Bowls & Feeders For Dogs - Upto 15% Off - Animeal

Best Drinking Fountain for Dogs: The Honest Buying Answer

Before you spend on a fountain, one fact that will save you money. The American Kennel Club, quoting a veterinarian, puts it plainly: "I'm unaware of evidence supporting the theory that dogs prefer running water."

That belief comes from cats, where the evidence is better and still mixed. In dogs it is mostly marketing. So here is what to actually buy, in order.

1. Two or three wide stainless steel bowls, in different rooms. This is the answer for most dogs. Stainless is the easiest material to keep genuinely clean, it does not scratch and hold bacteria the way plastic does, and more bowls in more places raises intake more reliably than any pump
2. Cool water, refreshed twice a day. Free, and it is the one preference the evidence does support. Dogs prefer cool water. In a Mumbai flat, water sitting out since morning is not cool by evening
3. Wet food, if the goal is medical. If a vet has told you your dog needs to drink more, because of kidney disease or bladder stones, wet food delivers water far more reliably than hoping a dog drinks more. This is the single most effective change and it is a food, not a gadget
4. A drinking fountain, only for specific dogs. Worth it if your dog already runs to the tap or the garden hose, or if it lives somewhere hot and drinks poorly. Not worth it for a dog that drinks normally from a bowl

Being straight about stock: we do not currently stock water fountains for dogs, and our bowls and feeders are out of stock at the moment. We would rather tell you that at the top of the page than let you find out at checkout. If you want a fountain, message us and we will source one and tell you honestly how long it will take.

Which Product for Which Dog

Your situation	What to buy	Where
Healthy dog, drinks fine	Two or three wide stainless bowls. Not a fountain	This page
Vet says the dog must drink more	Wet food, plus more bowls	Wet food for dogs
Kidney disease or bladder stones	The therapeutic diet first, in its wet form	Veterinary diets
Dog already loves the tap or hose	A fountain is genuinely reasonable here. Ask us to source one	WhatsApp us
Dog eats far too fast, gulps and gags	A slow feeder bowl	This page
Large or deep-chested breed	A wide, heavy, stable bowl it cannot tip	This page
Travel, car or walks	A collapsible silicone bowl	This page
Puppy being hand-reared	A feeding bottle set	This page
Dog with a sore neck or arthritis	A raised stand feeder, at your vet's advice	This page

What These Cost

Type	Range
Stainless steel bowls	about ₹110 to ₹740
Plastic and melamine bowls	about ₹125 to ₹525
Collapsible travel bowls	about ₹495 to ₹699
Slow feeder bowls	about ₹745
Raised stand feeders	about ₹2,550 to ₹3,950

• Buy stainless, and buy three. Three stainless bowls at the small end cost less than one raised feeder and will do more for your dog's water intake than any single purchase in this category
• Do not pay extra for a plastic bowl. Plastic scratches, and scratches hold bacteria. Melamine and printed bowls cost more than plain stainless and are harder to keep clean
• A fountain is a recurring cost, not a one-off. Filters have to be replaced regularly. Price the filters before you price the fountain, because that is where the money goes
• Size by the dog, not by the room. A bowl too small for a large breed gets tipped, and a bowl too deep for a flat-faced dog is uncomfortable to drink from

Out of Stock, or Want a Fountain We Do Not Carry?

This category is thin at the moment and we are not going to pretend otherwise. Tell us what you need.

• WhatsApp +91 90044 85093
• Email bark@animeal.in
• Or ask at any of the four branches, including Parel, open 24 hours

For a fountain, tell us your dog's size and whether you want plastic or stainless. For a bowl, tell us the breed and whether the dog tips things over. Either way we will tell you what we can get and how long it will take, or say honestly that we cannot.

If your vet has told you the dog needs to drink more, say that too, because the answer is usually wet food rather than a fountain and we can point you at the right one.

Buy Dog Bowls and Feeders in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai

We are the online arm of Goodman Pet Chemist, a licensed veterinary pharmacy with four branches.

• Parel, open 24 hours
• Mahim
• Sewri
• Seawoods, Navi Mumbai

The Thing That Matters More Than the Bowl

Now the reasoning, and this is the part almost nobody acts on.

NSF, the public health organisation, tested household surfaces for its germiest home items study. Pet bowls came fourth. What they found on pet items was "coliform bacteria (including Staph bacteria), yeast and mold".

Their instruction is unambiguous: "pet dishes should be washed daily, either in a sanitizing dishwasher or scrubbed by hand with hot soapy water, then rinsed", with a bleach solution once a week.

Daily. Not when it looks dirty. The slime you can feel on the inside of a water bowl that has stood for two days is a bacterial biofilm, and rinsing under a tap does not remove it. It has to be scrubbed.

This is why the fountain question is usually the wrong question. A fountain is a pump, a reservoir, tubing and a filter, and every one of those is a surface that grows the same biofilm in a place you cannot easily scrub. An unwashed fountain is worse than a washed bowl, not better.

When a Fountain Is Genuinely a Good Idea

They are not a con. They suit some dogs, and it is worth knowing which.

• Your dog already prefers running water. If it drinks from the tap, the shower or the hose given the chance, a fountain matches a preference it already has
• A medical reason to increase intake, where wet food alone has not been enough
• Hot flats and long days alone, where a large reservoir keeps water available and moving rather than sitting still and warming
• Multi-pet homes, where the reservoir simply holds more than a bowl does

The AKC's list of downsides is worth reading before you buy. They are "bulky", the pump makes noise that can put off a fearful dog, they "cost significantly more than traditional water bowls", the "complex construction means cleaning is more of a chore", and "you'll have to change the filter regularly".

Dog Water Fountain With Filter: What the Filter Does

Worth understanding, because the word "filter" does a lot of marketing work.

• The foam or sponge layer catches hair, dust and food debris. This is the part that actually does something visible, and it clogs
• The carbon layer improves taste and smell by adsorbing chlorine and some organics. It does not sterilise anything
• A filter does not disinfect the water. It does not stop biofilm forming in the reservoir or the pump, and a saturated filter is itself somewhere bacteria grow
• Filters are consumables. Typical guidance is a replacement every two to four weeks. Work out the annual cost of filters before you commit, because it usually exceeds the price of the fountain over a couple of years
• Filters do not replace cleaning. The pump has to come apart and be scrubbed, and that is the step people skip

If you buy one, buy a stainless or ceramic model rather than plastic, and buy from a brand whose filters you can actually get in India. A fountain you cannot get filters for becomes an expensive bowl.

If You Are Buying One Anyway, Check These Six Things

Plenty of people read all of the above and still want a fountain, and that is a reasonable choice. If that is you, these are the specifications that decide whether you are still using it in a year.

1. Can you get the filters in India, easily and forever? This is the first question, not the last. A fountain whose filters are hard to source becomes an expensive bowl within months. Check the filters are stocked here before you buy the unit
2. Stainless steel or ceramic, not plastic. Same reasoning as bowls. The reservoir is wet all day and plastic scratches
3. How many parts does the pump come apart into, and can you reach inside them? Pick it up in a shop if you can. If the pump does not open, you cannot clean it, and the pump is where the biofilm lives
4. Is it dishwasher safe, and which parts? Usually the pump is not. Know that before rather than after
5. Reservoir size against your dog and your day. A large dog left alone for nine hours needs a bigger reservoir than a small dog with someone home. Too large and the water sits and warms, which defeats the point
6. Pump noise, and where you will put it. A quiet pump in a quiet flat is still audible at night. A nervous dog will simply avoid it, and then you have paid for a bowl with a motor in it

One thing not to bother comparing: flow patterns and "waterfall" designs. There is no evidence a dog prefers one shape of moving water to another, and it is the part manufacturers market hardest.

How Much Water Should a Dog Drink?

A healthy dog with several sources of fresh water will regulate its own intake. As the AKC puts it, "a healthy dog with consistent access to multiple sources of fresh water should be able to self-regulate".

What matters is noticing change:

• A dog suddenly drinking much more than usual is a medical sign, not a hydration success. Kidney disease, diabetes, Cushing's and a womb infection in an unspayed bitch all present this way. It needs a blood and urine test
• A dog that has stopped drinking needs a vet the same day
• Dry or tacky gums, sunken eyes, or skin that stays tented when you lift it mean dehydration, which is treated by a vet rather than by a new bowl
• Dogs on dry food drink noticeably more than dogs on wet food, and that is normal rather than a problem

If you are buying a fountain because you are worried about how much your dog is drinking, get the blood test first. The change in drinking is information, and a fountain hides it.

How to Keep Any of It Clean

1. Wash the water bowl every day. Hot water, dish soap, a brush or sponge kept for the purpose. Not a rinse
2. Scrub, do not just swill. The film on the inside surface is the thing you are removing, and it does not come off under running water
3. Wash the food bowl after every meal if you feed wet food
4. Use a separate sponge from your own washing up, and replace it often
5. Bleach solution once a week, rinsed thoroughly and dried, as NSF recommends
6. Stainless or ceramic over plastic. Scratched plastic holds bacteria in grooves you cannot scrub out
7. Throw out a cracked or heavily scratched bowl. It cannot be cleaned properly any more
8. If you use a fountain, take it apart weekly. Pump, tubing, reservoir, all of it. Change the filter on schedule, not when you remember

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best drinking fountain for dogs?
For most dogs, no fountain at all. The AKC quotes a vet saying there is no evidence supporting the theory that dogs prefer running water. Two or three wide stainless bowls, kept cool and washed daily, do more. If your dog already drinks from the tap or hose, a fountain is reasonable, and we can source one.

Do you stock dog water fountains?
Not at the moment, and our bowls are out of stock too. Message us on +91 90044 85093 with what you need and we will tell you honestly what we can get and how long it will take.

What should I buy instead of a fountain?
Stainless steel bowls, more than one, in different rooms, refilled with cool water twice a day. If a vet has told you the dog must drink more, wet food is the more reliable answer.

What does the filter in a dog water fountain with filter actually do?
The foam layer catches hair and debris, and the carbon layer improves taste and smell. Neither disinfects the water or prevents biofilm in the reservoir and pump. Filters are consumables, typically replaced every two to four weeks, and they do not replace taking the fountain apart to clean it.

How much do dog bowls cost here?
Stainless steel from about ₹110 to ₹740, plastic and melamine from about ₹125 to ₹525, collapsible travel bowls around ₹495 to ₹699, slow feeders around ₹745, and raised stand feeders from about ₹2,550.

How often should I wash my dog's water bowl?
Every day. NSF ranks pet bowls fourth among the germiest items in the home and advises washing pet dishes daily with hot soapy water, plus a bleach solution once a week.

Is stainless steel better than plastic for a dog bowl?
Yes, mainly because it can be cleaned properly. Plastic scratches, and the scratches hold bacteria you cannot scrub out.

My dog is suddenly drinking a lot more. Should I get a bigger bowl?
No. Get a blood and urine test. A sudden increase in drinking is a medical sign, and kidney disease, diabetes, Cushing's and a uterine infection all present this way.

Should my dog have a raised bowl?
Ask your vet. Raised feeders help some older or arthritic dogs, but they are not right for every dog and the advice around deep-chested breeds is not settled.

Do dogs prefer cold water?
The AKC notes that dogs prefer drinking cool water. Refreshing the bowl with cool water twice a day is free and does more than most products in this category.

Shop More

• Wet food for dogs
• All dog food
• Veterinary diets for dogs
• Crates, carriers and pens
• Grooming for dogs