Go on bowl me over....

Yesterday I tripped over one of the dog's bowls and it went crunch. I had been so pleased with myself when I'd stumbled on what looked remarkably like fancy Italian designer pink and blue matching bowls in Tesco for a ridiculous £2 each. The pathetic crunch gave it away that these were probably not quite the real deal.
But that got me wondering, what sort of bowls should I get the dogs next?
We're often doing feeding trials here so they tend to get snapped for the magazine (and snapped in real life when I trip over a discarded school shoe!)
With sadly no New York shopping sprees on the horizon, I'm asking you to be my eyes and ears in the world of doggie fashion.
What do you think is the most desirable super bowl of the moment?
Practicality must score high (dishwasher friendly please!) and ideally I need two bowls sufficiently different so I can work out which one belongs to each dog. Current bowls were particularly annoying in the dishwasher as no matter which way up you put them they always attracted a reservoir of yukky dishwasher water when you opened the door!
Send me your best spots and why you like them and we'll put a page in the mag! Maybe you can send me a pic of your bowl, in your kitchen with your dog and also tell me what you feed!
Any dreamy manufacturers - why not send me your most gorgeous bowls so I can test them out and photograph them! (Why not - there has to be some perks to being a dog mag editor - imagine if I was editing Grazia, I'd have a dozen handbags and a closet full of designer labels!)
If you've got pix mail me your bowl reports to beverley@dogstodaymagazine.co.uk so I can post them on the blog for others to see. Or just comments with links and pass on this request to anyone in the world who might have seen a gorgeous bowl!



Hi Beverley
We use stainless steel bowls but do end up collecting unusual ones from car boot sales, charity shops etc. This lovely bowl was bought at a charity stall at a dog show. It is heavy and 'classy'. We also have a few others including a nice deep blue one with the word WATER impressed into its side. Some of them have interesting makers marks too. We just loved the words 'all gone' in the centre of this one though.
Wendy & Paul

Comments

Linda Ward said…
I don't use a dishwasher, but like you I hate the bowls that don't drain because no matter what way up they go on the draining board there's always a little puddle of water that doesn't drain out.

I've got quite a collection of bowls (I'm not even sure where they all came from), most of them are just plains one with no chance of water gathering in the underneath.

My favourite is a ceramic bowl with the words "no matter the weather, wind, rain, sun, snow, side by side we will stride, walking together through field and forest, my companion and friend." which is the reason I bought it!

At the moment Fred is using a brake-fast type bowl which is extremely ugly, but does the job.

Beauty is limited to stainless steel bowls as she uses a raised stand. I haven't seen one that doesn't use these bowls!

I'll try to get some photos at breakfast time.
viccut said…
I think these are totally gorgeous - we've got two spaniel bowls, dishwasher proof and stylish.
http://www.chow-bella.org.uk/2.html
Anonymous said…
why not just use normal hygenic and last a life time steel dog bowls!! if confused which one is which get the dogs named engraved on them (a few pounds at most, includingthe DOB is a nice touch), as for the dishwasher, hardly eco friendly is it!!
Anonymous said…
I was actually delighted to learn that, used correctly, a dishwasher is MORE environmentally friendly than washing by hand! I have small dogs, and they eat off a mixture of ceramic bowls from IKEA, Spode, Wedgwood, etc - my sister lives in the Potteries, and until all the ceramic companies recently closed down, undecorated seconds were extremely inexpensive. Most dog bowls are too big for my toy dogs - and I agree about the non-draining design! Stainless steel would be sensible, but with two cats and two dogs, all fed twice a day, the ones I have were a lot cheaper.
Anonymous said…
plastic and china bowls once broken will likely contribute to more landfill, as for china being cheaper, i am sure they arnt over a life time of a dog as any will broken or chipped (harbouring bugs leading to tummy upsets and big vet bills. some of my old steel bowls still in A1 condition after 40 years of use. As for dishwashers being more enviromentally friendly only the most modern of machines (less than 5 years old) are that heat less water and if ou dont use the full rinse programm and notthe drying programm and only if you use them with a FULL load! and to be honest hate that chemical smell they leave and so do my dogs
These Italian designed polypropylene bowls are absolutely crunch proof and the award winning luxury designer bowls are beautiful and sturdy http://www.dfordog.co.uk/acatalog/dog_food_water_bowls.html

The Eat Better Bowl is designed to slow down a fast eater. I use one of these on my dog Berkeley http://www.dfordog.co.uk/acatalog/ergonomic_dog_bowls.html

For rustic chic try these made to order feeders which can be finished in almost any colour to compliment your kitchen http://www.dfordog.co.uk/acatalog/raised_dog_feeders.html

For the real wow factor, I highly recommend these Acrylic raised feeders http://www.dfordog.co.uk/acatalog/raised_dog_feeding_bowl.html
Claire M said…
The Emma Bridgewater Polka Dot dog bowls have been on my wish list for a long time! These can be personalised if you wish - otherwise they have Good Dog written on them. In the meantime, I use the brown Mason & Cash vitrified enamel bowls. I like these because they don't move around or tip over as the dog is extracting the last few crumbs - and they are dishwasher-safe. I have been using the same ones for over 10 years now.
Anonymous said…
Think money better spent one good metal bowl and the extra you saved that you would of spent for a designer name could be given to a local rescue centre of the dogs trust, surly the thought your dogs dinner bowl helped to fill up one of an unwanted dog much better, than any silly colour or design that really panders to you needs and not your dogs!
Julie said…
Just to warn everyone, I stoped using ceramic dog dishes some years ago, one of my girls (Dalmatian so very bouncy) jumped up & landed with her hock hiting the dish, result was a VERY nasty gash needing 5 stiches, wont let that happen again!!

Julie
Anonymous said…
I use stainless steel for my two boys. They're not very attractive but wash well and for the few seconds they are chased round the floor, it's ok. They certainly don't care. I looked at the crock ones for the weight but just know that it will be only a short time until one of us, be it four legs or two, that ends up breaking it - so it's not worth the risk.

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