Do you have a clumsy pup at home that just can't seem to drink water from their bowl without sharing some of it with the entire floor and even apartment? If so, having your dog drink from a regular bowl won't cut it. As you'll soon find out...
Unless you're okay with all the mess that comes along and all the time you have to spend cleaning, you're going to need a water bowl made for sloppy drinkers.
Choosing one may not be the easiest task, so today we review the best spill proof dog bowls out there.
Our 5 Best No Spill Dog Bowls (Updated List For 2019)
Top Pick: Slopper Stopper Dripless Water Bowl for Dogs and Cats
Pick #2: Indipets Stainless Steel Spill Proof & Splash Free Dog Water Bowl
Pick #3: Road Refresher No Spill Portable Pet Bowl
Pick #4: P.S.I. Imports Anti-Spill Waterhole
Pick #5: Petmate No Spill Bowl
Images | Product | Feature | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Slopper Stopper Dripless Water Bowl for Dogs and Cats | Our Top Pick | |
 | Indipets Stainless Steel Spill Proof & Splash Free Dog Water Bowl | Stainless Steel | |
 | Road Refresher No Spill Portable Pet Bowl | Perfect for travel | |
 | P.S.I. Imports Anti-Spill Waterhole | For food and water | |
 | Petmate No Spill Bowl | Long-lasting plastic |
*Note: The links in the table above, as well as several links in the remainder of the article below, will take you to over to Amazon.com or Chewy.com where you can find out more information about the products, such as current prices and customer reviews.
Best Spill Proof Dog Water Bowls
Our Top Pick - Slopper Stopper Dripless Water Bowl For Dogs And Cats
Let's have a look at why we chose this bowl from Slopper Stopper as our #1 pick above all the other dog bowls being manufactured out there on the market today.
Ideal For Medium To Large Sized Canines: If you've got a medium to large sized dog at home that's more than likely to cause a complete and utter mess while drinking water from their bowl because of their size, then this water bowl has been specifically designed to meet the needs of such larger-than-average sized pets.
We'll get back to this later...
This dog water bowl is suitable for canines that weigh anywhere between 30 to 90 pounds. Below this weight, your dog is probably too small in size to have the power in them to be a sloppy drinker: they don't have enough tongue power to splash the water on the area next to them or do they have the physical body power to violently move their water bowl and cause a mess.
And, if you've got a canine that weighs above the 90 pounds mark, then it's probably going to be hard to find any bowl out there on the market that's strong enough to prevent them from causing a mess while drinking water from it!
No More Wet Face: If your dog's also known to get their face wet and having water dripping from it as if they'd gone for a swim and come back, then you'll be glad to know that this dripless water bowl has a "snap on lid" feature. This prevents your pet from getting water all over their beard area and ears area, two positions where sloppy drinking animals always manage to get water on.
The way this dog water bowl was designed, the only part your canine should ever be able to get into direct contact with the water inside the bowl is their tongue, nothing else - which is exactly how it should be when trying to deal with sloppy drinkers.
More on this in a bit...
Slower Drinking: Because of the way this water bowl was designed, which forces your dog to drink much slower than they would during the old, messy days of drinking, the risk of your pup vomiting because they drank water too fast is also greatly reduced.
Minimal Refill Requirement (48 Ounce Capacity): Because this spill proof dog water bowl gives you the ability to fill it up all the way to 49 ounces (1.4 liters) in one go, you don't have to worry about spending a large portion of your day back and forth refilling this bowl so that your pet can stay hydrated throughout the day.
Filling this water bowl once or twice is often more than enough to keep your dog with the supply of water they need for the day, while ensuring you don't end up wasting much precious time doing a tedious task you can be better off limiting.
So, if you value your time highly but don't want to have to spend a hefty price-tag on something like a pet water fountain, this is an excellent option for you to consider.
Easy To Get Used To: At first, chances are your canine will give you a little bit of trouble drinking from this new no spill dog water bowl because of the change in mechanism through which they can drink water.
The old way they used to drink water was by taking a giant dip in with the entirety of their face, while they can only use their tongue with this bowl.
However, the majority of pet owners find that after breaking through this short transition phase which usually works itself out once your dog gets the hang of drinking from their new bowl, they'll give you no problems whatsoever in making this their new go-to bowl for all drinking purposes.
While we do love this product, note that it is currently unavailable, so you are better off going with one of the other options above.
Why Are Some Dogs Sloppy Drinkers While Others Aren't?
Have you ever wondered why exactly is it the case that your dog seems to be the messiest drinker out there, while all the other canines seem to be the tidiest, most organized and clean drinkers that barely spill a drip of water outside their bowl?
The following list covers some of the most common reasons why some dogs are more messy drinkers than others.
Default Drinking Techniques: One thing we have to always keep in mind when discussing this subject is that animals don't drink like humans do, they use a different technique to drink water from their bowls, one which relies heavily on their tongues.
And, with such reliance on their tongues while drinking water, it's only normal for some splashing to go on.
Also, Dogs shouldn't be compared to cats when the subject of sloppy drinking is brought up as the drinking techniques of these two differ quite a bit.
Size: Larger sized canines tend to cause much more of a mess while drinking than smaller sized dogs, as larger sized dogs are often much more powerful than smaller sized and drink from their bowls with a greatly increased "oomph".
As a general rule of thumb, it's safe to say that the more a dog weighs, the more volume of water they're able to move in their bowl with their tongue, and a greater mess they're able to cause in their drinking area as a result.
How Do I Know If A Spill Proof Dog Bowl Is For Me?
So, how can you tell if/when it's time to get rid of the old, regular water bowl you have for your pooch and grab yourself a couple of no spill dog water bowls?
The answer to this question is really simple- whenever the need arises. It doesn't have to be more scientific or technical than that, folks.
Does your canine violently dive in their water bowl while drinking, which ends up causing a huge splash of water around that area on the floor?
Does your dog tend to put their entire mouth in the water instead of just relying on using their tongue?
Does your pet not seem to comprehend the concept of drinking water from their bowl in a slow and calm fashion, but consider it to be a race of some sort where the faster (and, as a result, the more sloppier) they drink from their bowl, the better?
Does your pooch not seem to be able to keep their bowl in place on the floor while drinking from it, but keep on having on move and, as a result, spill a good portion of that water on the floor and leave you having to dry those spots off with a towel for what eventually adds up to many waster hours that could have been better invested?
Do they finish drinking water from their water bowl only to move around the house with water still dripping from their chin and all over your carpets, flooring and furniture? Do you have flooring that's easily ruined after enough water gets dripped on it and gets soaked?
Have you tried to install a spill-proof dog mat under their water bowl, one that covers a large area around their water bowl as well, only to have them manage to get water all over their beards, ears and face and have that water drip all around the house and away from the spill-proof mat?
If your answer was yes to any of the above questions, then it's high time that you got a couple of no mess dog water bowls for Fido and put an end to all this unnecessary mess, all while not compromising their comfort at all.
Tips To Dealing With A Sloppy Drinker (Besides A Spill Proof Dog Water Bowl)
Besides investing in a no spill bowl for your dog to drink from, here are some very useful tips you should keep in mind and consider implementing where possible, ones which will go hand in hand with a spill proof bowl and minimize any risk of unwanted messes from happening.
Shallow Is Better: Instead of filling the entirety of your dog's bowl with water for them to drink, it's better to keep it on the shallower level.
Having your canine's water bowl filled all the way to the top is just inviting them to take a dip in and splatter some all over the floor next to them, while having their bowl filled with water in a more shallow fashion will really minimize the chances of that happening.
Mats: Just like cat litter mats exist to absorb any litter your cat manages to bring along with it when it leaves its litter box after going potty, spill proof mats that can be placed under your dog's water bowl and cover a large portion of that surrounding area are available for you.
They're uses in order to absorb a good amount of the water your pooch manages to spill outside - water which will have otherwise been spilled on your floor.
Elevated Water Bowl: For many pet owners, an elevated water bowl seems to do the trick just fine and is able to significantly reduce the amount of water dropped on the floor because of the difference in drinking technique the dog has to follow after their water bowl has been raised off the ground.
Scheduled Drinking Times: One of the best ways to ensure that your sloppy drinking canine doesn't end up causing a huge mess while drinking is for you to have a drinking schedule put in place for them to follow.
The normal way pet owners have their dogs drink water, which is not what you ideally want to do with your sloppy drinker, is fill up their bowl with water to the full capacity and have it placed for them in an easily accessible area where they can come and go whenever they feel thirsty and feel the urge to drink.
Instead, the ideal way to do things with a sloppy drinking pup is to schedule more frequent drinking times throughout the day, once every few hours for example, where you pour a small amount of water into your canine's bowl and have them drink that.
This way, not only will your dog have much lower chances of causing a mess since they aren't drinking from a water bowl that's completely full, they will also remain much better hydrated throughout the entirety of the day because of the frequent drinking they're doing.
If you fear your canine might be dehydrated, watch this video to know the signs to look for!
