Water Bowl Patting Problem

[31thekingsbury]

Hi Adrienne,

Our 4 month Aussie Doodle keeps banging away at his water bowl making huge messes.

He's pretty well taken care of but is still becoming accustomed to his crate and most of the time he is fed in the crate. He is also given water in and outside the crate.

Any tips on what could be causing this behavior and how to stop it?

Thanks!

DT

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hello and welcome to the forums!

Is your pup just a messy drinker or is he purposely playing with the water with his mouth/paws? Here are some ideas that come to mind:

 

1) Invest in water bowls that are equipped with nonskid rubber pads on the bottom. These can be an easy fix for messy pups.

2) For the crate, they now sell waterers for dogs under the form of bottles that mount on the outside of the crate. Dogs can be trained to use them by just smearing some peanut bottle on the tip of the spout.

2) If he's playing, he may need more mental stimulation, and since it sounds like he may love playing with water, you may want to provide some fun brain games especially some that involve water such as the Bobbing for treats brain game. You can find it here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/high-school/bobbing-for-treats/

Once your dog discovers this game, the water bowl may become rather boring in comparison so he may hopefully lose interest in it.

 

Your dog is a poodle mix and poodles were orginailly bred to work in the water, so your pup may have a natural attraction to that. Fun fact: did you know the German word "pudel" means "splash in the water?"

 

Best,

Adrienne

Edited June 26, 2019 by Adrienne Farricelli