We Tested 20 Dog Bowls and Found The Very Best (2024)

Our Top Picks

Stainless steel is a popular choice because it’s easy to clean and doesn’t break. This sturdy stainless has a few extras that make it an all-around good choice for most pups.. The bowl is deep with a small rim around the edge. The rim helps prevent spills but also makes it easier for people to handle when moving the bowl around. The entire bottom is covered in non-slip to keep the bowl from sliding around when your eager pup eats.

The bowl comes in three sizes (4 cups, 6.25 cups, and 10 cups). It’s made from heavy 204-grade stainless steel and independently tested to make sure it is free of potentially dangerous heavy metals and elements like lead, mercury, and arsenic.

The bowls are thicker and heavier than similar bowls. The small weighs 9 ounces, the medium bowl weighs 16 ounces, and the large bowl weighs 1.2 pounds. Not only are you buying a product for your pet when you shop, but for every item purchased, Max & Neo donates a similar item to animal rescues.

_{Dimensions:8 x 2.5 inches (medium) |Volume: 32 ounces, 50 ounces, 80 ounces | Material: Stainless steel | Colors: Stainless steel with rubber bottom | Dishwasher Safe? Not specified}

This stainless steel bowl is solid and heavy and looks like it can stand up to any dog. It’s more expensive than most, but people who own them are quite fond of them. They are very handsome and come in all sorts of colors, as well as basic stainless silver. The bottom has a recessed non-slip ring which stays in place and keeps the bowl from moving. So many others have rubber feet or a ring that can be easily chewed or can fall off.

Although it looks like it is, the bowl is not insulated. It still seems to keep water cooler than many other bowls. It’s dishwasher safe, but also very easy to wash by hand. Some people use this for camping trips and travel because it’s so durable and simple to clean.

_{Dimensions:8 x 8 x 3.5 inches (64 oz) |Volume: 32 ounces, 64 ounces | Material: Stainless steel | Colors: Black, pink, red, coral, olive, orange, navy, green, seafoam, stainless | Dishwasher Safe? Yes}

These attractive and heavy stoneware bowls come in several sizes, including some that are a great size for small pups. There’s one that holds 1.5 cups of food, which is likely more than enough for the little guys. It’s hard to tip over because it’s so solid and it’s easy to clean in the dishwasher.

The interior of the bowl is glazed a bright cobalt blue, which makes the water look pretty. The bowls are BPA- and lead-free. Just be careful when filling and moving it. The sides can be slick when wet and the bowl can shatter when dropped.

_{Dimensions:4.75 x 4.75 x 2 inches |Volume: 1.5 cups | Material: Stoneware | Colors: Blue and white | Dishwasher Safe? Yes}

You can get a basic, functional bowl that looks great for just a few dollars. These Loving Pets bowls have a stainless steel interior and a colorful poly-resin exterior. They come in four sizes and several designs and colors. The bones and paw prints are cute and popular.

The bowl has a rubber base that helps keep it from sliding. You can pop it off and then clean the bowl in the dishwasher. The one complaint people have is that the company puts a sticker right in the middle of the bowl and it can be difficult to remove.

_{Dimensions:5.5 x 2 inches, 6.75 x 2.25 inches, 8.5 x 2.5 inches, 9 x 3 inches |Volume: 1.75 cups, 3.25 cups, 6.5 cups, 7.75 cups | Material: Stainless steel and poly-resin | Colors: Artichoke, Blueberry, Champagne, Copper, Grape, Paparazzi Pink, Merlot, Espresso, Turquoise | Dishwasher Safe? Yes}

If your dog inhales their food, a slow feeder bowl like this helpsthem put on the brakes and enjoy their food. It’s also a great way to add an enrichment activity to their day with a little fun mental stimulation. There are many patterns and sizes, but this is a favorite because it’s not too easy. (Dogs quickly get the hang of these feeders so it’s great to get a few designs and alternate between them.)

This purple flower version comes in either a two- or four-cup capacity. You’ll want to choose a size that holds more than you typically feed to make it more challenging. This is top-rack dishwasher safe but sometimes food particles can get caked on, making it difficult to clean thoroughly. It’s helps to soak before washing.

_{Dimensions:8.75 x 2.25 inches, 11.75 x 2.75 inches |Volume: 2 cups, 4 cups | Material: Plastic | Colors: Purple | Dishwasher Safe? Yes}

Collapsible bowls are very handy. You can keep on in your backpack, clip it on your belt loop, or stash one in your car. Most collapsible silicone bowls are very similar, except for the colors and sizes. We tested a whole bunch of them and this one was a favorite because of its large capacity and other convenient features.

Because it’s large, it’s great for a large dog or multiple dogs. The size, however, means it takes up more room and won’t easily stow in a pocket. It attaches via carabiner and there’s an extra tab that you can loop around a disposable water bottle to keep your hydration necessities together.

The packaging states that it’s made from silicone that is food-safe and BPA-free, whereas some other bowls don’t say the same. It comes in two sizes and several colors and is backed by a one-year guarantee.

_{Dimensions:7.75 x 7 x 0.75 inches, 7.76 x 7.76 x 0.98 inches |Volume: 40 ounces, 50 ounces | Material: Silicone | Colors: Black, Gray, Green, Navy, Periwinkle, Pink | Dishwasher Safe? Yes}

This elevated feeder from OurPets is relatively affordable with lots of smart features, like a design that makes it hard to tip over. There’s a spill ridge on top to keep dogs from making too much of a mess with their meal at dinner time. The feeder is available in three different heights (4 inches, 8 inches, and 12 inches) with three different bowl sizes (1.5 cups, 4 cups, and 5.5 cups). There are two included stainless steel bowls that are dishwasher safe for easy cleanup.

One cool feature in this elevated dog bowl is that there’s a built-in notch for a water bottle. Flip the bottle upside down and one of the dishes becomes a refilling water dispenser. It fits any standard 2-liter bottle and it becomes a reservoir to refill the water as your pup drinks. Water can sometimes collect underneath the metal bowls, so be sure to check often and clean thoroughly.

_{Dimensions:15 x 8 x 4 inches (small); 23.6x 13.6 x 8 inches (medium), 27 x 15 x 12 inches (large) |Volume: 1.5 cups (small), 4 cups (medium), 5.5 cups (large) | Material: Stainless steel and plastic | Colors: Black | Dishwasher Safe? Yes (bowls)}

It can be a great idea to feed your dog in a crate. It gives them privacy and reinforces that their crate is a safe, positive place. But there’s limited room inside and especially for an eager dog, that can lead to spills and toppled bowls.

Using a bowl for crates helps eliminate the mess. Attach this stainless steel bowl to the interior grate of your dog’s crate using the included bracket and wing nuts. It’s easy to secure and will stay locked in place until you want to take it out for cleaning.

The bowl comes in four sizes (1.25, 2.5, 4, and 8 cups) and can be washed in the dishwasher. They also come in packs of two if you want to have food and water available, but that will take up a lot of room.

_{Dimensions:5.24 x 5.44 x 2 inches, 6 x 6.58 x 2 inches, 6 x 6.1 x 2.75 inches, 7.75 x 8 x 3.25 inches |Volume: 1.25 cups, 2.5 cups, 4 cups, 8 cups | Material: Stainless steel | Colors: Silver/stainless steel | Dishwasher Safe? Yes (bowls)}

Having an automatic water dispenser is like drinking from a bubbling brook. This water fountain offers a steady stream of moving water for the pup who wants water to be fresh. The reservoir holds about 1 gallon of water and cleans with replaceable carbon and foam filters and a pump.

The fountain has a plastic cap that can be used to adjust the size of the fountain streams. There are other caps included, that you can swap for different configurations, allowing you to customize the number of individual water streams—up to five.

Most of the fountain is OK to put in the dishwasher, although the pump needs to be washed by hand.

_{Dimensions:14.3 x 9,3 inches |Volume: 1 gallon | Material: Stainless steel and plastic | Colors: Stainless steel (silver) | Dishwasher Safe? Yes (most parts)}

It can be hard for dogs with short noses—like pugs and bulldogs–to eat out of a traditional food bowl. Called brachycephalic breeds, they have flat faces so they can’t put their mouth down easily into a dish with high sides. Instead, a slanted bowl that is lower on one side can make it easier to dine.

This stainless steel bowl has a rubber ring on the bottom to keep it from sliding. It’s slanted at 45 degrees and still has a lip all around to keep spills at a minimum. The bowl is made of sturdy stainless steel. It is dishwasher safe, although some people say they prefer to hand wash because of the rubber slip-resistant ring.

_{Dimensions:10.9 x 10.9 x 3.2 inches, 11 x 11 x 2.5 inches |Volume: 2.5 cups, 5 cups | Material: Stainless Steel | Colors: Silver | Dishwasher Safe? Yes}

When you want to keep your pup hydrated on the go, a travel water bowl is a neat idea. The Leashboss Splashless has a geometric shape that helps keep the bowl from tipping over. The lip of the bowl is designed to keep water from sloshing all over when you’re in transit. It’s not totally splashless as the name suggests, but it’s pretty close.

This attractive bowl is made of soft but sturdy silicone that is free of BPA, PVC, and phthalates. It has a tapered lip and high sides to keep water from spilling. You can put it in the dishwasher, but you might have to clean out the pointy corners by hand to make sure no slime was left behind.

_{Dimensions:9 x 3 inches |Volume: 40 ounces (24 ounces, suggested fill line when traveling) | Material: Silicone | Colors: Gray | Dishwasher Safe? Yes}

If your dog’s dish sits out all the time, maybe you want something that’s a little more stylish than a utilitarian stainless steel bowl. This contemporary white bowl has horizontal ridges and pinched sides, making dinner time a little more fashionable. It’s made of clay stoneware with a semi-transparent glaze.

The bowl comes in two sizes—small and medium. Even the medium is relatively small, so it’s not a logical choice for a bigger pup. The bowl can be used in both the dishwasher and the microwave, which is great if you like to warm up your dog’s dinner.

_{Dimensions:1 x 5 x 1.75 inches (small), 1 x 6.75 x 2.5 inches (medium) |Volume: N/A | Material: Clay stoneware | Colors: White | Dishwasher Safe? Yes}

The Wopet Automatic Pet Feederhas the ability to hold a significant amount of kibble—nearly 29 cups of dry dog food in our lab testing—yet the feeder has a sleek design that keeps it from looking overwhelming a space.

This automatic pet feeder is easy to clean and will bring consistency to your dog's feeding schedule along with portion control. Plus the structure of the feeder is sturdy and difficult to tip over, so the food contained inside cannot easily be accessed by curious canines, and the keypad is located behind a plastic cover that can only be lifted by pressing an exterior button that's flush against the feeder.

With the majority of items intact right out of the box, the initial assembly of this automatic feeder came together quickly while testing, but we felt the programming steps for scheduling feedings was less intuitive than other models we evaluated. You must first select which feeding you are doing (e.g. first of the day), then how many portions to dispense, and then the time of day for the feeding. After the learning phase, programming variations became significantly more straightforward. It also offers the option to trigger an manual feeding via a button for impromptu snacks.

It has two power sources, a wall plug-in or three D-cell batteries as back up in case the power goes out while you are away from home. It also allows you to record a custom message for your dog up to 10 seconds to play when a new meal is dispensed.

_{Dimensions:9.7 x 12.8 x 15.2 inches |Volume: 7 liters (~29 cups) | Material: Stainless Steel | Colors: Black, white | Dishwasher Safe? No}

Final Verdict

FAQ

• How often should I clean my dog’s bowls?

  “Ideally, you should wash pet bowls daily, especially if you feed with wet food or if you have a senior pet who may be more susceptible to illness,” Jessica Ek of the American Cleaning Institute tells Spruce Pets. “At a minimum, you should be deep cleaning them once a week.”

  You can use soap and warm water, then rinse and dry. Many pet bowls are also safe to use in a dishwasher.

  For a deep clean, Ek recommends washing and then sanitizing bowls. Add 2 teaspoons of bleach to one gallon of water in a plastic dish pan, and stir to mix. Soak pre-washed pet bowls in the solution for two minutes. Then drain, rinse the bowls well, and allow them to air dry.

• How do I keep dog bowls from sliding?

  Many bowls come with silicone bottoms or tabs to help keep them in place when your pup is eating. The full bottoms or inset bottoms seem to be the most durable and offer the most slip protection. Some manufacturers suggest removing the silicone parts when cleaning in a dishwasher, while others say it’s fine in the top rack.

  For bowls that are slippery with no extra features, consider placing a silicone mat underneath them. It will keep the bowls from moving and catch any spills or messes. (Check out the West Paw dog placement with raised edges and a non-slip surface. It’s partially made from recycled plastic.

• Do elevated dog bowls help with digestion?

  You might have heard that elevated dog bowls can be safer and more comfortable, particularly for larger dogs. The belief is that it can lower the chances of the potentially deadline condition called bloat or gastric dilatation volvulus (GDV) where a dog’s stomach rotates and fills with gas. However, little research has been done in this area and a study in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association instead found that large and giant dogs that ate from elevated bowls have a higher risk of GDV. The Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine suggests that dogs with a high risk of GDV should avoid eating out of raised bowls.

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