Son Knocks over Dog's Waterbowl

My 11 m/o daughter does this too. Soaked two outfits yesterday. She is the third and they all did it. I try to put the bowls up when she is down and down when she is napping, eating or out. This gives the dogs plenty of access to water

You can try a water bottle like they have for rodents in cages. I've seen some for dogs and cats. You should find it at any major pet store.

Wasn't sure if you meant your son is playing in the water or tripping over while passing by...I have my cat bowls under our built in desk in the kitchen so it is out of the kids' pathway....and you can always put it behind a table/couch or other furniture so the dog could fit, but your son won't notice it or pass by...however, if he is just playing with the water, then maybe you could put toddler gates up so he won't roam while you aren't able to redirect his attention. Also - you didn't mention what kind of dog it is - if it is a smaller dog, you could put up a doggy door to the laundry room or something and he/she could have access to it whenever he/she wanted...without baby interfering. :)

Hi,
I do agree with the previous poster who suggested redirecting your little man when he gets near the bowl, but I do have another suggestion. You can get get a holder for the bowls that has a wide base on it that would be harder for him to knock over. I am not saying that it would be impossible for him to do, but it would be harder and give you more time to get to him and get his attention away from it.

In my experience, as far as teaching your dog to drink from a water bottle like a hamster, it is very difficult to do with an older dog. If your dog was still a puppy, I would say go for it, but with her being older I would not mess with that.

Good Luck!

Since your son likes to play with water, maybe you could satisfy his urge by stripping him down to his diaper and sticking him in the dry tub with some bowls of water and other things to play with - closely supervised, of course. This might give him a slightly different experience than what he already gets with his bath. Me son liked to play with our cats' water bowl for awhile, too, but fortunately our cat bowls are out of the way in a corner he hardly ever goes to. And like most of his obsessions, he got over it fairly quickly.

Target and Petsmart (or other pet places) sell things that hold the dogs water bowl off the floor. They make them for small dogs and for big dogs. It actually makes it easier for your dog to drink, they don't have to bend as far. My son was fascinated by the water and would play with it, put his toys in it...etc. It was a phase, I washed a lot of towels. Consider it a science experience for your toddler and keep wiping up water. If your son fusses when he is wet, let him stay wet a bit (not until he is cold and miserable or anything). Finish something you started before you change your son and remind him that he is wet because he knocked over the dogs water bowl. Being wet is a natural consequence of playing with/knocking over water. Also, when you wipe up the water, involve your little one. He made the mess, he can help clean it up. Again, a natural consequence. You don't have to yell, be mad or anything just "oops, you knocked over the doggies water bowl, guess you'll be wet while mommy finishes...., you can get changed after we get the water all wiped up." He can help wipe up while your hand is over his little hand wiping up the water. Truthfully, some of it is probably curiosity. I am sure it is driving you crazy, all the times I wiped up water it drove me crazy too. (Free moment of floor cleaning!)
:)
Good luck with your little scientist!
N.

Set up bowls outside, in the bathroom or another area that your son is allowed to play with. Whenever he's headed for the dog bowl bring him to these areas. That way he still gets his fix of playing in water but its on your terms. Kids are just interested in new, fun looking things but they need to know what's theirs and when its appropriate. I read this in a parenting book and it works for many temptations of my little one. Rather than having to change your dog's life redirect attention and allow for supervised, proper play. Good luck!

Ha ha - we have the EXACT same problem! :) This morning I caught him trying to step on the edge of the bowl and the other day he lost his balance and sat down right in the bowl! what a mess!

What's been working for us is a combination of firm discouragement (NO, Uh Uh Uh, redirect/distract), followed by picking up the bowl and putting it out of reach for awhile when the former fails. It's usually only a problem when I'm making breakfast or dinner in the kitchen and as soon as we're done in the room, or when the kiddo's in his highchair, I put the bowl right back down. I find that the bowl is only up for maybe an hour or so in the AM and PM, so it's not too bad for the poor doggies to wait a bit. And the dogs know where the water is too, so if they're standing there staring at the empty corner I know to put it back down.
We go through the same thing with the dog food too...

I have two dogs and a one year old little boy who loves to play in their water bowl. We have one of the feeding stands from Petsmart that places the bowls about 1 foot above the floor and it seems to work well for us. Every now and then we still have to take the water out of the stand when my son comes in, but otherwise it works great!

Some pet stores have a watering station, one that has a bottle attached but feeds the water into a small bowl. Maybe this will make it harder for your son to knock it over. I do agree that it is a good idea to teach your son that this action is not acceptable, and that there will be consequences.

Have you tried using a bowl with a suction cup type bottom? I dont know if they make them for dog bowls but you can probably use a infant/toddler bowl like the ones you can suction to the table or high chair. It wouldnt be very big and you might have to fill it more often but it might work for a few months till the baby gets past this stage. Good luck!

HI There...

This sounds familiar. My daughter used to LOVE to play in the water bowl. She wiped out a number of times and STILL didn't learn. The problem here is that it is a toy to them at that age. Time outs don't work, yelling doesn't work because they just don't understand yet. I had to spend a lot of time teaching her how to be gentle with the dog and pretend the dog was sad when she did that. Distraction is the KEY here. I could NEVER leaver her alone with the bater bowl. If I HAD to have her in the room with me where the bowl was I offered her lots of other toys. Over time it did begin to work, It will simple mean patience on your part.. unfortunately.. and it will take you 3x as long to get any work done in the room where the water bowl is. My daughter is 19 mos now, and rarely goes to the bowl any more.. but it was a long battle.. good luck

OK, easy solution. What breed of dog do you have? If your dog is "tall" enough to drink easily from a bowl stand then get one! Pet-Smart or PetCo have stands in stock for fairly low cost. You will find such solace in the simplicity of two bowls elevated only a few inches from the floor in a sturdy iron or plastic (cheaper) stand and not have the tidal wave every day!

And quite frankly spilling the water is much better than your son eating the food! Right! :)

This makes me laugh...we are still doing this at 21 months! I just try to pull it up when she is running about then put it back down when she is napping or outside! the dog seems to realize when the food and water is down it's time to chow down...saying NO did not seem to work, nor did removing her! she now will grab food and bring it to the dog and sometimes has been known to taste test it! so up it goes...until...she's older!

What about purchasing one of those big water dishes that stand upright, and have that container that holds water, gradually releasing more as the dog drinks the water. Maybe if you got one of the really big ones for the bog dogs, even if your dog doesn't need one that big, it would be too heaving for him to tip over easily. Just a suggestion! I think they also make those typr of iron thingies that the bowls fit into, it is heavy and stable, maybe that would hold through your sons tipping water bowl phase.
K.

The only solution that I have found for this issue is to teach the child that it is not to be touched. Your son is just a baby so it is hard but firmly tell him no when he goes near it and try to divert his attention when he goes near it. There are some things that children are just not allowed to touch or play with and the best thing and also the hardest is to teach them the limits not to hide the objects. Best of luck to you.

There are stands, and bowls that don't tip, but really... Since he cries when he gets wet, make the child walk around in wet clothes for a while... he won't do it again (or he'll decide it's fun and do it every day.) A firm no. A redirect. An "ah-ah" when he walks near the bowl. Do it all. He has to learn. Better he learn with wet than with hot or dangerous.
YMMV
LBC