I’m thinking about taking another trip soon, as soon as I feel my cat is doing well enough. As of right now I’m thinking of taking a couple of days off of work to visit family friends in the southeastern United States. My mom’s friend in North Carolina has offered to put me up so that I won’t have to spend money to stay at a pet friendly hotel in Charlotte. I’m pretty good about shopping around for the best rates, so the savings aren’t much, but I guess every little bit helps, right?
Anyway, since one of my recent posts on day trips with your pet, I’ve been thinking about doing a post on choosing a travel water bottle or bowl for your pet. I’ve tried several different kinds, so I can offer some insight on what I like and don’t like.
I have this portable pet water bowl, which is basically a water bottle with a rubber “bowl” attached to it. The bowl fits snugly around the bottle when not in use; to use, you just turn it inside out and lay the water bottle down. It is designed so that the water flows back inside the bottle when your dog is done drinking, so that less water is wasted, but of course it’s not perfect. Still, it’s a very clever design and a useful travel bowl to have on hand for your dog.
I also have a collapsible fabric water bowl, like this travel water bowl. They are a great idea, because then you can carry one water bottle for the both of you, or even fill the bowl at a drinking fountain if you need to. The drawbacks are that whatever is left in the bowl when your pet is done drinking is basically wasted, as you have to dump it out to collapse it, and also that they can spill if you don’t set them up carefully or if your dog pushes it around while drinking.
I also saw this travel water bottle that can be used by both you and your pet. It comes with a waist pack for easy carrying, and a bowl for your pet to drink out of. I don’t have this one so I can’t offer any words of wisdom, but it sure looks like it would be the most convenient of everything I’ve seen, particularly because the waist pack makes it so easy to carry everything you need.
Luckily, most products like this are pretty inexpensive, so you should find it easy enough to try a couple out and see what works best for you. The most important thing is simply that you have water available for your pet on hot days – even if this just means squirting water from your bottle into his mouth!
Tags: day trips with your pet, pet friendly hotel in Charlotte, portable pet water bowl, travel water bottle, travel water bowl
