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And my lids are always up! It's the same water that comes out of the faucet. Of course, I clean my toilet bowl. The dogs discovered it on their own and I am really lazy about their water bowl so it means they always have water available. In the current house, no one uses that toilet except guests, so I have to remember to flush it daily or it gets empty.
When did I say that I let my dog drink from the toilet??!! It's not as if I can really do much about it except put the lid down. And did you all not read the part where I got her a large bucket to drink water from so that she wouldn't drink out of the toilet? WTF?!
Not that i have hissied off on... I think it depends on your dog. I have a large dog and she clearly prefers to be closer to her food and water when eating and drinking. But every dog is unique. The key is to pay attention and to give them what they need; they'll alwas tell you.
When did I say that I let my dog drink from the toilet??!! It's not as if I can really do much about it except put the lid down. And did you all not read the part where I got her a large bucket to drink water from so that she wouldn't drink out of the toilet? WTF?!
Not that i have hissied off on... I think it depends on your dog. I have a large dog and she clearly prefers to be closer to her food and water when eating and drinking. But every dog is unique. The key is to pay attention and to give them what they need; they'll alwas tell you.
Yesch! Calm down....just asked if you all let your dogs drink out of the toilet! You happened to be one that said your dog drank out of the toilet.Did you not read the part where I asked let? I happen to think it is disgusting, but dogs do alot of disgusting things. Our lids are always down...Don't want the dog in there, don't want the cats in there, and I happen to think it looks better....Dylan has 2 Drinkwell Big Dog waterers....He seems to like the running stream.
Last edited by ShelbyGirl1; 08-23-2009 at 05:43 AM..
We have a 14-year old lab with worn joints (shoulders, hips, knees). Our vet said elevating his food & water bowls wouldn't hurt him. But to try something cheap first in case he wouldn't eat/drink from elevated dishes. I took an old wooden crate; turned it upside down; and set it on a small rug so it wouldn't slide. Then I covered it with a hand towel for easy clean-up. He's never missed a morsel since.
He also used to drink from the toilet, but I finally got DH trained to put the lid down.
My understanding is that the elevated bowls are designed to reduce the strain on a large dogs' necks and shoulders. Apparently, the idea is that in their later years, this strain causes arthritis in those areas (caused by the deterioration of the cartilage between the bones). While there is a danger of any long bodied animals getting their intestines twisted, I've never seen any information that this is caused by lowering their head to eat. It's more often caused by the twisting of the body to rise from a supine or sidelong postion. I've most read this in relation to horses.
My understanding is that the elevated bowls are designed to reduce the strain on a large dogs' necks and shoulders.
This is why I use an elevated feeder/waterer.
For anyone that is concerned about their dog bloating, do look up the signs or better yet discuss with your vet what to look for. Tigafan can tell you that once the signs begin you have minimal time to react.
We have 5 galllon water buckets outside, heck maybe even 10 gallon, that get changed daily. Were talking BIG water buckets
Our Rotts lay down when they eat.
According to the latest research, elevated bowls can increase chance of bloat (they used to think it decreased chance). That being said, we feed our Golden out of a raised bowl because one of our previous dogs (a golden mix) developed neck problems from eating at ground level. We do have a couple of tennis balls in the bowl, however, to slow down his intake and reduce the chance of bloat.
I think the MOST important thing (and interesting research about the elevated bowls, btw, but I think in years that could possibly be questioned again.....it was a small study and it seemed like you could extract what you want out of it...) is that you insist on a CALM and not excited attitude before feeding. NO exercise before meals, NO exercise after meals. It is beneficial to break up feedings into 2 or 3 meals, but I only do one meal, later at night and my dogs are calm and lie around after for an hour, go potty, then go to bed. Getting the 'calm' air was difficult at first, but letting dogs circle and circle and bark and whine and run back and forth to meal spots just increases everybody's spring tension, if you will, about devouring that food and air right along with it.
With each new dog we kind of use one of the victoria stilwell methods....calm voice and someone carrying bowls toward each spot and if I see them move, whine, bark...I give quick 'ahh' verbal correction, bowl carrier retreats calmly again, do it over and over until everyone is waiting patiently and calmly for the signal to eat. Now my dogs lie calmly while food is prepared, walk to spots and wait patiently, no prob.
I actually did have the ability to save my friend's dog once that I was babysitting, only because I had a key to the hospital, a suction machine and tube to pass until the vet got there. I have no doubt she would've died in any other situation because of the short window of time there is to react before they are too critical to save.
Back to the study by Perdue, it seemed the study basically concluded that large dogs get bloat, large dogs eat out of elevated bowls, elevated bowls can potentially contribute to bloat. I'm sure they did study with and without elevation, buuuuut, did each and every one of the dogs tested gobble their food in the same way? Did they have anxiety beforehand about food coming? Did they circle, run, whine, bark before or after? It left me with a lot more questions about the study than it answered. It is hard to do a controlled study like that with dogs, they all have their own behaviors that could be unlike their study counterparts. My doberman eats more slowly in an elevated bowl. On the floor she was eating the hugest bites of food, I don't see how she has incisors left from banging them into the bottom of the bowl. My other two dobes that have passed both ate off of the floor. I think all owners just have to do what they feel is best in their own situation and know the most important contributing factors. If my current dobe hadn't slowed down, I was looking into one of the bowls designed to make her eat more slowly. I suppose I could do rocks, but they won't go in the dishwasher as well.
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I happen to think it is disgusting, but dogs do alot of disgusting things. Our lids are always down...Don't want the dog in there, don't want the cats in there, and I happen to think it looks better....Dylan has 2 Drinkwell Big Dog waterers....He seems to like the running stream.
