This was just a quick item I whipped up to solve a problem, which was that the cats like their water in nice ceramic bowls but they also like to tip them over. I don’t get it, but whatever.
I used that great 1/4" Chemcast acrylic that you see @marmak3261 using a lot. The first iteration was just a simple open topped box that we put the bowl down into. That worked fine for the cats but my husband kept scraping his fingers on the edges getting the bowl out for refill. The new one works better. Same box design, just flipped over and a hole cut in the top a little smaller than the bowl top edge. No more scraped fingers.
Experts say that food and water trays for dogs should also be elevated to minimize stress (caused by having to bend way down to eat of drink). So while waiting for my GF, I started putting together my thoughts on a dual tray holder for my little guy. It’s a modified bottomless box with inserts in the top into which to drop the dishes. Measurements still need to be tweaked a bit. And now trying to figure how how to outport the svg properly from Illustrator. lol
It’s particularly true in bracheocephalic dogs (like pugs) who really all have collapsing tracheas (hence they often make snoring sounds while awake) so by raising it they don’t kink the trachea (airway). Larger dogs don’t typically have this issue (given the long snout and neck they don’t have to kink as far to reach the ground).
Our new golden solves this by laying down and eating that way we tried elevating the greyhounds bowl. She would walk up take a mouthful to the carpet and eat most but never all, then go bring more. Great design!
Yep, that’s pretty much what I did except it was square and only has the one hole. Let me tell you, it works great! No tips (so far). I didn’t personalize it because it was for our 18-year old kitty and I’m not sure how much longer she will be needing it…
I checked with my wife, who said the bottom of the bowl should be at the level of the thoracic inlet (so feel for the v in the breastbone at the base of the neck). That provides optimum neck straightening without causing choking.
Interesting. Is ‘bottom of the bowl should be a the level of the thoracic inlet’ for drinking or eating or both? Is that specific to brachiocephalic dogs? Before the wolf was domesticated it drank from bodies of water that were at ground level. So evolutionary pressures would lead to dogs that would have no problem drinking from bowls on the ground, or even lower. Ah, the magic of human-made evolutionary pressures!
We’ve had several dogs that would take a mouthful of food, walk it to another room, spit it on the floor and then eat it piece by piece. While most of our Labradors prefer to take a drink by running chest deep into a lake or river and then lap up the water with no bending of the neck.
I have 2 cats. For water, they have a domed fountain with a bowl. The female drinks by licking from the fountain dome, all dainty and neat. The male drinks by shoving his face in the dish, leaving his entire lower jaw dripping. He never wants attention half so much as when he thinks he can wipe his face dry on my arm.
we tried elevating the greyhounds bowl. She would walk up take a mouthful to the carpet and eat most but never all, then go bring more. Great design!
