip it, the lip catches the water. It was kind of pretty, and jewel-toned -- a pleasing design to look at. I don't remember it's name. It's smaller on top than at the bottom, so it holds a lot of water, but there's not a lot of open area to put dog paws in. Those are good qualities.

The problems? The lip makes a nice place to grab on and pick it up, for the dog that carries the bowl around. He even managed to carry it still containing water, sloshing as he walked, since the lip kept the water inside until shaken. Aside from that, it's plastic, so it accumulates biofilm and may cause lip fold issues in some dogs if you don't disinfect it very frequently, and scrub to remove the biofilm (a non-trivial task due to the lip and needed to get under there with a scrubbing pad)...and even then you may still have issues. One of my other dogs is prone to those lip issues, so that's not okay for me.

This is the steel no-tip style that does make it harder to tip -- but they can still do it, if your dog is smart and determined (and it's got lots of room for diggers to splash in, unfortunately).
https://www.amazon.com/Ethical-160-...28468&sr=1-2&keywords=large+bowl+steel+no+tip


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## debr1776 (Feb 4, 2018)

Heartandsoul said:


> This may not work but easy enough to try. Get a decent sized cardboard box. All sides closed except for the top. Flip the box over so the top becomes the bottom. On one of the sides cut out a hole that the pup can stick her head through. Make sure the hole is spaced so that the cardboard between floor and bottom of the hole is about chest high but low enough so that she can easily bend her neck down when her head is in the hole. Also make the hole so that her shoulders can't pass through. Put the water dish under the box.
> 
> You may have to try with just one piece of cardboard with a hole and put it in front of the water dish and entice her to try it out by using treats to see if the idea is worth it or even safe. If the cardboard box works and you or a loved one is handy, a more sturdy box be can be made of wood
> 
> ...


I think it's brilliant, not nutty! I'll try it in a couple days when I get a box from Amazon.


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## GandalfTheShepherd (May 1, 2017)

I didn't think puppies usually got bloat (please correct me if i'm wrong) so couldn't the OP just use a bowl stand until the puppy matured and got past this phase? When mine was that age he was playing in his like a pool too but now that he's older he doesn't mess with his bowls... he just grew out of it.


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## debr1776 (Feb 4, 2018)

You know those food bowls that have concentric circles within them to slow down a dog's eating? Do you all think that might stop her from paddling in the water? I'm thinking something like this that I found on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Feeder-Bloat..._wg=vXvbk&psc=1&refRID=CHJHKXRWYCYNQVZ8ZTKR):


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## Armistice (Oct 12, 2017)

My pup flips bowls within 30mins when in the pen at the in-laws. We got a large trough so she can't mess with it. Holds 20gal I'd guess


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## Nurse Bishop (Nov 20, 2016)

You might try watering out of a tall narrow stainless steel bucket fastened to the wall. Harder to get the front feet into.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

A tall crock (often antique stores have them) where you hang her bowl in. The crock put takes care of the height and weight. Or make a board where only her head fits through and place that over the bowl. They are so persistent when they have found something fun that also gets lots of attention!  and it is very hard to outsmart a GSD puppy. I am in the middle of this creativity spell.
Please post pictures what works.


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## Dunkirk (May 7, 2015)

If you have a large slow cooker/crock pot you aren't using, the ceramic insert for that would work.


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## Heartandsoul (Jan 5, 2012)

debr1776 said:


> I think it's brilliant, not nutty! I'll try it in a couple days when I get a box from Amazon.


Even if it ends up as @Magwart describes, your girl will think that you are the best fun-box-water-container-maker in the whole world. So you will be the brilliant one in her eyes. :smile2:


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## debr1776 (Feb 4, 2018)

Well, I found a pretty good solution to the problem, which is such a relief. I have my hands full with the landsharking, chewing and potty training accidents; I didn't need the water digging/splashing on top of all of that!

I remembered that years ago I had a travel water bowl. It was a stainless bowl with a plastic lid that had a hole in the center. I found that old bowl, but couldn't find the lid, so I went searching on Amazon for something similar. I found a good number of similar products, and a customer review for one of them mentioned a different product, called a Slopper Stopper. 

The Slopper Stopper seems to be designed to deal with those dogs that take a big mouthful of water and then let it dribble out as they leave the water bowl. It's also for dogs with long ears or beards that get dunked in the water bowl or dogs that drink too quickly and then barf the water back up. But when I went to Slopper Stopper's website, the promo videos also showed pups like mine who dig in their bowl.

Out of sheer desperation, I decided I would buy a Slopper Stopper, despite the fact that it was an insanely expensive $49.99. I ordered from Amazon, and it was in my hands in two days. As soon as it arrived, I filled it with water and put it down in front of Gracie. She immediately tried to dig in it, and couldn't! She could drink from it right away (some dogs need a little guidance, it seems), but her paws couldn't get through the well sealed lid. It didn't even tip over (it's super heavy). She tried to pick it up and couldn't. She does sometimes dip her toes in the hole in the lid meant for her muzzle, but a little bit of wet paw prints on the floor is fine with me, especially compared to the flood waters she created with a regular water bowl.

If any of you are in a similar situation with your pup, the Slopper Stopper has Gracie's seal of Approval


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## czgsd (Jan 12, 2004)

We've had the same problem - first with an adult rescue, and now with our puppy. Something that has really helped, and is less expensive, is the narrow, tall, no-tip stainless dish, that Nurse Bishop mentioned. It was $7 at Walmart, and similar dishes are sold elsewhere. They come in at least 3 sizes, and only the narrowest one makes any difference. The puppy loves challenges, though, so it may be only a temporary solution. And she'll still dip her paws in, if I'm not there to stop her. I'll try the Slopper Stopper, described above, if this fails. It's nice to know there's something available if we get more desperate.


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## chevyfreese (Apr 26, 2018)

wow, last night Maggie, 10 weeks old, i took a video so i could post about her behavior. I was wondering what she trying to get. her reflection? a hint of a scent from a bone she dropped in it. I will look into larger base bowls. let me know if u find anything that works!


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## sebrench (Dec 2, 2014)

Yeah, my dogs are incredibly messy drinkers...especially Levi. I move the water dish outside on the porch when I expect them to be drinking enthusiastically, like coming home from a walk. A mat under the bowl can be helpful, as well as having a mop nearby (ugh), and keeping the bowl on tiled floor. 

I'll have to think about getting that pricey "Slopper Stopper" on Amazon. That could be good for us. Those of you who have one, what size did you get?

Right now, I'm just using an old 8 quart pot that I fill up halfway. I find the higher sides help to prevent at least a little of the water from sloshing out.


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## debr1776 (Feb 4, 2018)

I bought the medium sized Slopper Stopper for Gracie, since she's just 11 weeks old. When she outgrows it, we'll try to do without and just use a regular stainless steel bowl. If she still insists on digging in it, we'll buy the large or giant size lid, depending on her adult size. (They sell the lids separately on their website for $20.)


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## KaiserAus (Dec 16, 2016)

Kaiser used to do the same thing... I got him a rectangular bucket which stopped the digging/splashing so now he just puts his paws in the bowl and stands there, lol.
If I get his pool out then much digging/splashing ensues, haha.

I might have a look at the slobber stopper as he is a terribly messy drinker and always lets a ton of water dribble out his mouth.


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## smbrach (Jun 28, 2018)

debr1776 said:


> Our sweet GSD puppy, Gracie, is 9 weeks old. Since we brought her home (at 8 weeks old), she has nearly always drunk from her water bowl with her left front paw in the water bowl. Cute, right?
> 
> Well now she takes a couple sips of water and then puts both front paws in the water, and maniacally "digs" with them (think of the motion of a dog's front legs when digging a hole in your yard). Water splashes all over, a tsunami on the hardwood floor, requiring many full size towels to wipe up. Telling her no (more of a sharp "Eh eh!") does nothing, of course, which you'd expect with a pup who has just discovered something new and fun. Lifting her paws out of the water is useless, too, since she puts them back in the bowl as quickly as I can remove them.
> 
> ...



OMG I love your description as this is EXACTLY how my pup, Ava, is drinking and what she's doing, and I could just envision your dog!


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## tim_s_adams (Aug 9, 2017)

I'm not at all sure what causes this behavior, but my dog, now 18, going on 19 months, did this for the first time today - both paws in the water dish digging like there's some sort of burried treasure there! Funny yes, tolerable not so much! I don't know why, and I don't really care, but it has to stop now LOL! I won't negotiate, it's not going to continue!


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## smbrach (Jun 28, 2018)

tim_s_adams said:


> I'm not at all sure what causes this behavior, but my dog, now 18, going on 19 months, did this for the first time today - both paws in the water dish digging like there's some sort of burried treasure there! Funny yes, tolerable not so much! I don't know why, and I don't really care, but it has to stop now LOL! I won't negotiate, it's not going to continue!


Please let me know if the figure out how to make it stop. :-D
In the meantime, I gave my Ava a tub with water that she can play in outside and am just watching her inside to make sure that she doesn't play in or dump the gravity waterer. It's hilarious and messy at the same time! ^_^


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