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Corintheus · Mar 17, 2005, 01:05 AM

I don't think the subject title really sums up what I'm trying to say, but anyway, I have a dog, and this dog has a habit of sticking her feet in the water bowl she's drinking from. I need to know how to prevent her from doing this, though I haven't figured anything out as of yet. Maybe a special dog bowl or what?

And on top of that, she'll pick up the bowl and run around the yard with it. Therefore emptying it. And considering animals need water to live, I'm thinking I should stop this, especially with this Brisbane climate. But how?

I don't exactly subscribe to some pets forum, so I'm turning to you people, considering a lot of you have dogs.

Oh and don't say something like "teach it not to". I have a life, I work.

Thanks, crackers.

AKcrab · Mar 17, 2005, 01:10 AM

Get something like this:

http://www.trendypet.com/dogbowl/pro...roductid=16187

anthonyvthc · Mar 17, 2005, 02:09 AM

Put some really nasty tasting sh*t on the outside of the bowl to stop her from picking it up. Or nail it down. As for sticking her paw in it,I think you're SOL. Animals do that to check the temp and to see where the water actually is (because of poor depth perception).

im_noahselby · Mar 17, 2005, 02:19 AM

One word of caution, your dog may be trying to tell you something about her feet, especially if it is one foot in particular that she keeps on putting in the water bowl. Pay close attention to see if she scratches at her foot or rubs it. She could possibly have an infection or pain? Inspect the area carefully and don't be afraid to take your pet to the vet if you sense something is awry.

Now, here are some solutions to your common dog problem:

- Try taping or anchoring the water dish to the floor so it cant be moved. After awhile, your dog won't even bother to move the dish.

- Every time your dog puts her foot in the water bowl, firmly say "NO". Reward your pet for good behavior and be strict towards mischief.

-Also you can experiment with scents as well. For example, you could place a trail of almond or mint extract around the water dish. Everytime your dog goes to her water dish this will be a healthy reminder to her, as to what type of behaviour is tolerated. After awhile this will no longer be necessary.

Noah

Randman · Mar 17, 2005, 02:25 AM

Ignore Anthony's stupid comment. You don't want to risk contaminating the water.

It sounds like your dog just want to play and is trying to get attention. Do you walk the dog enough? What breed is it? Are you playing enough with it?

You can try getting a larger bowl but at least get a couple of extra toys, a tennis ball or chew rope and a teething bone/rawhide strip and give the dog some exercise.

Oh, and if the dog is outdoors, it may be just thirsty and gets overly excited when there's water. Try putting two (or three) bowls out, not too close to each other and see if the behaviour is repeated with either bowl, or both.

im_noahselby · Mar 17, 2005, 02:30 AM

You could use a 4L ice cream bucket as a water bowl. Most dogs would have a hard time dragging that thing around. Just make sure, that you are emptying it and putting in fresh water throughout the day.

Noah

Eriamjh · Mar 17, 2005, 11:07 AM

Get it a GIANT water bottle?

Athens · Mar 17, 2005, 12:32 PM

Originally posted by Corintheus:
I don't think the subject title really sums up what I'm trying to say, but anyway, I have a dog, and this dog has a habit of sticking her feet in the water bowl she's drinking from. I need to know how to prevent her from doing this, though I haven't figured anything out as of yet. Maybe a special dog bowl or what?

And on top of that, she'll pick up the bowl and run around the yard with it. Therefore emptying it. And considering animals need water to live, I'm thinking I should stop this, especially with this Brisbane climate. But how?

I don't exactly subscribe to some pets forum, so I'm turning to you people, considering a lot of you have dogs.

Oh and don't say something like "teach it not to". I have a life, I work.

Thanks, crackers.

train to use toilet

im_noahselby · Mar 17, 2005, 01:44 PM

Originally posted by Athens:
train to use toilet

Many people don't realize this, but cats can be trained to use the toilet. I'm not to sure about dogs though. Some dogs are bold enough to use it as their water dish, haha

Noah

wdlove · Mar 17, 2005, 01:51 PM

It sounds as though you have a lot of good advice. I wish you luck.

Corintheus · Mar 17, 2005, 02:11 PM

Thanks for the tips guys. I'll see what I can do. That water bowl stuck in a table looks like a good idea. Looks kinda silly though.

Maybe I'll just invent a giant water feeder for dogs. Ya know the ones they have for rats with a metal ball in it? Here comes one for dogs. And then perhaps horses, elephants, and giraffes.

Or not.

turtle777 · Mar 17, 2005, 02:15 PM

Put it in the oven, and soon you'll have a hot dog.

-t

AKcrab · Mar 17, 2005, 03:25 PM

Originally posted by Corintheus:
Maybe I'll just invent a giant water feeder for dogs. Ya know the ones they have for rats with a metal ball in it? Here comes one for dogs. And then perhaps horses, elephants, and giraffes.

Or not.

http://www.petdiscounters.com/custom...281&page=1

Oisín · Mar 17, 2005, 04:44 PM

Depending on what kind of dog it is (ie. if it's one with a lot of fur, one that's not 'built' for the Brisbane climate), the fact that she's sticking her feet in the water is perfectly natural; she's doing it to cool herself down. Dogs sweat from their tongues and their paws, and they often stick their feet in the water to cool themselves down when it's too hot.

There really isn't much of a simple answer to stop them doing it - you can try having two different bowls of water out there for her, one for the feet, one for the tongue; but that doesn't always work. The fact that you know that only one of them is for foot-bathing doesn't necessarily mean your dog does...

As for the running away with the bowl: Just get one of those nifty 'bowl hangers' (for lack of a better word) that you hang the bowls in, then she can't pick it up and run off with it.

tooki · Mar 17, 2005, 04:57 PM

Dogs don't sweat from anywhere, much less their tongues. Dogs are incapable of sweating, which is why they pant.

tooki

Oisín · Mar 17, 2005, 05:05 PM

Originally posted by tooki:
Dogs don't sweat from anywhere, much less their tongues. Dogs are incapable of sweating, which is why they pant.

Bad wording... I meant 'sweat' in the [non-existant in English] sense of 'getting rid of excessive heat'.

Xeo · Mar 17, 2005, 05:19 PM

My dad has a neat dog dish that takes one of those water cooler jugs. You know, one of these:

Automatically fills the bowl via gravity when it gets too low. It lasts my dad's dog about a week before it needs to be refilled.

Living outside in a hot climate, it would probably need to be filled every day or every other day. That would take care of her carrying it around, would keep her hydrated for a longer period, but wouldn't do anything to keep her feet out of the water.

That garden hose faucet thingy looks pretty interesting too. For an outside dog, that might work pretty well. You'd never have to refill and she couldn't put her foot in it. So long as she learned how to use it.

AKcrab · Mar 17, 2005, 05:30 PM

Originally posted by Xeo:
My dad has a neat dog dish that takes one of those water cooler jugs. You know, one of these:

Wow! I've never seen one with a reservoir that big. Know where he got it?
My six told me they want one, maybe two.

ghporter · Mar 17, 2005, 07:48 PM

The elevated bowl holder is a good concept, but do check to make sure that the dog doesn't have something wrong with the paw or paws she's putting in the water. If you go with the elevated bowls, make sure the structure isn't at all easy to knock over. One bad turn on the tile floor and your whole bowl of water could be all over!

My wife's German Shepherd dog likes to run around in the back yard and sometimes steps on bees; he'll not only lay there and excessively groom the stung paw, he'll put it in the water bowl too.

Now GSDs do not have lips that close-not at all!-so he gets enough water on the floor when he drinks normally. He makes a REAL mess when he sticks his paws in the bowl, so it was worth our time the first time to figure out what his problem was.

Xeo · Mar 17, 2005, 08:48 PM

Originally posted by AKcrab:
Wow! I've never seen one with a reservoir that big. Know where he got it?
My six told me they want one, maybe two.

I will ask him. I'm sure he found it at K-Mart or something.

JustAnOl'Broad · Mar 18, 2005, 02:23 AM

Our landlord uses the hose adapter (giant one like for hamster bottles);
they work great.
Also, a kiddie wading pool is great in the yard for the dog to play in
and keep cool. A misting system in a shady area is good too.

They also make a gadget that works like the inside of a toilet
(well, it sounds wierd -but I don't know how else to explain it)

when the water in the bowl (huge) goes down, a float makes the
water switch back on and refill it, the float rises back up, and makes
the water shut off.
Will try and find out what it's called; am sure my description was
not too clear.

ghporter · Mar 18, 2005, 06:59 AM

Originally posted by JustAnOl'Broad:
Our landlord uses the hose adapter (giant one like for hamster bottles);
they work great....
They also make a gadget that works like the inside of a toilet
(well, it sounds wierd -but I don't know how else to explain it)

We tried the hose adapter thing, and the dogs didn't like it for some reason-or maybe they just never managed to figure it out. The other device is often called an "automatic waterer" and they do work quite well. You have to make sure you clean them out regularly though, or they can grow some amazing algae and stuff-YUCK! Even the dogs don't like that stuff!

Randman · Mar 18, 2005, 07:06 AM

The hoses aren't that easy for the dog as its tongue curls down and scoops the water back into its mouth unlike using the top of the tongue to funnel water in.

zerostar · Mar 18, 2005, 08:01 AM

Originally posted by anthonyvthc:
Animals do that to check the temp and to see where the water actually is (because of poor depth perception).

Yep, cats do that too. Get some clean rocks from the pest store and put them in the water, then the dog can see the depth of the water. Worked for me.

KeriVit · Mar 18, 2005, 08:26 AM

Originally posted by AKcrab:
Wow! I've never seen one with a reservoir that big. Know where he got it?
My six told me they want one, maybe two.

I have one of these for my 3 dogs. One problem- maybe it's just my idiot dogs- but when it releases air and goes "glug, glug" as a water bottle does- they scramble. So eventually- they all got scared of it and avoid it altogether. I took the jug off and just fill it by hand- but they still won't go near it.