Could I please ask how people manage their long haired dogs with white beards and moustaches with regard to drinking water.  I have two 6 month old long haired puppies with white faces and I am despairing as they seem to have constantly wet faces and grubby staining. Their coats are coming on lovely and I feel I need advice on how to keep their growing face furnishings in pristine condition.

I have other short haired dogs who have free access to water bowls and these two delight in diving to the bottom of their water bowls given half a chance!  They are happy to drink out of free standing large water bottles but I worry whether they are getting enough to drink this way as they are dry fed.

Should I restrict them just to the water bottles or give them supervised drinks from a water bowl (and blow dry them afterwards!) I'd be interested to hear how others manage this problem.

You may find the Large size Road Refresher http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=road+refresher+bowl&rls=com.microsoft:en-gb:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7IRFE_enGB445&redir_esc=&ei=yBtkUP3XG8iw0AXjyoG4Aw bowl may be useful in this regard.

I use it as a reliable non spill bowl, used the small ones for when puppies first started on solids (always worried about pups drowning if given a full bowl, and of course less scope for paddling in water bowl.

As there is only a little water available at at a time should stop the snorkeling and reduce ability to wet the face/ears.

The other alternative is those deep Spaniel bowls, but that really only stops ears going in.

I think other than that what owners have to do is regulary dry the faces, and chalk the area to soak up wet and reduce staining.

Paper towel dry.

How about something like this http://www.pet-supermarket.co.uk/products-Marchioro-Kufra-Drinker-Feeders_CA0907.htm , allows them as much water as they need but the water in the bowl is only about 1 cm deep

I have been using these for years,got the first 2 for a pound out of Poundland, I used to come home to tipped over water bowls and I worried how long they had been without, you just fill a 2 litre bottle with water and screw it on.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/280954744519?ssPageName=STRK:MESINDXX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1436.l2649

Tried other systems but they all leaked till I found these, dogs soon mastered using them and the pups learn by watching the adults.

I think dogs with beards are born with the desire to see just how far they can travel from the water bowl whilst dripping all over the floor...  :)

Mine get such joy from slurping, drinking and flicking it about I wouldn't dream of restricting access, although I do sometimes remove the small indoor bowl when we have visiting 'water babies' as they make such a mess it becomes a slip hazard on a dodgy corner.  In that case they simply use the large outside bowls where the puddles don't matter.  Keep a flannel or beard cloth handy and get into the habit of drying them off though - in my experience it's the saliva dribble that is more likely to be the cause of staining not the water itself.

I only give my OES water from a filter jug and this seems to keep staining to a minimum. When they have wet faces (after a drink,playing frisbee etc) it looks brownish but as soon as it dries off goes almost white again. Occasionally it will get a dampish odour and I will wash the beard but that will only be a few times a year. Most of the time a gentle comb through of the area immediately round the lips to remove any food remnants and a dust with plush puppy powder does the trick. 

Oh the joys of a coated breed!  Thankyou all for your comments, we will soldier on and hopefully when they get out of the annoyingly adorable 'everything's a game' puppy stage they will sip their water with genteel decorum! Sure it would be much easier with a whippet!