We have an eight year old Great Dane, Samson, that we have had since he was 8 weeks old. He is our third kid and is about as sweet as they come. Large dogs need to eat and drink at an elevated level to help prevent stomach bloat. Here is how we created these DIY elevated dog bowls for him. He eats and drinks in the garage, because…drool. Lots of drool!
Large dogs must eat/drink from an elevated dog bowls. Since we are DIY kind of people, we made our own version when he was little and have been using the same method ever since.
These are cheap side tables from Target (I think we got them 5 years ago for $10 each). Steve used a jigsaw to cut a circle to inlay the dog bowls. The stainless steel bowls are from a pet store and we have had them for as long as we have had Samson. These are the perfect height and the bowls can easily be lifted in and out.
Before cutting, make sure to measure the bowl below the “lip” of your dog bowl so the bowl doesn’t fall through the hole! I clean mine with soap and water and they have held up remarkably well. This is our second set of DIY elevated tables in 8 years (which includes 4 moves with him).
We purchased the first set of tables at IKEA, and this set is from Target. This DIY elevated dog bowl project is quick and inexpensive if you are in need of elevated dog bowls for your pooch! I couldn’t have a “dog’” post without mentioning our second Great Dane, Hillary, who passed away a year ago in March. Dogs just do something to us, am I right?!
What a great idea!!.. Can you tell me, why do large dogs need to eat and drink from elevated bowls? I ask because I have 2 lab mixes who are LARGE.. Tall as well.. Thank you so much 🙂
Robyn 🙂
Hey Robyn! We have always used raised bowls for two reasons. 1. more comfortable to eat level with your mouth than to have to bend way over. 2. it helps prevent massive air intake while eating and drinking, which can help prevent bloat (a deadly condition of too much air intake which can cause the stomach to fill with air and twist). We also wait at least 30 minutes before and after feeding before we let Samson run and play and exercise (again, to help prevent bloat). Hope this helps!!!
You're brilliant. We have a great dane and we have some super ugly elevated bowls. I have been trying to convince my husband that we should build something for his bowls so that they are prettier, but he isn't sold. I'd actually like a cabinet with a lid that I can close over his bowls so that when our daughter is crawling around she can't eat his food (which she loves to do – gross). Maybe I could figure out a way to hack the lack table and add a lid.
Hey Kelly! I hear you on the lid part. Our dane actually only eats in the garage because i can't stand the drool mess when he eats and drinks! Let me know if you come up with a lid solution!
This was a great idea! who would have thought to use an ikea table to make this- you're brilliant!
Awesome idea! We just put the bowls on the top of the tiny two-stair staircase into the kitchen for our giant English Sheepdog, but this is a much better idea cuz you can move them around. Watson was always in the way while he was eating if we needed to go up or down the stairs 🙂 I'd be thrilled if you want to link this up at The Fun In Functional link party: