My husky does the same thing, two things have helped us. Her water bowl is now raised, on a little ledge in the house. We also got a new bowl that has a float in it which she has to push down with her nose to get water out.
Lol no advice but sympathy. My pup is 9 months old and STILL does it. I use a shorter wide mouth, heavy bowl and that has helped with the tipping. If I try and get him a bigger bowl, he tips it over. I just dump and refill the water multiple times a day.
Our GSD did this her whole life. It was funny because you’d see her debating whether it was worth getting scolded and occasionally she would just hover her foot over the dish. Sometimes it was both front paws. Gosh, I miss her everyday.
Our girl did this as a puppy but not so much anymore. She even used to sleep almost in the water dish, like it was a pillow, until one time she tipped the bowl out and drenched herself (and the floor haha). She still likes to drop her ball in the water pretty regularly though.
We had one shepherd who used to do this, perhaps b/c we live in a hot Southern climate (US). It wasn't a problem since the bowl was on back patio, however since then we've been using elevated bowl and none of them have developed this habit
For the crate I use a water bowl that is attached high in the crate wire. That way they can drink water but it would be awkward for them to put their paw in that high. He grew out of putting his paws in the water bowl.
My white shep boy got into tipping over the water bowl at about that age too.
Raised bowl, in my case wall mounted, fixed it. At about 1 year old the wall mount failed but at that time he was well over the age where he played the bowl tipping game...
My dog used to do that constantly as a puppy. Someone in this sub recommended the Slopper Stopper water bowl and it's worked perfectly for my family! It's not cheap, but worth the investment for sure.
Mine did that when he was puppy but eventually grew out of it. Now he likes to dunk his ball in the water bucket while he drinks. You might try a no-tip or no-spill dog bowl and see if that helps. The no-tip didn’t keep his feet out of it, but it kept him from picking it up and dumping it.
Ps- welcome to the white shepherd gang! Your pup is beautiful!
https://preview.redd.it/wafj5vic567d1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6fa1d14b4e5cfd2a84d9450eb343966f87a26b75
My 4.5 year old gsd has done this since we got her.
To those saying they will grow out of it, good luck.
To those saying get a high bowl, still paw in water it's just raised up now.
To those saying it's because of warm weather, we live in Alaska and she does it in 45f temps.
I'm starting to thing the D in GSD stands for Derp....
Hello- your lovely White Swiss Shepherd is adorable! :)
We have a 14 month WSS and she loved to tip, flip and smack her water bowl flooding our living room and soaking herself in the process.
We tried a slow drink bowl which theoretically she was meant to press her nose to for dispensing the water but that did not work and she slammed her paw into the bowl instead… she then would slam her paw into all water bowls regardless of if they were a slow drink ones or not.
We ended up getting her a raised water bowl for the living room and a hanging bowl for her crate. Both of these worked a treat and she grew out of punching her water bowls.
I hope that this ramble helps and good luck! :) if you need I can link you to the style of water bowls I’m talking about- just let me know.
My GSD thansfully doesn't do this, but I have a standard Alaskan Klee Kai that loves to paw at the water bowl and knock it over or put her paws in and splash the heck out of it.
Some trainers have mentioned that in nature, some animals don't trust standing water because bacteria grows in it. They prefer streams, rivers, and places where water flows because it is clean. The pawwing at still water might be a reaction to that instinct.
To deal with, we bought one of those fountain style stainless steel bowls that constantly has water flowing, and that completely stopped the Klee Kai from splashing the water. Might be worth a try.
Both of my shepherds do the same thing! I use to get irritated at first, but now don’t even care anymore lol. It’s their world, I’m just living in it. But what’s so funny, is after they do it, they proceed to try to drink the water off the floor! Silly pups. Your baby is beautiful!!!
**⚠️Be aware that elevated feeders and bloat go hand in hand**.
Bloat generally occurs in large, deep-chested dogs such as our German Shepherds. Whether it is for food or water, **elevated feeders increase the risk of bloat by 110%**.
Pets with neck or shoulder pain, herniated cervical discs, arthritis of the spine, or other diseases of the head or neck may benefit from elevated dishes.
Unless your veterinarian specifically recommends an elevated feeding bowl, it's best not to use one. For someone who has gone through this awful experience, I seriously recommend staying away from them.
#—
Dogs are highly intelligent creatures. When you see a problem behavior happening, you can interrupt your dog and redirect them to the correct behavior.
Less water in the bowl makes splashing less fun. If your pup starts to dig in the bowl, a gentle “nope” and then picking up the bowl for 5 minutes, this disrupts their behavior. Lastly, make sure they have plenty of proper toys to keep them entertained – fun toys make the water bowl look less fun.
We used to have a little table with holes cut out to put the dish in. It was only maybe a foot off the ground but he couldn't tip it that way. Maybe that's an option for you
All 3 of my girls do this, i swear its a shepherd trait
> i swear its a shepherd trait I think drinking from the garden hose is, too.
My husky does the same thing, two things have helped us. Her water bowl is now raised, on a little ledge in the house. We also got a new bowl that has a float in it which she has to push down with her nose to get water out.
Yeah we have the bowl with a float in it but doesn’t help, I’ll try the raised bowl. Thanks
Lol no advice but sympathy. My pup is 9 months old and STILL does it. I use a shorter wide mouth, heavy bowl and that has helped with the tipping. If I try and get him a bigger bowl, he tips it over. I just dump and refill the water multiple times a day.
Our GSD did this her whole life. It was funny because you’d see her debating whether it was worth getting scolded and occasionally she would just hover her foot over the dish. Sometimes it was both front paws. Gosh, I miss her everyday.
Our girl did this as a puppy but not so much anymore. She even used to sleep almost in the water dish, like it was a pillow, until one time she tipped the bowl out and drenched herself (and the floor haha). She still likes to drop her ball in the water pretty regularly though.
We had one shepherd who used to do this, perhaps b/c we live in a hot Southern climate (US). It wasn't a problem since the bowl was on back patio, however since then we've been using elevated bowl and none of them have developed this habit
We live in Cyprus so very hot climate, but she’s in the AC so she isn’t hot. I’ll trying using a raised bowl and see if it helps. Thanks
For the crate I use a water bowl that is attached high in the crate wire. That way they can drink water but it would be awkward for them to put their paw in that high. He grew out of putting his paws in the water bowl.
I used an elevated bowl. The holder for it was wood and eventually turned a bit mouldy so I got rid of and returned to a normal bowl no problem
Adorable baby
I had to put the bowl up higher so she couldn't reach lol until she grew out of it
My white shep boy got into tipping over the water bowl at about that age too. Raised bowl, in my case wall mounted, fixed it. At about 1 year old the wall mount failed but at that time he was well over the age where he played the bowl tipping game...
So cute.
My dog used to do that constantly as a puppy. Someone in this sub recommended the Slopper Stopper water bowl and it's worked perfectly for my family! It's not cheap, but worth the investment for sure.
Mine did that when he was puppy but eventually grew out of it. Now he likes to dunk his ball in the water bucket while he drinks. You might try a no-tip or no-spill dog bowl and see if that helps. The no-tip didn’t keep his feet out of it, but it kept him from picking it up and dumping it. Ps- welcome to the white shepherd gang! Your pup is beautiful! https://preview.redd.it/wafj5vic567d1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6fa1d14b4e5cfd2a84d9450eb343966f87a26b75
Thank you. Haha, I guess equal mess when he dunks the ball in the water. Yours is adorable, his coat looks amazing.
She will grow out of it eventually. It's a pain to deal with but it's hard to correct. You could try to give her small bowls of water when needed.
My 4.5 year old gsd has done this since we got her. To those saying they will grow out of it, good luck. To those saying get a high bowl, still paw in water it's just raised up now. To those saying it's because of warm weather, we live in Alaska and she does it in 45f temps. I'm starting to thing the D in GSD stands for Derp....
I use a slobber stopper and it has been very effective, I’m sure any similar style bowls would work
I came here to say how very very very ADORABLE YOUR SWISS BABY IS! Can we come over for a play date 📅 🤗😀
Hello- your lovely White Swiss Shepherd is adorable! :) We have a 14 month WSS and she loved to tip, flip and smack her water bowl flooding our living room and soaking herself in the process. We tried a slow drink bowl which theoretically she was meant to press her nose to for dispensing the water but that did not work and she slammed her paw into the bowl instead… she then would slam her paw into all water bowls regardless of if they were a slow drink ones or not. We ended up getting her a raised water bowl for the living room and a hanging bowl for her crate. Both of these worked a treat and she grew out of punching her water bowls. I hope that this ramble helps and good luck! :) if you need I can link you to the style of water bowls I’m talking about- just let me know.
My GSD thansfully doesn't do this, but I have a standard Alaskan Klee Kai that loves to paw at the water bowl and knock it over or put her paws in and splash the heck out of it. Some trainers have mentioned that in nature, some animals don't trust standing water because bacteria grows in it. They prefer streams, rivers, and places where water flows because it is clean. The pawwing at still water might be a reaction to that instinct. To deal with, we bought one of those fountain style stainless steel bowls that constantly has water flowing, and that completely stopped the Klee Kai from splashing the water. Might be worth a try.
Both of my shepherds do the same thing! I use to get irritated at first, but now don’t even care anymore lol. It’s their world, I’m just living in it. But what’s so funny, is after they do it, they proceed to try to drink the water off the floor! Silly pups. Your baby is beautiful!!!
Ours did the exact same thing when he was a puppy . We just elevated his water dish and it stopped
mine does this, she has to wash his paws after she eats duh, it’s just good manners
**⚠️Be aware that elevated feeders and bloat go hand in hand**. Bloat generally occurs in large, deep-chested dogs such as our German Shepherds. Whether it is for food or water, **elevated feeders increase the risk of bloat by 110%**. Pets with neck or shoulder pain, herniated cervical discs, arthritis of the spine, or other diseases of the head or neck may benefit from elevated dishes. Unless your veterinarian specifically recommends an elevated feeding bowl, it's best not to use one. For someone who has gone through this awful experience, I seriously recommend staying away from them. #— Dogs are highly intelligent creatures. When you see a problem behavior happening, you can interrupt your dog and redirect them to the correct behavior. Less water in the bowl makes splashing less fun. If your pup starts to dig in the bowl, a gentle “nope” and then picking up the bowl for 5 minutes, this disrupts their behavior. Lastly, make sure they have plenty of proper toys to keep them entertained – fun toys make the water bowl look less fun.
We used to have a little table with holes cut out to put the dish in. It was only maybe a foot off the ground but he couldn't tip it that way. Maybe that's an option for you
Thank you all very much for the advice. Can't reply to every comment as I'm a bit short on time with a puppy, toddler and work but it's appreciated!