Thursday, September 23, 2010

Doggystyle: Fashionable & Functional Food Bowls

When I went to visit my sister in Memphis, I was really impressed with how she decorated her new house, and I thought she was especially clever to use real bowls to have cute feeding bowls for her kittens. Too often pet bowls are either too unattractive, or you have to pay way too much for nice-looking bowls.With so many inexpensive people bowls, I think it's a great idea to find cute bowls and repurpose them for our pets.
We don't leave our pet bowls out, but I think if we did, I might use these modern serving bowls from CB2. We actually have these bowls to display fruit and they are really sturdy and fairly large. And if we had a smaller dog, or a cat, maybe these bowls.
Right now Mr B uses a standard silver bowl, and Miss M. uses this pink bowl we bought from Target a few years ago. Miss M likes to have pink things to overcompensate:
I've also heard it's important that dogs should eat from raised dog bowls to eliminate the possibility of getting bloat. What kinds of bowls does everyone else use?

28 comments:

jet said...

Bender has a metal bowl which he has had since he was a pup. Barbie has a plastic one that we bought when we got her. For us, ruggedness is the number one necessity for bowls, I don't particularly mind what they look like! Their water bowl is a big stainless steel number as they seem to like drinking out of it.

Anonymous said...

As a dog aunt, I'm not responsible for feeding Roxy, Petey and Jordie. However, when they happen to visit me at mealtimes (amazing how they always know when I'm going to have a meal and they show up for it) I use some small, clear pyrex custard cups to give them each a share. Since they spend so much time with me during the day, I bought a very large stainless steel bowl for water. I think it holds about three quarts. I like stainless steel because it's easy to clean and sanitize and I don't have to worry about breakage.

Unknown said...

We use stainless steel bowls for both our dogs just because they are easy to clean and are the cheapest at the pet store. For our cats however I caught on have used dollar store dishes which tend to be way cheaper, easy to clean and come in a variety of colours. Blair uses hot pink, plus they came in a package of three so we have an extra for when she gets wet food.

Anonymous said...

I LUV our bowls! Not cuz they're pretty or anything but because, well, they have FOOD in them! They're just the plain ol' stainless steel ones.

Oh, and mom JUST read an article that says that elevated food bowls actually INCREASE the chance of bloat when everybuddy thought they prevented it! Here's the article abouts bloat if you wanna take a look: http://www.petplace.com/dogs/rish-factors-and-prevention-of-bloat-in-dogs/page1.aspx

Wiggles & Wags,
Mayzie

Alison said...

I am always looking for fun bowls for my dogs--mainly at the thrift store. I like adding to my decor with small things like cool dog and cat dishes!

http://theotherwinniecooper.blogspot.com/

Brooklyn Book Lover said...

When my beloved "Nikko" was alive I used only metal bowls because he had an allergy to plastic! Strange huh?

When my Lucy joined the family I bought her cutsie ceramic bowls. I had to go back to metal though because my toddler fell in one of the ceramic bowls and broke it. Thank goodenss she was not cut.

Maybe I could find cute plastic bowls? Hmmm....

Breakfast With the Bennetts said...

Boxen and Bella use Raised Stainless Steel bowls that they have had forever. The water bowl is a giant refillable one because they both drink out of it and have to share it with the cat.

I really like Miss M's bowl!

Unknown said...

Both of ours have stainless steel bowls so they stay clean longer. Plus, once the water dish is empty, Flash likes to knock it around the kitchen so at least I know it won't break.

Corbin said...

My mom gets me the stainless steal bowls because she heard that plastic bowls weren't good. She also got me a raised thingy for me to eat on because I did a funny twisty thing with my front right paw when I bent own to eat. Good to know about the bloat thing though!
-Corbin

Pip said...

I have a huge metal bowl for water. I have one dog of my own and one foster atm - my dog either eats raw off a human plate (that then gets washed) or eats her kibble out of some sort of toy. The foster is currently eating her kibble out of some *very* fancy tupperware but I'm going to move her over to eating out of a toy.

Rescued Pittie Family said...

I made my raised bowls for my kids because they are either really expensive or really unattractive.

I watch HDTV every morning while walking on the treadmill and have learned a lot of DIY tricks.

If you would like my trick for inexpenive risers give me a shout on e-mail
JennaKrabacher@gmail.com
I'd be more than happy to share for Mazzy and Bruno!

Wyatt said...

Love the pink bowls, very nice!

Wyatt, has a bowl with dividers (like a TV dinner tray). It helps him to slow down his eating.
Stanzie has a blue plastic bowl. We tried to switch her to stainless and she practically starved to death. She flat out refused it, for 3 days! She also has a melt down, if we put the bowl in a different location.

Unknown said...

I use a combo of dog dishes and human dishes.
The dogs drink water out of mixing bowls - One dog likes only the clear kind and the other doesnt care haha.
I also found cute bowls at discount stores that I use as dog food bowls.

Both my dogs drink and eat raised - anything I can do to curtail bloat with my big deep chested duo.

Anonymous said...

should I be ashamed to admit that I use ugly black rubber livestock bowls that I got at the feed store? ;-)
(also sold as pet bowls: http://www.jefferspet.com/ssc/product.asp?cid=0&bid=1&pf_id=13217&cmkw=water%20and%20bowlsrubber%20and%20feed%20and%20tub

They are tough and durable and easily picked up... by the dogs.

brooke said...

We just have a cheap metal raised stand and bowls for Darwin. I've heard mixed reviews about the raised stands being better for preventing bloat, but we use it because it seems to make the most sense rather than making Darwin hunch over so much to eat.
Eventually the feeder I want to get is this one:
http://www.trendypet.com/elevated-dog-bowl-feeder.php

bitt said...

We have a 3-bowl feeder which has 2 food bowls and a water bowl. We used to use boxes and crates to lift the bowl up and then got fancier. It was a good investment even if sometimes we do take one bowl out to move it father away or something. Keeps everything together and clean.

As for cat bowls, I tend to go with the ones designed for cats because they are very low. Cats don't like their whiskers getting into the food. Picky kitties!

EGG said...

we have an automatic feeder one that we have set up on a big container of kitty litter so that its a more comfy height for them to eat at and because of the bloat

Kirby, CGC said...

My mom uses stainless steel dishes, she feels she can keep them cleaner and she read that plastic ones can harbor bacteria.

My mom does like the idea of ceramic she never gave those a thought! Neat idea!

Woof!
Kirby

Shauna (Fido and Wino) said...

My dogs have stainless steel dishes. Kayloo's has a big bump in the middle in the hopes of helping her slow down when she eats.

It doesn't.

We use stainless steel because I read that the plastic ones can, over time, cause black noses to go brown. Plus with all the crap in plastic I don't want them eating out of it.

houndstooth said...

After breaking several nice ceramic bowls, that would be my husband and not the dogs, we went to stainless steel. A few years ago, a local pet store was going out of business and we ended up getting four really cute ones that the stainless steel bowls fit inside, which works well for easy clean up. Ours all eat on platforms of some kind, too.

Two French Bulldogs said...

Well aren't you two special..BOL
Snuggles & snorts,
Benny & Lily

Lola and also Franklin, too said...

Franklin and I use dinner plates for wet food. We have a hard time getting into corners and such like. We have big stainless bowls for water. We like lots of room for our muzzles. We have kibble available for munching in what is really a plastic box, but it works rather well for the kibble.

Tell Miss M I completely empathize about the need to overcompensate. I have the pink collar and leash for the same reason. I usually use my black harness, though. It's easy peasy to put on.

lotsa licks, Lola

the booker man said...

i've got stainless steel bowls with non-skid bottoms cuz i like to push my bowls around when i nom nom. heehee.
when mama and daddy adopted asa, they went to one of those pottery painting places and painted her food and water bowls, so they are totally unique!

*woof*
the booker man

Dexter said...

I eat from a handsome raised bowl. I don't know about the bloat, but trying to reach all the way down to the floor is very uncomfortable for me, so I appreciate the height.

PeeWee has to use one of those eat slow bowls and even with that he eats his meager 2 cups faster than I can savor 5 cups. Piggy.

Slobbers,
mango

Road Dog Tales said...

Oooooh, Love Miss M's pink bowl. We just use boring ole stainless bowls. The tall guys have their in raised stands.
The Road Dogs

Kari in Alaska said...

We have bowls from target with green outsides and a flower on the bottom :)


Kari
http://dogisgodinreverse.com/

Mary said...

Levi has raised bowls, but I didn't do any research about it. When I first adopted him and spent half a paycheck at the pet boutique I adore, I asked about it. He's so spoiled now that when I offer him water on his walks, I have to hold the container up for him. I swear that if you don't hold it at just the right height, he refuses to drink.

Laghari Bedi said...

Thanks for sharing nice information about stainless steel bowl for dog with us. i glad to read this post.

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