Playing in water bowl

[kazads]

Our little Bella has developed a habit of playing in her water bowl. Her bowl is stainless steel. If we leave her at home alone (she has her special den in the kitchen) you can guarantee that we will come home and find the kitchen floor covered in water, and a wet puppy!! She even did it the other morning while I was still at home (although she was confined to the kitchen).

Is there any way to train her out of this? I don't know if it is caused by separation anxiety, puppy madness, or whether she just loves water! She has had a couple of baths and was not really that keen.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. We have never had a Boxer before and we are unsure whether we should be training her out of it, or whether it is just a trait of hers. Many thanks.

 

[johann]

I would say that it is puppy madness, not any separation anxiety.

They sell special water bottles to attach to crates that are like giant rabbit water bottles....maybe one of those for when you aren't home to watch her. Or some type of less tip-prone water dish.

She might outgrow it.....Johann used to splash in his water dish, but doesn't really anymore.

 

[avaboxer]

water bowls

Hello,
Somewhere on here, I seen that some dogs actually see their reflection in stainless steel bowls. I have never had any trouble out of Ava who is almost four months except when the bowl of water gets empty she picks it up and brings it to me. Like "see, it's empty...refill please" We have always used plastic bowls. Just an idea. Our other dogs also used to have stainless bowls and they would do something similar. Hope this helps.

 

[kazads]

Ok, I think it is puppy madness or she loves water - one of the two. We replaced her steel bowl with a lovely, non-reflective plastic bowl. We left her in the kitchen today for only about 40 minutes, and sure enough, she had played in it, and was lying in the water on the floor. She also managed to get the pantry door open, so it looks like we will be purchasing some child-proof locks.

I guess this is just something she will either grow out of, or not. Oh, the joys of being a puppy mum!

 

[Jan]

Are you sure you have a boxer their? Tara, my Irish WATER Spaniel, used to play in the water bowl when she was a puppy. Fortunately, she grew out of it once she got to play in real water.

Hopefully she will grow out of the habit. I would correct her, but only if you catch her in the act.

Good luck!

 

[brindlepup]

My Butch loves to tip his water bowl in his dog run outside. I think he just get bored (despite all the toys I leave for him) and likes to be ornery. I bought a "tip-proof" bowl but he still manages so splash it all out sometime. Inside I feed and water him from a raised stand and have no problems with water games in the house. Works wonders on his disgestion issues as well. I see your pup is still pretty small but you might consider getting a raised stand when she gets a bit bigger.

 

[brindlepup]

My Butch loves to tip his water bowl in his dog run outside. I think he just get bored (despite all the toys I leave for him) and likes to be ornery. I bought a "tip-proof" bowl but he still manages so splash it all out sometimes. Inside I feed and water him from a raised stand and have no problems with water games in the house. Works wonders on his disgestion issues as well. I see your pup is still pretty small but you might consider getting a raised stand when she gets a bit bigger.

 

[kazads]

Thanks to everyone for your advice. I do correct her when I catch her, but that is rare. We have decided to leave it and see how she goes for now, but the raised feeding stand is a great idea!

She actually went to the toilet on the pavers this morning and I grabbed the hose to wash it off, and she had a ball chasing the water and getting herself all wet!! So, I suspect that while she really does not like baths, she likes playing with water and that is ok.

 

[Kilby'sMum]

Kona was exactly the same, every day we'd open the bathroom door (that's where she stayed when we were out) and the walls, floor and puppy would be wet. She LOVES water (unlike Kilby and most other boxers) and will take any chance she can to get wet. We solved the issue with a very heavy ceramic bowl that she couldn't knock over. She'd still splash around in it but couldn't tip it so at least we knew there would be something for her to drink if she got thirsty making all that mess

I should add, while she still loves water, the thing with the bowl was a phase and she outgrew it pretty quickly.

 

[kazads]

Thank goodness it is probably only a phase - my mop is almost worn out from cleaning up the mess she makes!