Take Paws The official pet travel blog of GoPetFriendly.com

Making a Portable Doggie Water Bowl

Guest post by Karen Friesecke of DoggieStylish

All of the traveling that Amy and Rod have been doing has inspired me to create a tutorial to help the traveling doggie.

When Sean and I go camping, we always bring Jersey with us. The biggest pet peeve that I have with Jersey on these trips is that she is constantly tipping over her water dish! I have put the water dish under the picnic table, on the picnic table, underneath my camping chair … but it doesn’t matter! The water always gets spilled, Jersey gets muddy paws, which means I get dirty pants since Vizslas love to sit on their owners.

Finally I came up with a solution! A portable water bowl that you can hang off of a fence or picnic table. With a piece of rope, you could even tie it to a tree. Since the bowl is off the ground it won’t get tipped over by the dog’s leash or kicked over by human feet.

This DIY project is really easy – it took me less than 10 minutes to make. You’ll need a  plastic jug that has previously held some sort of food item. Jugs that have held antifreeze or laundry detergent are NOT acceptable! You will also need a marking pen, a lighter, and pair of scissors.

Start with ...

STEP 1 - Cutting a Slot In The Handle
Using the marking pen, mark two lines where you will cut a slot out of the handle. Take your scissors and cut out the slot.

Step 1A

Next, take your scissors and cut out the slot.

Step 1B

STEP 2 – Cutting An Access Window Into the Jug
Using the marking pen, trace a hole large enough for your dog to get it’s muzzle into the jug to take a drink of water.

Step 2A

Cut out this window with your scissors.

Step 2B

STEP 3 – Smoothing the Rough Edges
Take your lighter and quickly swipe the flame over the cut edges of the plastic. This will smooth out any rough edges that resulted from the cutting.

Step 3

The finished product, hanging from a fence.

Voila!