I have a dog that finds it necessary to walk through her water bowl shortly after it has been filled?
Posted on Nov 20, 2009 under Best Dog Water Bowl | 9 CommentsShortly after her bowl is filled with fresh water she will wait until no one is looking and then splash her front paws through the water, slopping it all over the floor. She is the older of two female, medium small dogs in our house. Is this some form of asserting her dominance over the younger dog? Spoiling the water for her? We live in a fairly mild climate, so I don’t think her paws are hot. Thanks.
- Pets can drink
straight from the stream. - New pre-filter reduces cleaning maintenance, and wear and
tear. - Built-in 1 gallon reservoir makes refills less frequent.
- Dishwasher safe prevents melting and damage.
- The Drinkwell Fountain is designed, approved, and
recommended by veterinarians, particularly for pets prone to urinary
tract disorders.
My Boston Terrier did this. Buy an elevated food/water dish. You want one just high enough that they can eat and drink comfortably.
This also helps if your dog scarfs down her food quickly.
November 20th, 2009 at 9:51 am
My 15 week old Chow puppy does the same thing. I get so sick of mopping up after her. I never really thought about it, but I think she is just playing, I think she enjoys getting water everywhere.
References :
November 20th, 2009 at 10:03 am
Marking her territory to the other dog. Dogs are severely territorial!
References :
November 20th, 2009 at 10:23 am
i think she’s just having fun. likes to get her feet wet and play with the water.
References :
November 20th, 2009 at 10:45 am
It could go either way .. you have a strong hypothesis that she is just asserting her claim over the territory of the water bowl. Even if she has to share it later, it may be her way of trying to say,"Hey! Get your own!"
The other possibility is that she just likes to play in water! What type of dog are we talking about? That could shed some light on this. If she is a dominant breed, she is probably doing the former. If she is a submissive breed, then it is likely just play.
One thing you could try to test the theory is to put out several bowls (one for each dog) in various locations. See if she is protective of the one bowl or if she splashes about in all of them.
Good Luck!
References :
November 20th, 2009 at 11:08 am
My Boston Terrier did this. Buy an elevated food/water dish. You want one just high enough that they can eat and drink comfortably.
This also helps if your dog scarfs down her food quickly.
References :
vet school student
November 20th, 2009 at 11:37 am
Possibly a sign of frustration, or a need for more play.
An elevated water dish will probably put a stop to it.
References :
November 20th, 2009 at 11:50 am
You can get a food and water doggie bar/bench. I thought about doing this and lighting a neon light above it saying "Open". Maybe make the dishes velcro-attached.
I do not know what breed these dogs are, but I helped take care of a Shitzu who did this. Afterwards she went after the hair between her paws. Come to find out, the water loosened the fur between her toes. It was best to trim and/or detangle it then. As it dried up, and tangles drew up tighter, an made it unpleasant.
She did alot of other strange stuff, like trying to push the floor over her food. Good luck!
References :
November 20th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
I am as perplexed as you are…my kitty does the same thing. She makes a mess and most of it ends up on the floor, I have to contantly be giving her water…I’ve even tried giving her less water each time as a consequence but she will splash whatever is left all on the floor anyway. She dips her paws in and licks her paws, maybe it’s just her way of drinking. She doesn’t stop to think "what if I have no water?". She would rather sit in the bath tub and wait for each water droplet than drink from her own bowl…it’s strange maybe it’s something animals grow out of. If you find out let me know.
References :
November 20th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
Your dog likes to play in water, clean up after her & learn to live with it, my dog was very messy when he drank – he would lift his mouth out of the water dish and walk away while licking his lips leaving a trail of water in his wake. I just put an old towel on the floor around the dish & joked he was helping to wash the floor =)
Try the water fountain & bowl available at pet food supply stores. This has a bowl on one end and a constantly running fountain on the other side, that drains into the bowl. My sister has one, one of her cats used to bat the water dish and slop it everywhere – he can’t with this because it’s too heavy for him to move, the bowl size & being next to the fountain may prevent that.
The "Doggie Butler" dishes are also an options – elevated dishes.
As for spoiling the water for the other, I have never seen a dog that refuses to drink water no matter what is in the dish be it bugs, leaves, slobber whatever, even though we think it’s gross. My cat would even drink right after my dog did & didn’t care about the doggy drool.
Take your dog to the dog friendly beach to splash her toes in the water or get a baby pool fill it with 1.5 inches of water & let her play
References :
Cat & Dog owner for 30 years