If your dog's water bowl is still full when you get home, read this

How I Got My "Fussy" Dog Drinking Twice as Much Water in 3 Weeks

It wasn't fussiness. It was the bowl. Here's the 5-second finger test my vet showed me, and the simple swap that doubled Biscuit's water in three weeks. It's 50% off right now, with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

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THE WATER BOWL FILE Biscuit · Cavoodle, 7

"He's just not a big drinker." I was wrong.

If you've ever come home to a water bowl that's still full, you've probably said what I said for three years. "He's just not a big drinker."

I filled Biscuit's bowl every morning. It was still full every night. I thought that was a good sign.

Then last summer he went flat in the afternoons. He'd lie on the laundry tiles and not get up when I walked in. Our vet pinched the skin on the back of his neck. "He's running a bit dry," she said. "How much is he drinking?"

I didn't know. She said most people don't.

The 7-day marker test that showed me the truth

She gave me a rough guide. Around 50ml of water per kilo of body weight a day, more in the heat. Biscuit is 8 kilos. So roughly 400ml.

Then she told me to stop guessing and measure. Every night I drew a line on his bowl with a Sharpie. Every morning I topped it up with a measuring jug and wrote it down.

Less than half of what he needed. The Sunday one bothered me most. He wasn't refusing water. He was refusing his water.

Try this 5-second finger test on your dog's bowl tonight

When did you last run a finger around the inside of your dog's bowl?

That's what the vet told me to do. Just under the waterline. The bowl had been rinsed that morning. My finger came away slippery.

That slime is called biofilm. It's a layer of bacteria that grows on anything sitting under still water. A quick rinse won't shift it.

I looked it up. In a household germ study by NSF International, pet bowls were the fourth germiest item in the home. Only the kitchen sponge, the sink and the toothbrush holder were worse.

Researchers at Hartpury University in the UK tested dog water bowls over two weeks. Plastic bowls grew the most bacteria. Stainless steel grew the least.

Biscuit's bowl was plastic. Seven years of dishwashing had covered it in tiny scratches. Perfect for that slime to cling to.

3 reasons dogs walk past a full bowl

1. They can smell it. A dog's nose is thousands of times sharper than ours. Water that smells fine to you smells like yesterday's bowl to them.
2. It's warm. A bowl on a Brisbane back step in January is bathwater by lunchtime.
3. It's still. In nature, running water is usually fresher than a puddle. Lots of dogs are drawn to water that moves. It's why so many drink from the hose and ignore the bowl.

My glass was fresh, cool and clean. His bowl was none of those things. He wasn't fussy. He was being sensible.

The vet's 5-point fountain checklist

She said to get a fountain, but not just any fountain. Check these five things first.

1. Does the water fall like a tap, not just bubble?
2. Is the bowl stainless steel, not plastic?
3. Does it filter out hair, food bits and grit?
4. Is it quiet enough for a nervous dog?
5. Does it hold enough for a hot day?

I'd already failed this test once, with a thirty-dollar plastic fountain. It hummed so loudly Biscuit wouldn't go near it. Within a fortnight it had a pink ring at the waterline. One out of five.

The fountain that ticked all 5, and what it means for your dog

A friend from our Cavoodle walking group had one in her kitchen. Her dog drank from it while we had coffee. It's called the Fresh Flow Dog Fountain, from an Australian brand called FloofyPups.

• Your dog gets water that moves. A steady stream falls from a curved steel spout, like a tap left running. Biscuit goes straight for the stream.
• No more slimy bowl. The bowl is 304 food-grade stainless steel. No plastic, no scratches for slime to grip. My finger test now comes up clean.
• Hair and crumbs stay out. The water runs through a multi-layer filter all day. You swap it once a month.
• Nervous dogs aren't scared of it. The pump runs at about 30 decibels, quieter than a whisper. Biscuit ran from the old one. He walked straight up to this.
• It keeps running while you're out. It plugs into a normal power point, so the water keeps moving and filtering all day, even while you're at work.
• You stop topping up. It holds 4 litres, ten times what Biscuit drinks in a day. A little side window shows the level at a glance.

I sent a photo to the vet. Her reply was one line: "That's exactly the kind I meant."

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Double the water in 3 weeks: my notes

I kept measuring, this time on a strip of tape next to the water window.

• Week 1. He sniffed the spout and licked the stream twice. By day three he went back on his own. About 300ml a day.
• Week 2. He started drinking straight after walks. He never used to. About 380ml a day.
• Week 3. A 34-degree weekend. Over half a litre, and I didn't top it up once.
• Week 4. Back to the vet. She was happy with him. The afternoon flat spells had stopped, and our evening walks were back.

Cleaning takes five minutes on a Sunday. Unplug, tip out, wash the steel in warm soapy water, refill. No fiddly corners.

To be fair, it isn't perfect. It's a plug-in fountain, so it needs a power point nearby and can't go just anywhere. If your dog chews cords, run it along the wall behind the fountain like we did. And there's a filter to swap each month. For me, that's a small price for never scrubbing slime again.

50,000+ dog parents saw the same thing

I'm one owner with one small dog. So I went looking.

The reviews sound a lot like my notes.

Your dog isn't fussy. They're telling you something about the water. Mine was.

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4.7/5 from 50,000+ dog parents · Free shipping

Half price today. About $0.27 a day in year one.

The Fresh Flow is normally $199.99. Right now it's 50% off at $99.99 AUD incl. GST. Spread over its first year, that's about $0.27 a day. It's stainless steel, so it should last a lot longer than that.

I'd already spent thirty dollars on the plastic fountain in my cupboard, plus two plastic bowls, plus the vet visit that started all this. I wish I'd bought this first.

Here's what happens when you order. Shipping is free. It arrives in 5 to 10 business days with the fountain, the quiet pump and a filter in the box. Rinse the filter, fill it, plug it into a power point. You're done in five minutes.

Summer starts on 1 December. Order now and it'll be set up and running before the first heatwave.

Try it for 30 days. If your dog doesn't drink more, get every cent back.

FloofyPups call it the 30-Day Picky Drinker Guarantee. Use the fountain for a month. If your dog isn't drinking better, or you're not happy, contact them. They'll refund you in full. Even if the fountain has been used.

The risk sits with them, not you. If your dog ignores it, you get your money back. If your dog drinks from it, you've fixed the problem.

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Full refund within 30 days, even if the fountain has been used.

Two ways this summer goes

The first way, you close this page and keep filling the same bowl. It looks full when you get home, so it feels fine. Then the heat arrives. Your dog drinks from the park tap, the hose, your glass, anywhere but the bowl.

The second way, you give them cool, clean water that moves. You stick a strip of tape on the side and watch the level drop.

I picked the second way. Biscuit has been drinking properly ever since. Order yours now while it's 50% off.

Yes, I Want My Dog Drinking More

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Common questions

This is an advertorial. Emma H. is a FloofyPups customer sharing her own experience. Results vary from dog to dog. The Fresh Flow Dog Fountain is a water fountain, not a medical device, and is not a substitute for veterinary care. If your dog is drinking noticeably less or more than usual, or seems unwell, see your vet.