Drink Better Bowl

[Papillon Kisses]

Malcolm (Chi x) drinks his water so fast that he throws up. While he will take pauses when instructed, it's usually not enough to stop the vomiting, especially when combined with excitable behaviour though that too is discouraged!

After having success slowing down his eating with the Outward Hound Fun Feeder Mini, I am wondering if anyone (or rather their dog :) ) has tried the Drink Better Bowl? Does it work? Have you seen any other slow drinker bowls, for lack of a better term?

I once bought a slow feeder bowl from the same company and it made absolutely no impact on his eating rate, so I'm a bit suspicious!

Thanks!

[Vehs]

hmm, I wonder if you could do up a make shift one of your own and test it

[RiverStar-Aura]

Is there a reason he feels compelled to drink so much water in one go? Does he drink in bits and pieces throughout the day or just gulp in one sitting?

If he's been vet checked and nothing is wrong, I'd start only offering him small amounts in a bowl at a time and not leave fresh water around. As in, put down just enough to cover the bottom of the bowl each time.

Edit: my Zeusling has a habit of gulping water while I'm preparing his dinner. He doesn't get sick from it but it's just a weird thing he does

Edited May 30, 2016 by RiverStar-Aura

[persephone]

Does he have multiple water bowls ?

Does he have free access 24/7 ?

is he rugged up /in a very warm room/house?

How old is he- and has he always done this?

[Papillon Kisses]

hmm, I wonder if you could do up a make shift one of your own and test it

Good idea, guess I have to think of something that would float.

Is there a reason he feels compelled to drink so much water in one go? Does he drink in bits and pieces throughout the day or just gulp in one sitting?

He drinks throughout the day, but often a fair bit at once. The problem of drinking so much and so fast that he vomits usually occurs when we return home late at night and he's been outside for longer than usual — maybe six hours. We've filmed him when we've been out during the day and he does drink normal amounts then, but we haven't filmed him at night.

If he's been vet checked and nothing is wrong, I'd start only offering him small amounts in a bowl at a time and not leave fresh water around. As in, put down just enough to cover the bottom of the bowl each time.

Edit: my Zeusling has a habit of gulping water while I'm preparing his dinner. He doesn't get sick from it but it's just a weird thing he does

I guess I could remove most of the water when we first get home, and just have scant amounts then, but it's kind of what we're doing now with interrupting his drinking. He has Addison's Disease and dogs with Addison's are meant to have free access to water 24/7 so I would not otherwise limit it.

Does he have multiple water bowls ? No

Does he have free access 24/7 ? Yes, bowl goes out with him

is he rugged up /in a very warm room/house? No... when we go out at night he is rugged up to varying degrees depending on the weather.

How old is he- and has he always done this? 10, always guzzled, the vomiting may have worsened the past few years. He guzzled even more and was drinking ridiculous amounts just prior to his Addison's Disease diagnosis (2011?) but he's stable now and usually drinking "normal" amounts except when returning late at night as mentioned above. He is a general guzzler though so I think drinking slower would benefit him at any time.

He does have a bit of an unsettled tummy, often burping and having reflux despite now eating slower. This happens when he runs/walks upstairs or jumps up onto something after eating or drinking any amount. If the water guzzling happens and he eats food around the same time he'll vomit that up too. Our VB thinks he could have a weakened esophagus from Addison's Disease but our GP vet is not concerned. He might be more prone to being sick on his new anxiety meds but the water guzzling predates that.

[JRG]

I have a similar thing called a Road Refresher.

www.roadrefresher.com

It is great - stable, robust, non spill and the dogs love drinking from it. Great for travelling etc

Edited May 30, 2016 by JRG

[Papillon Kisses]

I have a similar thing called a Road Refresher.

www.roadrefresher.com

It is great - stable, robust, non spill and the dogs love drinking from it. Great for travelling etc

I like the look of that, thanks.

[persephone]

Ah - so he does have medical problems . have you tried with raised bowls ?

if he were mine, I would have several drinking spots for him , some inside , some outside ..all a bit different , so the 'trigger' of you putting THE bowl down isn't there ;) ..so you are not GIVING him the water to drink .. he just drinks whenever/wherever .

Also get the oesophagus checked - it may well be a part of the vomiting ..poor little man

[Rebanne]

He very well could have mega esophagus. My girl has it and she can regurgitate water if she drinks too much in one sitting. Sometimes the water or food comes up straight away but with Fern it's more normally several hrs after eating.

[Papillon Kisses]

I raised it again with our vet today. They really aren't the slightest bit concerned! Is this something that a lot of dogs do? I will ask them to bring it to the attention of his specialist next time they touch base (this was the approach suggested by our VB too).

In the meantime I will try raising his water bowl. I also like the look of the Road Refresher for when we start traveling to Nose Work classes.

Perse, I don't think putting the water down is a trigger. When we get home late at night, he is more excited about running inside and drinking water than he is to greet us (even though it's been out with him the entire time).

I might also see about putting a bowl inside his kennel. We haven't used the GoPro at night, but maybe when it's colder/darker he does not want to venture out so might get too thirsty. He's excited about running to his water bowl when he's been out during the day, but doesn't drink quite so much.

I looked up megaesophagus, Rebanne. Interesting to see that it can be secondary to Addison's. The symptoms seem more extreme than what he has, but we also had the same issue with his Addison's (less severe/very few symptoms). Do you use a Bailey chair with Fern?

Edited May 31, 2016 by Papillon Kisses

[Scottsmum]

Could you pick him up and distract him for a few minutes when you first get home (say 5-10) - so the excitement of you being home wares off before he goes and has a drink? Scottie is a bit the same - even if he's crated and has water (always has a full bowl) he'll have a big drink when we get home. but he doesnt puke :/

[Rebanne]

I looked up megaesophagus, Rebanne. Interesting to see that it can be secondary to Addison's. The symptoms seem more extreme than what he has, but we also had the same issue with his Addison's (less severe/very few symptoms). Do you use a Bailey chair with Fern?

No, I just use raised feeding and drinking bowls. I also raised one end of the bedding in the crate in my room and she mainly sleeps in there nowadays; saves the regurge in the middle of the night all over my bed. I miss her on my bed though. If she was that bad she needed a Bailey chair I would have her PTS. Her symptons are on the lsser end of the scale and we think she has had it for 18 month or so before being diagnosed via xray.

Edited May 31, 2016 by Rebanne