When we crate our 8 week old pup he take great delight at knocking his water bowl about and stepping in it to get all the water out. Does he need the water bowl over night? I would hate to think that he were thirsty and he has access to clean & plentiful water all day. It is not an issue in the day when he is crated for short naps as I am there to watch him and make sure he does not end up lying in a wet bed. Not sure what to do for the best? He has not been left yet although when I know he is tired I put him in his crate in the day and go in the next room. Any experts on crate training out there? Also can anyone recommend a good book on crate training?

Thanks in advance :-)
Rx

I personally dont have water bowls in crates overnight.  I take their water out at 8pm, and they are good until morning. 

But when they are in pens overnight, then I do leave water, as they have more room to move around.  If they spill it in the crate, they are laying in it all night.  If they spill it in a 16 sq foot xpen, then they can get away from it quite easy.

Maybe if you have room, opt for a larger crate?  Didnt mention breed or size of dog, so of course if you have a dane crate for a dane, then getting a bigger one wouldnt work. 

When I purchase a crate, I get a crate the size for a sheltie, even though I have min pins.  The next size up at least.

Thanx for reply. We have a retriever and large crate (hope it's not a bit too big:-)) he has vetbed one side and the plastic tray the other end with his water bowl. May take water bowl out tonight and see how that goes then.

Rx

The heavy stone/pottery type dog bowls are much less likely to be tipped over and I find they "stay put" when being eaten or drunk from in a cage or otherwise rather than being chased all over the floor ! Having said that, I agree that removing the water bowl overnight shouldn't really be any problem.

you'll get bigger than retriever size, ours is for much bigger dogs.

You can buy water bowl holders that fit onto the cage. You can get ones that hook over the bars and also ones that come with a back plate that goes on the outside of the cage with bolts that connect it to the front plate which holds the water bowl (much more secure than the hook over ones).

Abit like this but I got mine from our local pet supermarket for significantly cheaper, and it came with a stainless steel bowl. Worked great for my Dobe

More like this one.

We have one of the ones which fixes to the inside of the crate, he is still able to jump in it etc and uses it as a toy rather than a water bowl !! Will take it out tonight and just see how it goes during the day. Pesky pup :-) he is so adorable though !!

>he is still able to jump in it etc

Even at his head height? Mine didn't bother trying once I'd connected the water bowl at eye level. Maybe I was lucky :-D

I use a coop cup style with the bolts for their crates , but change the cup for a small bucket and clip the handle to the bars. The buckets are deeper and not so easy to knock out and with the handle clipped in place much more rigid.

If you want PM me your email address and I'll take a piccie of them and send it to you.

Jill

Head height .... doh - am such a div lol :-)

Paw height more like - god I have alot to learn. Love and stupidity is on offer to my pup !!

>Paw height more like

Rofl! Just like a nice big deep puddle to jump in then :-D

I used to use the biggest rodent water bottle attached to the outside through the bars.

I just wouldn't feel comfortable my pup having no water.

All the best
Anna

All mine have drinks taken out from the crates just before last wee's 10 - 11pm.

I personally wouldn't remove water overnight.  Water is very important for correct kidney function and pups, especially very young ones, can dehydrate quickly.  Besides, I'm sure we all know how horrible it is to feel thirsty and not have access to a drink.

Just a little warning... I leave water in my Aussie pup's crate when she is in there.  I did put a water bowl with a metal support that hooked over the sides of the crate because she had a habit of digging in the water bowl.  I had a horrible shock when I found her with the round metal support around her neck, like a collar.  I was horrified and have no idea how she managed it and it was awkward to get it off.  Luckily she's not a panicker!  Now she has a small bowl on the ground. 

The bolt on ones won't let that happen (mine doesn't anyway). Definitely don't recommend the hook on ones then!

To the OP,

Please don't withhold water from your puppy overnight - it is very dangerous for your pup's health and serves no useful purpose towards house training :(  Pups will still urinate when they need even without access to water - however their kidney function could be seriously impaired by such steps.  Pups dehydrate very quickly - were he to become poorly overnight with vomitting and/or loose motions, he could be at serious risk even with access to water but more so without :(

I appreciate it's tricky finding the best solution for providing water as some youngsters are obsessed either with the water itself or mor often than not the container LOL however if you experiment with various types as suggested above (heavy pottery/ceramic bowl, water bottle fitting outside the cage as for rabbits etc, or clip on type bowl) you should eventually find a way around this issue.

I'm very surprised and even more concerned that a number of those replying thus far have advocated removing water overnight   Often some things are simply a matter of differing opinions re "best practice" but in this instance it is both cruel and dangerous to recommend this - regardless of reasons.

>both cruel and dangerous

I agree. I also believe that it is in fact illegal as animals must have water 24/7 under the animal welfare act 2006.
I can't remember exactly where it says but am pretty sure it is true.

All the best
Anna

Well it's definitely not in The Animal Welfare 2006 Act.

Having done a search there for the word "water" there's no mention of it at all. I doubt that dogs would be required to have access to water 24/7 by law otherwise it would be an offence to walk a dog without carrying a supply of water, which whilst this may be prudent (particularly in hot weather) is not to my knowledge, currently a legal requirement in this country.

However, having said that I DO believe that dogs should normally have ready access to fresh water and also that it is checked & changed regularly especially on warm days.

I, despite my earlier comments suggesting it would probably be ok not to, did leave water for my two in their cage overnight when they were pups because I was using stone bowls which were not easy to tip.

I stand by what I said though & I don't think that, so far as they were concerned, they would have suffered unduly by not having any water over the short overnight period. I base this on what I saw of my two as pups and what they actually drank overnight as could be seen from what was left in their water bowls in the morning. (It actually really grinds for me to say that as I don't often disagree with what Teri has to say and I don't like doing so as I think she speaks a lot of sense in her posts).

Also, I do think that this is a case of differing opinions and I can't see how it could be otherwise if we hold different views on this ? It's not just on this board though as a quick search online will confirm but also between many so called dog experts elsewhere on the internet who have conflicting views about this subject.

I think I could probably sum up my view as this, it is clearly desirable that dogs have access to fresh water as often as posible and ideally at all times (as mine do at all times when in the house or out in the car) although 24/7 taken literally maybe difficult to achieve. I think there may be some occassions when it is preferable, as in the case in point, ie pups in a cage overnight, tipping bowls and "perhaps" having to sleep on wet floors/bedding that the water supply is removed for a short while. In the absence of any other immediate solution to this such as those suggested it would be ok in my view to remove their water supply overnight so long as they have access to water until late evening and again in the early morning.

As I said, I base this on what I saw of my two as pups who very rarely seemed to drink anything at all from their bowls overnight and would not in my opinion have suffered to any great extent or would it have been have been cruel were their water supply not available for that time. They were usually asleep when the water bowl was replaced at around 11pm perhaps opening an eye or two to see what was going on and then the next I knew they were up and jumping about ready for a wee at about 6am with their water bowls usually untouched.

Perhaps this is unusual for pups, I don't know and others may have different experiences but so far as my two were concerned this is how it was & why I think it's ok.

We may have to agree to differ on this subject as it appears others all over the internet seem to have done before us ! :)

The Animal Welfare Act doesn't even say that you have to feed your dog! I do think that has now been added though.

I personally wouldn't feel comfortable removing water overnight. Ordinarily the pup might not touch it but if you were unlucky and they became ill, things could go downhill very fast. My dog wasn't shut in overnight, only for a couple of hours during the day, but I still made sure he had water (and during the warmer months he would drink some of it). I'd expect to give any "caged" animal a permanent supply of fresh water - from a mouse to a dog.

I use one of the very heavy ceramic dishes for my pup who decided he must carry his water dish round at all times, with or without water.
I used the Giant crate when i crated one of my golden girls as a pup. I now use the croft freedom playpen with lots of extra panels so they have lots more room. The giant crate is still useful now when one has an injury as it is easily big enough to house an adult golden that needs to be confined.
mel.

Hi Fablab,

just a quick google came up with this RSPCA guide and you will see that the third point down is "A constant supply of fresh, clean water"

With pups in particular, lack of access or restricted access to water is flouting best practice for a pups welfare - yes, many may withhold water overnight in the mistaken belief it helps with house training or merely to solve the problem of a puppy possibly "paddling" and soaking it's bedding but, as mentioned earlier, should a puppy become ill overnight it could make a dramatic difference to the pups health status if it became dehydrated and had no access to water.

regards, Teri

I had a horrible shock when I found her with the round metal support around her neck, like a collar.  I was horrified and have no idea how she managed it and it was awkward to get it off.
when I went to see my Aussie pup his brother did the same so I always fixed my bowls to the cage.

It's an Aussie thing then!