[Mina's Dad]

I have a 14 week old Rottweiler puppy that makes an absolute mess when she drinks. She sticks her snout deep in the water bowl and drinks. She also moves around some times while drinking. When she stops drinking, she walks away and gets water all over the place. I am not sure if she still has water in her mouth and lets it drain or it's just left over. I must constantly clean up a decent sized puddle all the way around the bowl when she drinks. I am not sure how to approach the correction on this one, my fear is that I would stop her from drinking water or being afraid to drink. Any suggestions? Other than that I couldn't ask for a better puppy.

[Shell&Jas]

I'm not sure about your problem, hopefully it'll be something she grows out of. Just wanted to say that the little pic of her is gorgeous, she looks adorable. I have a huge soft spot for rottweilers and would love to see some more pics of her.

[BoxMeIn21]

Originally Posted by Mina's Dad

Any suggestions?

Get a bigger towel to put under the water bowl...she's a puppy.

[Mina's Dad]

A few more pics per your request

Mina at 7 weeks (day I got her)


At 11 weeks


14 weeks (where I got the avatar)


I do hope she grows out of it, or it will just be a bigger mess as she grows.

[Shell&Jas]

Yep, definitely cute!

Curious though, where do you live? Cause here in Australia we aren't allowed to dock tails anymore.

[Dakota Spirit]

Originally Posted by Shell&Jas

Yep, definitely cute!

Curious though, where do you live? Cause here in Australia we aren't allowed to dock tails anymore.

Both cropping and docking are perfectly legal in the US. I believe the OP lives in Georgia

Very cute Rottie, by the way. You can also try using a shallower bowl for now. You'll have to refill it on a more constant basis but she won't be able to burry her nose in inches of water and splash around .

[poodleholic]

I must constantly clean up a decent sized puddle all the way around the bowl when she drinks. I am not sure how to approach the correction on this one, my fear is that I would stop her from drinking water or being afraid to drink. Any suggestions? Other than that I couldn't ask for a better puppy.

She's a baby, and please don't use any correction for this very normal occurance! My friend's Rottie is 4 yrs. old, and STILL makes a mess around the water bowl! For that matter, my very neat Poodles dribble water as they walk away from having a drink!

[britishbandit]

Well in my experience, Rotties are just sloppy drinkers, puppies or not. LOL My two both still (at 2 and 3 years of age) leave puddles or trails of water around their water dishes. PJ especially because he has floppy jowls, and the water traps in there and streams like drool when he walks away from the dish as it empties out. I really don't care apart from the fact that wet ceramic is pretty darn slippery, so I simply give the area a quick once over with the mop.

[cowdog]

Mu sounds the same as Britishbandit's. When she's finished drinking she trails a mini waterfall out of floppy jowls too! The mop gets well used and I don't mind in the slightest - it's just her way.

[FilleBelle]

Originally Posted by Mina's Dad

I must constantly clean up a decent sized puddle all the way around the bowl when she drinks.

Nah! Clean it up a couple times a day and resign yourself to having a damp floor in between

If your dog has doggy door access to the yard at all times during the day, you could hook up one of those giant, hamster-style water bottles to your outdoor spigot.

Note: I tried to do a search for one of these contraptions, but I don't know what to search for. "Giant, hamster-style water bottle for dog" doesn't return good results, lol. I did get a result for an indoor version, though, called "Lixit." Sounds a little naughty, but it would get rid of the mess!

[bluesbarby]

Actually they have dog faucets that you can attach to spigots. Just google dog faucet. They lick the attachment and it gives them water. With my retriever I had one outside and one in the laundry room. In warm months she liked to play in her water.

[Mina's Dad]

Sounds like it is just going to happen, if it does. Thanks to everyone for the pointers. I did not and will not reprimand her for it, I do know she is a puppy, and messes will happen. I was just wondering if there was some way to stop it from occurring. Until then, the mop is in constant standby.

Just remember, correcting behavior does not mean punishment, and it doesn't always mean reprimand. If a bowl corrects the behavior, that's still a correction.

Thanks again!

[Renoman]

I was beginning to think I was the only one with a dog that made a mess when drinking. Chazz has been like this since he was a puppy. He's now 7 1/2 y.o. I've been mopping water up for a long time. I've tried everything without much success. Someone once suggested a bucket instead of a bowl. Tried it. Tried keeping the bucket only 1/2 full. No luck. I tread very lightly in my kitchen because he's a big water drinker so my floor is always wet.

I tried putting a huge deep tray type thing underneath the water bowl to catch the water and just ended up having to empty this huge tray about 6 times a day.

What I have settled on is one of those outdoor mats that absorbs water to set the bowl on and developing a very close relationship with my mop. Good luck. If you come up with outstanding idea, please let me know.

[rsculady]

HA! Sounds like Miss Fuzzybutt although she often tries to drink out of her bowl with her tennis ball in her mouth, drops the ball in the bowl, drinks, picks up ball and then dribbles throughout the house. We have just resigned ourselves to having a couple of towels down on the floor by the water bowl and do the "footmop" with them when we see it. LOL Good luck!

[FilleBelle]

This is the sort of thing I was referring to, but couldn't come up with in my other post. I know they're made for the outdoors, but I've seen people use them on indoor spigots in places like laundry rooms and garages.

You could use this kind of thing inside. The one user review says they're leak proof, but even if it wasn't you would have only wasted $10!

[Lightwingcreations]

I've found that not filling the water bowl in the house completely full keeps 7 month old Blondie from being able to stick her whole face in the bowl. However, you do end up needing to fill it more often. I too have resigned myself to a wet kitchen floor.

[Lorina]

Some people I know use puppy training pads under the water bowls to catch dribbles and splashing.

Don't use them under bowls if you use them for potty training, though.

[Renoman]

Originally Posted by rsculady

HA! Sounds like Miss Fuzzybutt although she often tries to drink out of her bowl with her tennis ball in her mouth, drops the ball in the bowl, drinks, picks up ball and then dribbles throughout the house. We have just resigned ourselves to having a couple of towels down on the floor by the water bowl and do the "footmop" with them when we see it. LOL Good luck!

Chazz does this often. The toys get dropped into the water bowl while he drinks. Once he's done he will retrieve them so I deal with his messiness as well as the dripping of this toys. ARGHHHH!!!! I haven't had a dry floor in 7.5 years. I wish a couple of towels was all I needed !!!

[redox]

I've often wondered how well one of those spill and splash proof bowls would work for a situation like this. This one seems to get good reviews. Maybe you should try it out and let me know if I should buy one

Buddy Bowl
http://www.amazon.com/Great-American...7486741&sr=8-2

[Inga]

I have had Rottweilers for over 25 years now. There is one simple fool proof solution to this problem.... Ship that cute little puppy to my house! Your floors will be dry and clean all the time. LOL Otherwise you could just do what I did and wait for them to grow up a bit. Puppies are messy. My one dog got over most of that, but every once in a while he still grabs a mouth full and walks over to drool it all over someone in the house. My best realistic solution. Buy a lot of paper towel and keep windex handy. Stay patient. You will have a wonderful dog soon. Lots of socializing and love. Rottweilers are pretty hard to beat on the perfect pet list.