# raised food and water bowls?



## corbmonster (Jul 28, 2015)

I applied to get a rescue GSD mix and I have not looked into what type of food I should get, but I've been getting all the other things I'll need to take care of him. I was thinking, a raised food and water dish like this on top of a mat would probably reduce a mess? Water getting sloshed around would not get trapped under the bowl and grow mold, but would land on a mat and evaporate off. Good idea? or am I overly optimistic?


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## Cheyanna (Aug 18, 2012)

Sorry, but I had to laugh, because when Fiona drinks water drips from her mouth for the next 5 feet. I keep the bowl on a towel, but the keep a hand towel nearby to dry the floor. If you get a puppy, be prepared for the pup to dig in the water. Empty the bowls by splashing it out with their front paws. Fiona has learned she can only do this outside. It seems to be a common GSD trait ... Dripping water mouth.


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## Kyleigh (Oct 16, 2012)

OK, I'm laughing too! Sorry! That is way too fragile - your pup will have an absolute field day with it!

I have something like this: 



 
Mine's a bit different, but you get the idea. 

It is much more solid ... BUT when Ky was a puppy she could STILL play in it! And she did ... she would jump right in the water bowl and have herself a pool party. 

I know there has been some conflicting information on whether or not raised bowls is the way to go. 

I feed raw, and when there are chunks of meat for Ky to eat, she just chews once or twice and they're gone. When there are RMB or turkey necks, she lays down on her mat and eats them. 

So for me, the raised bowls were a waste of money LOL 

And yes, the whole drinking of water ... put the water bowl in a place that can take having water on it on a regular basis (not your hardwood floors LOL). 

Ky's water bowl is in the laundry room - it's a linoleum floor. I don't have a towel under it, I simply wash it twice a day (morning and night) with some paper towel.

Have fun!


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## MyHans-someBoy (Feb 23, 2013)

Hi,
You can take this for what it's worth, but...I never use any food or water bowls that are crock type material with a glaze finish. Often they come from other countries whose quality standards may not be very good. In the past (might not be a problem now) some were found to contain lead and it was feared that the lead would get into the food/water and cause health problems...
I use stainless steel for food and water.
Hans is exceptionally neat when he drinks but is a "dribbler" as he walks away, lol.


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## The Wild Bunch (Jun 17, 2015)

I use stainless steel as well. I have had dogs noses change color from rubbing on plastic or ceramic material.

In reference to using raised bowls, there is some research, including Purdue University (and many others) that suggest it can increase the likelihood of bloat in some dogs. 

Lots of research and links here. https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=bloat%20from%20raised%20food%20bowls

I of course cannot prove this but I lost a dog to bloat, and she ate/drank from a raised dish. Please read before you decide one way or the other. 

With my water dribbler i just use a wetdry mat under his water dish and then keep towels around the area.


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## dhaney81 (Nov 5, 2014)

I've been looking at getting an elevated food set up as well. It seems like it would be a little more comfortable. I'd say to expect to clean up a good amount of water no matter what you do. When my dog drinks water he may swallow 50% of it, the rest is drooled all over the place. A mat under the bowl might help a little though as long as your dog doesn't chew on it. Definitely get a sturdy set up like the one KY recommended so your dog can't push it around and knock it over so easily. Good luck!


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## amburger16 (May 22, 2015)

I just used stainless steel with rubber on the bottom.. Wash daily. Never use plastic, it holds bacteria and can give them issues.. My cat actually got acne on his chin from plastic, so I will not use plastic for any of my animals now.


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## SuperG (May 11, 2013)

Cheyanna said:


> Sorry, but I had to laugh, because when Fiona drinks water drips from her mouth for the next 5 feet. I keep the bowl on a towel, but the keep a hand towel nearby to dry the floor. If you get a puppy, be prepared for the pup to dig in the water. Empty the bowls by splashing it out with their front paws. Fiona has learned she can only do this outside. It seems to be a common GSD trait ... Dripping water mouth.


LOL....puppy water bowl " swimming " seems to be a common thread with many GSDs. Now that I think of it, it was one of the first behaviors which I needed to modify with the 3 shepherds I have had. They all seemed fascinated with the water in their bowls as pups and must have figured it needed to be splashed or dumped out of the bowl....maybe they thought they were setting the water free.....

OP, I go with stainless on the floor. Elevated vs on the floor has been a debate over the years.....don't know if there is a real answer either way...I suppose for an old dog with some physical issues, elevated might have some benefits.


SuperG


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## JackandMattie (Feb 4, 2013)

TeeHee! If only the water stayed on the mat. As others have mentioned, it's not usually water directly around/under the bowl that creates a mess....it's the water they dribble in an 8-foot line across the floor as they walk away from the bowl that's the real bugger! 

Looking forward to pics of your new rescue. Welcome to the forum!


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

For some of my dogs the stainless version of Buddy Bowl works very well regarding water mess. For my current two, I have a Neater Feeder. I use this for water and it does a pretty good job of containing the dribbles and the youngster has not played in it either. The bowls are stainless. My dogs get fed on the floor. The ravenous one gets fed in a plastic feeder designed to slow the intake. The other gets a standard stainless bowl. On the ground. The Neater Feeder is somewhat elevated but not much, maybe an inch off the ground for the bottom of the bowl.


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

There's a bit controversy about raised feeders. I use them because it's less stress on the neck over the long term. There is some indication that they _may_ increase the risk of bloat -- but as with all things bloat related, there are as many questions as answers regarding causation. I just want to put this out there so you can do your own research and make up your own mind.


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## hunterisgreat (Jan 30, 2011)

elevated feeding/watering correlates strongly with bloat. Don't do it.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

I think canids in the wild don't use elevated feeders.  Also, giving water in a bucket greatly reduces mess.

http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=i:aps,k:dog water pail


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## hunterisgreat (Jan 30, 2011)

Sunflowers said:


> I think canids in the wild don't use elevated feeders.  Also, giving water in a bucket greatly reduces mess.
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=i:aps,k:dog water pail


I put a dog door into the garage and put the water there


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## Kyleigh (Oct 16, 2012)

I can't put the water in the garage, it would freeze 5 months of the year LOL


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## corbmonster (Jul 28, 2015)

I'm still getting used to the forum, I guess I have to manually subscribe to threads. And the post order is in reverse from what I'm used to. 

Ya, 8 foot dribbles. well, oh well.  There will be no safe place in my apt then. My tiny kitchen has the largest lanolium area, and it is not 8 foot. Oh well. shoes on carpet at all times I guess.


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## Cobe914 (Sep 29, 2014)

I second the Neater Feeder thing for water.. I find it has helped a lot. Cobe still grabs a mouthful before walking around but I find with his really long muzzle just in the process of drinking, water tends to gush out the sides of his mouth... the neater feeder contains a drainage system that at least controls that. Several studies have connected raised food bowls with bloat, and my personal experimentation showed that my boy gulped a lot more food when his dish was up. When he's old and arthritic, or if he gets a neck injury from all of his flying face plants into the ground, I'll raise his dish. Until then I feel like it does reduce the risk of bloat keeping it down.


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

I do use a raised stainless steel bowls for food and water. Its a wrought iron stand with a german shepherd on it. We had it with first shepherd and still in great shape. I have heard raised food bowls can increase the chance of bloat. We have a little chihuahua who may possibly, if given the chance, sneak in max's bowl during dinner, I wouldnt put it past him. I never gave him the opportunity to do so and we had not had fights over food. I like to keep it that way so the stand is a perfect height where our chihuahua cant reach if he tried when no one was watching.


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## ThorsonVonThorson (Jun 18, 2015)

We use raised feeders for our Shepherds. It's not too high and it's not too low. It's in the middle. I believe it provides easier swallowing and is easier on their esophagus. As far as bloat is concerned... if you feed your dog smaller portions multiple times a day there is no need for concern.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

ThorsonVonThorson said:


> We use raised feeders for our Shepherds. It's not too high and it's not too low. It's in the middle. I believe it provides easier swallowing and is easier on their esophagus.


How?

Aren't they designed to eat off the ground?


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## corbmonster (Jul 28, 2015)

Are auto feeders a bad idea? Like the kind where you dump food in a bottle and it gravity feeds?


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

corbmonster said:


> Are auto feeders a bad idea? Like the kind where you dump food in a bottle and it gravity feeds?


Free feeding is not a good idea.

A puppy, especially, needs to eat certain quantities, and there's no way to control it if you just dump the food and leave it there for him to eat.


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

Free feeders also vastly increase your odds of having an obese dog. Given how widespread canine obesity is, and how many health problems flow from it, it's just not worth it. I believe meals need to be measured at all lifestages.


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## corbmonster (Jul 28, 2015)

Thanks so much for all your feed back! I found a great deal on amazon for Bella Bowls. After reading old posts on this forum, I'm going with the XL 3 quart bowl for water. What size should I get for food? He is a grown adult, and adults eat about 2 cups of food 2x's a day. So should I get smaller? Does it matter?


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## ThorsonVonThorson (Jun 18, 2015)

Sunflowers said:


> How?
> 
> Aren't they designed to eat off the ground?


Have you ever tried to swallow while upside down or on a steep angle?


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## Cheyanna (Aug 18, 2012)

corbmonster said:


> Thanks so much for all your feed back! I found a great deal on amazon for Bella Bowls. After reading old posts on this forum, I'm going with the XL 3 quart bowl for water. What size should I get for food? He is a grown adult, and adults eat about 2 cups of food 2x's a day. So should I get smaller? Does it matter?



Does not matter. Just get stainless steel. If he eats fast, having a bigger bowl will be a good idea so you can put a ball or something in it to slow him down.


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## corbmonster (Jul 28, 2015)

Cheyanna said:


> Does not matter. Just get stainless steel. If he eats fast, having a bigger bowl will be a good idea so you can put a ball or something in it to slow him down.


Thanks!


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

Yes we feed twice a day. I had a german shepherd who lived 12 years eating from a raised bowl. Never had any bloat problems with raised bowls. It looks like they are more comfortable eating this way but it may not be for all.


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