Anyone who has ever fed a dog knows it’s no easy task. Apart from the dilemma associated with choosing the appropriate diet for your dog’s age and breed, there come other factors including the cost of dog food, the picky attitude of your dog to certain foods, and the mess most dogs make while eating. Feeding also brings to consideration, the various diseases and infections your dog could get from food, and the type of bowl that would suit your dog appropriately. Shallow dog bowls are appropriate for dogs with flat faces and small noses; pugs for example. There are dog bowls that help to slow eating too, as dogs that are fast eaters could cause damage to their digestive system and those bowls help to prevent that. Large dog breeds would need large dog raised food bowls, also known as elevated feeders, so that they do not have to stretch their backs and necks to reach the ground (advise of a vet should be sought before doing this however, as there is concern about elevated dog bowls being tied to medical conditions like bloat). Dog bowls with deep bottoms are well-suited to dogs with long snouts, like greyhounds and collies.
Materials used in making dog bowls
Traditional dog bowls are usually made of steel or plastic. Ceramics are also used but are not practical as excited dogs could break them during feeding and inadvertently hurt themselves. Some ceramic bowls are also manufactured with lead-based paints and this can lead to lead poisoning for your pet. Plastic bowls might seem a better choice, as they are relatively cheaper and are easily moulded into different alluring shapes and colours. Plastic bowls however, are not the best choice. Apart from the fact that plastic bowls are difficult to clean and have to be replaced more often than not, it is very likely that pets would gnaw on the bowl and ingest little bits of plastic that accrue in its digestive tract over time. Needles to say, this could prove dangerous. Plastic bowls also, more often than not, cause allergic reactions in dogs and provide a very fertile ground for bacteria to breed, no matter how many times they are washed and scrubbed. They also cannot be heated, and heating would cause dangerous chemicals and toxins to seep into the food of your pet.
Stainless steel and metal plates prove the best choice when it comes to picking choices for your pet. They are quite safe, and do not possess most of the drawbacks of plastics and ceramics. They are easy to clean and wash and therefore the likelihood of breeding bacterial considerably lessens. They also are considerably resilient, and can withstand wear and tear, making them last for a long time. As they are made of metal and there is absence of toxic organic polymers, they can be heated too.
Conclusion
The choices to make when trying to pick the best bowls for your dog are many and you can be overwhelmed with the sheer amount. However, with the right amount of research in the right direction, you would be able to make the best choice for your pet.