How to stop my puppy from standing in and knocking over her water bowl?

Hi there and thank you for using Pet Coach! I would recommend using a dog food bowl stand, which you can find quite easily online. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

There could be a couple of reasons why Pilot is showing this behavior. If he is drinking from a stainless steel bowl, he could be seeing a reflected light in it, leading him to try to catch it by digging in it. I would use a non-reflective bowl. It could be that Pilot likes moving water, and digging the bowl creates movement in his water bowl. You can use a doggy water fountain instead of a bowl. It provides continuing streams of water, and dogs love drinking from them. I know this from personal experience! You can get a doggy water fountain online or from a pet store. It could also be that Pilot is bored. Set up a regular routine with play and training to keep him busy and occupied. Finally, you can keep the water at a lower level in the bowl, which decreases his ability to dig at the water.

That bowl is very small for the size of your dog, so it could be that she is trying to get to more water. Switching to a larger bowl, or one that is a different material may help her paw at it less. If it is kept close to her food, she may also be trying to "bury" it for later, like a bone or toy.

There are several reasons cats like to "knock over water dishes" or play in their water bowls, including (1) it's fun - they enjoy splashing the water and making it move, seeing the reflective surface, (2) they prefer to drink from a moving water source (because moving water is more aerated and generally tastes better/fresher), (3) the bowl isn't to their liking - too big, too small, too deep, etc., so they splash water out and drink from the floor, (4) you give them fresh water whenever they knock the dish over so they have learned that this a successful method of getting your attention. Some things you can do include: (1) purchase a water fountain for cats (water moves continuosly); (2) get a heavy cermic bowl or a bowl with a wider base than top, (3) put a placement or plastic tray under the bowl, (4) offer more shiny, sparkly toys, like Mylar balls, to catch your cat's attention, (5) changed the water at least twice per day so your cat doesn't need to ask you for clean water.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Bad Missy! Some kittens love to play with water! I would put the bowl in something to prevent it from tipping over. You can get adhesive to hold the bowel down as well. They do make non-spill bowls. None of this will stop her from dipping her paws in to it, so you a large water proof mat for your floor. She will grow out of this. I would add some interactive toys and get a laser pointer to play with her. Sometimes boredom comes in to play with these kind of behaviors. Good luck!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This may be just playful behavior. You can consider securing it to the cage with some type of material or just getting a new water bowl of a different color she may prefer. Best of luck!

I once had a stray dog that I took in who would not use a water bowl (he was not used to having one) and would drink out of puddles/rain water instead. I ended up switching his water bowl to a clear glass mixing bowl from my kitchen and he would use that. Try switching Zeus' water bowl to see if he prefers a different type. You could even use a clean flower pot. Also make sure his water is clean. Some dogs will not drink dirty water. Hope this helps. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.