Best water bowl for a blind dog

[CarolC]

If you have a small blind dog, what water bowl is *really* tip-proof if he accidentally walks through it or stumbles on it?

[GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily]

Well, I can tell you the most disaster-prone is the bottle on top of the bowl. Yes,, let your imagination go. I had a 5 gal. against a wall that I thought was too heavy for a puppy to knock over. Whoopsie-daisy. The BEST for Possum was of course, the ceramic bowl because she would eat bowls. She would also eat ceramic, but it didn't cave in like the metal bowls and was harder to break through. This one is not only impossible to knock over, it is impossible for pup to pick up and fling and play with, so it is ideal for all dogs:




Once pup knows where the water is, any heavy bowl will do, bigger is better, and I keep a supply of throw rugs under it, because they will step in it, even (especially in my case) the sighted ones. I like a heavy large ceramic because th sides are higher and steeper and the water is less likely to be spilled when they step in it. And they step in it intentionally, not because they don't know where it is. The bowl above is ideal for non-tipping and can be picked up anywhere. I like the rubber rim around the bottom because it keeps it from sliding. Thinking about it, I have had quite a few blinddogs make their ways through crittersville and they have all had success with the large and very heavy ceramic bowl. I also have a large amount of dogs using the bowl, so it holds more water as well. I keep a bowl in the kitchen for 3 dogs, a bowl on the porch for 4 dogs and a bowl in the BR for 1 dog. That bowl is set inside a glass pie dish to catch splash for a large dog.



Size blue would be the ideal size for my pack. Size grey would be ideal for one dog.

[CarolC]

Thanks. I have some of those silver ones I am not using, I can give a couple to the man with the dog. I wasn't sure they were good enough. Thank you very much, I needed a quick answer so this was perfect!

[critters]

My dumper is, of course, the spastibaby. I raid yard sales for big, flat glass bowls or the big, flat, glass tops to those ubiquitous oval, glass baking dishes that used to be so popular. She can swim in them, but she can't dump them! The best one EVER is a dish that was, apparently, intended for something like a homemade "TV dinner." It's huge and flat but has a divider in the middle and holds a good bit. It's IDEAL for spastibabies.

[CarolC]

Big flat Pyrex dish? I'll see if I can come up with one. Thanks. This is really important. I have the 2 stainless bowls, this is going to be at a campsite. I just realized he could dig a depression and sink the bowl, it might get dirt in it but it wouldn't tip. So any big bowl that is sunk in a "bowl hole" might work. I have one with straight sides that is unbreakable (really unbreakable) plastic. He could dig a hole and sink or half sink the bowl. I don't want the dog stepping in and twisting an ankle, but if he puts it at the end of the tie-out? They have to carry water in so they are going to be impatient if the dog is forever dumping it or getting muddy feet and bringing mud in the tent.

[GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily]

For outside, I too dig a depression. For a little guy, like critters says, a glass pyrex. I use a pie shaped pyrex in the BR under the water bowl. When Jude was alive, they would knock over their water bucket, so I tied the handle to the fence with a leash with enough lee to dump and clean.

For the little guy, I really thing the ceramic or a bowl like you describe, heavy plastic with straight high walls would work best, to keep down the mud factor. Dig the hole, line with garbage bag, top with newspapers and have the hole snug for the bowl. I would only go down half way on a larger size bowl. Have a little throw rug or runner leading up to it, so he knows when he's on the 'yellow brick road' he's on his way to the water. I would start the 'test' with the bowl next to the tieout screw, with 'barriers' on 2 or 3 sides. Coolers, something heavy. How big is pup? They would probably keep him inside most the time? Tenting or nimrodding? Keeping a blindpup on a tie out would scare the silly out of me. Make sure they have him harnessed witha sweater or something over the harness to keep him from slipping out or chewing through (Albin chewed through a BRAND NEW Gentle Leader Harness in the short time it took me to get him on it and out the door and grab my purse and keys) and double leashed, but make sure it won't get tangled. Don't use the wire or chain for tie out, but nothing he could chew through either. Hmmm... He's gonna get tangled, CarolC, He's going to panic without his peeps and get tangled.

[CarolC]

For outside, I too dig a depression. For a little guy, like critters says, a glass pyrex. I use a pie shaped pyrex in the BR under the water bowl. When Jude was alive, they would knock over their water bucket, so I tied the handle to the fence with a leash with enough lee to dump and clean.

This is brilliant.

He's gonna get tangled, CarolC, He's going to panic without his peeps and get tangled.

The vet is recommending I give him a crate with a crock attached to the door. I guess I will if he will accept it. Crates are expensive to give away but it's for the good of this dog, to give him time to recover.

[GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily]

My local thrift calls me when crates come in. I can p/u a large one for about ten bucks. You can call around to thrifts. I also p/u 3 HUGE crates out of the local landfill. Of course, I had to get permission to go dumpster divin

[critters]

Yes, the 2-holer IS Pyrex; I just looked. Not sure about the oval baking dishes, but they're EVERYWHERE. Personally, I have about half a dozen of them I've inherited or gotten from yard sales. They must've sold millions of them in the 70's.