A few people noticed the white thing on the floor in the left-hand side of the picture of our new salt lamp and wondered what it was:
That’s actually Burger’s little food & water station. By tucking it behind the media stand, it’s out of the way for humans (yet still easily accessible for one small chihuahua). And we created this little food & water set-up ourselves from a few inexpensive Target items that were not at all meant for mutts.
Two small ribbed ceramic ramekins (at $2 each) + one white rectangular platter ($9) = a delectable little doggy buffet for Burger. And it has really stood the test of time. We’ve had it since 2007 and it’s super easy to wash since it’s not porous like plastic.
Just for fun, here’s the original post about Burger’s little feeding station when we first created it about a month into our blogging adventure. Notice that it has no comments at all- I swear we talked to ourselves for months. Thanks so much to everyone who stops in and reads (and responds to!) our posts. We totally appreciate each and every one of you!
Speaking of you guys, what do you use to dole out food and water to your four-legged friends? Metal dishes? Porcelain bowls? Designer doohickies? Do tell.
C says
so pretty for doggy dishes! we have metal bowls that are designed so they can’t be tipped over by a mischievous puppy. not quite as cute as burger’s set up!
Sarah says
Sherry-That’s perfect! Since we have a big boxer (which equals a big, sloppy tongue) and a cat who plays in the water, they drink out of a stainless steel bowl sitting inside a kitty litter pan. This keeps the water off the floor and somewhat contained, it is NOT pretty though, like Burger’s, but it is very functional for these two beasts!
Madelaine says
I have pretty olive green bowls, two small and one large, for food and water for my boys. I have two cats that pickup after themselves. They don’t like to leave dropped food on the non-slip mat. But I love the idea of a platter instead of a mat. I may have to try that myself!
Leigh says
We are using 2 ceramic bowls we got from PetsMart on top of a small sisal rug from Ikea. We used to have a big stainless steel set but it was difficult to clean and annoyed me to no end. We (and the animals) are much happier with our new setup.
rebecca says
beautiful! but why in the living room? (or den…I forget which?) Is there no floor space in the kitchen? My 2 cats have their own china, several different sets of 2 dishes that I think are pretty. They tell me they prefer the ones shaped like cat faces that I got at Pearl River here in the big apple.
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Rebecca,
Burger has been hanging out/eating in the den ever since we got him because the floors used to be terrible faux-parquet linoleum that we knew we’d be replacing with hardwood (so it was a great room for potty training- and if he drank or ate a bit enthusiastically it was stress free since we hated the floor). Of course we’ve since changed the flooring over to hardwood and he’s totally potty trained (and a very neat eater/drinker) but we decided since he liked his little den eating nook we wouldn’t move him into the kitchen (which also has hardwood floors so it’s really not a difference in the event of a spill). Hope it helps!
xo,
Sherry (& Burger)
Lori says
We have the stainless steel set, but it is easy to clean – the whole thing comes apart and into the dishwasher. I am afraid of what my Westie would do to Burger’s cute setup. He is very…enthusiastic about eating!
MaryB in Richmond says
My VERY LARGE puppy usually eats on the sofa, often while watching reruns of “Scrubs.” He’s big and sloppy, but I love him. I do, however, wonder if he’ll be better about cleaning up after himself when he goes off to college next fall!
heather s. says
My cat’s dishes are stainless steel with the rubber bottom. She enjoys pushing them a bit (I swear she thinks she is a dog) and this prevents them from spilling. I have them on top of a white and clear placemat that I found at KMart of all places for $1.
Bridget says
oh goodness…i know the feeling :)
it’s a really lovely way to repurpose – and no leeching chemicals, either!
Lynsey says
We have olive green bowls in a holder for our dogs. Our dogs aren’t the neatest eaters so I am afaird to see what they would do with something like Burgers set up. I love it though. I wish we could have something stylish though.
Melissa says
We use stainless steel bowls for our two large dogs.
Sarah says
We had a cute ($15) set up made from stainless steel bowl. It was very stylish. However, Cooper would hear his tags on his collar hit the side of the metal bowl and it startled him from eating or drinking unless he was dying of hunger or thirst. When we were out of town I bought some cheap plastic ones from the dollar bin (not overly sylish) and he loves them and is not afraid to eat and drink. So alas, style takes a backseat.
Allison says
We have ceramic bowls for our cat that says “fat cat” along the front. The thing is she plays with her food so it would be a great idea to put the bowls on a tray or larger plate – like Burger’s!
Laurel G says
for our adult dog we have an automatic food and water dispenser, it works great, he usually wants to eat at night.. while we are sleeping. For our new puppy we have 2 little plastic dishes that attach to her crate. We keep one filled with fresh water for her and put her food in the other when its eatting time for her. When she is bigger she will graduate to the aitomatic bowls like her daddy.
Bethany at Emmy Lu says
I have one large, heavy ceramic bowl. Yes, only one bowl!
I feed my yellow lab, Emmy, in the morning and at night and mix her 1 cup of dry food with about 2 cups of water. It’s a surefire way to make sure that she stays hyrdrated and doesn’t inhale her food too quickly (she is prone to eat too fast and then start choking/gagging). Might seem strange, but it works like a charm for my crazy pooch!
Jennifer says
What a cute little doggie buffet! Our Chihuahua, Jack, eats off of a little saucer or people plate in the kitchen. He prefers his food with a little water on it and warmed up in the microwave–he’s only a little pampered–so the metal bowls we originally got for him didn’t last long :)
Thanks for another great post!
tricia says
After reading that 2007 post, I’ve decided I just need to read through all your archives. Love your blog.
Emily says
I love this little set. I have never thought to do something like that but it seems like a great way to catch some of the fly-aways. Our cats are messy eaters..there food and water bowls are close together so food always ends up in the water! Oh well.
Lindsay says
We found these cute Disney ceramic bowls at TJMax on clearance. They have pluto in on them. For water, we bought plain black ceramic bowls. We have these plastic placemats that have a ridge on the side of it. It is suppose to keep in the spilled water and food, but my jack/chihuahua mix still gets water on the kitchen floor.
Aislinn says
I have two matching thrifted bowls for my cats, one blue and one pick with little pictures of rather sullen looking cats. I can’t help but laugh every time I feed them because it looks so much like them. My dog has just a plain bowl but we have a neon green ridiculously large water bowl for the three of them, I knock it over all the time but they can’t live without it.
Brooke says
My lab mix has big stainless bowls in a bowl stand- she’s so big and tall (she’s bigger than the breed standard for labs) that the vet recommended we didn’t keep her food on the floor. But she still sloshes all over the floor (which is unfortunately ugly apartment carpet), and I keep an indoor/outdoor doormat under her bowls so that the slurped water doesn’t start to get all gross and moldy in the carpet. That ugly mat is probably the eyesore of my entire apartment! I guess I love my pup *that* much!
Elizabeth says
I tried using stainless bowls for my cat, but she wanted to fight her reflection in the bottom of the bowl. She now has cute little ceramic ones.
Benita says
One of our cats, Bonus, has a still undisclosed allergy so our vet told us to just use clear glass dishes, no plastic, no ceramic allowed. I repurposed glass flower pot dishes which are perfect. Glass, heavy enough to not be shoved about on the floor and the perfect size.
Oh, and Burger is tooooooo cute :)
Amanda says
I love that Burger has a home interior appropriate feeding station. None of that plastic/metal that sticks out like a sore thumb. Great idea and I just may have to look for something like that for my little Ries!
Nancy E. Johnson says
Our two boys have sorta unattractive metal bowls sitting on top of cutie large polka dot table mats. If our boys were as little as Burger, we could probably do the tiny bowls, but alas, they are crazy and enthusiastic about eating. We keep a plastic food container in the kitchen cabinet and use one of those clear plastic short cups you can buy in a bunch at the grocery store to scoop up their food. It’s exactly one cup measured.
Jessy says
Our cat has a Drinkwell (best thing ever, especially if you have a pup!) and a ceramic cat dish/bowl for her food. She also has a tiny-tiny little dish (intended for sushi dipping) for when we treat her to a bit of milk. She recognizes it now so we can’t ever use it for anything else or she’ll eat whatever is in there :)
Magchunk says
Wow, your readers have eyes of a hawk! I looked at the salt post and didn’t notice Burger’s little station either!
I’m more of a cat person than a dog person, but I live in a one-bedroom apartment with no place to hide a litter box… it would have to be out in the open (like the bathroom) or in a closet (but then the door would be open all the time). Any suggestions?
Holly says
My dogs both eat and drink out of stainless steel bowls. They are easy to clean, very portable and virtually indestructible.
jbhat says
What a great idea. If we ever get a cat again, I would like to do what you have done for Burger. Our last kitty, though, had a little mirror above her dishes so she could make sure she didn’t have any food in her teeth after she was done eating. I thought that was nice touch.
Carrie says
How funny, I thought we were the only ones to feed our dogs out of ramekins. They are the perfect size so they don’t get over-fed & fat. We do use a couple of Petmate Le Bistro Waterers to give out the water, because with 4 doggies water is a must all day long!
Christy says
Love your set up for Burger! When my doggie is done eating or drinking and wants more, he usually flips his bowls over…silly dog!
Quick question, I know that you speak about being “green” and often using organic. Is his food organic and if so, what brand do you use? Also, do you make his own treats too? We have a little dog as well and tried switching his food to a better (and more expensive brand!) and had nothing but problems for our poor little guy. Didn’t know if you had any suggestions for better quality and more natural dog food and treats? Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Christy,
Ever since we got our baby Burger we’ve fed him Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance Organic Formula, which is certified Organic by Oregon Tilth – GMO and pesticide-free. He loves it and thankfully it’s not too expensive (around $7 a bag- but since he’s a small dog and it takes him a while to go through it). It’s not sold at Pet Smart or Petco, but we have found a cute little local pet shop that stocks it so we get to support a small local business and give our pup the food that he loves without any suspicious additives.
As for treats, we haven’t experimented with making our own yet, but a woman who works with John makes some and sends them home with John. Needless to say she’s Burger’s third favorite person (right behind his mom and dad). Our pooch also likes the peanut butter treats from Three Dog Bakery which are all homemade and delicious. Hope it helps!
xo,
Sherry (& Burger of course)
pearllinds (Lindsay C.) says
I have two dogs (a little bigger than Burger – one is 138 pounds!) that feel the need to pick up their bowls and carry them to wherever they’d like to eat…leaving a trail of dogfood behind them. Ceramic would NOT be a good choice! That’s why we stopped using metal dishes, too because the noise of dropping their bowls on the garage’s concrete floor was driving me crazy! I got some basic plastic ones, but they still just carried them around…and chewed on them. I finally picked up these “self-feeding” types – they have a base with a slope and a rectangular plastic top with a lid. You put the food in the top and it slowly puts more in their bowls as they eat. I don’t put more than how much I feed them in (otherwise they’d just eat and eat and eat and eat!) but these are big enough to where they don’t pick them up. After a couple years they’ve gotten a little chewed on but it’s definitely what I’m going to keep using. Maybe I should try a DIY project to glue them down to a board or something next time, ha!
Alysia says
Cute! That is a lot of food for Burger. Our dog (Yorkie) eats 1/4 cup of kibbly bits morning and night. She is kinda a heffer, so she would inhale Burger’s food in a few seconds, then act as if we haven’t feed her for days.
We use a raised metal bowl stand and ceramic bowls for her water & food. It is tucked between our couch and wall, so it is not an eye sore. She enjoys the privacy and goes there when company is too loud.
Sarah says
We have a stainless steel set with bowls that fit into a base with a rubber bottom. Everything comes a part so it’s pretty easy to clean. Plus it matches our stainless steel trash can (the two are next to each other in the kitchen).
sugarlens says
I paid, like, $42 for a set of customized bowls for my first dog on Etsy about two years ago. It seemed reasonable at that time….
I still haven’t yet gotten bowls for my second dog (a chihuahua too!) yet. I think I may steal your idea! It looks so elegant.
Somer says
I actually found a doggie dish that looks like a teacup and saucer at Walmart that is adorable for our two furbabies
Nancy says
We have cute ceramic bowls that say “Good Dog!” in the bottom but they’re sitting on an old plastic place mat. I love the tray idea! Might be checking the thrift store for something like that. Thanks for all your great ideas!
Jen says
What a great idea! We just use 2 plastic bowls that we bought at petsmart (not the most attractive for sure!)
Laura says
We have two huge dogs and the water bowl was constantly empty… until we found this same bowl at a local boutique: http://tinyurl.com/cd3e4k . It looks great tucked into the corner of dining area, and its raised stand makes it easier for our tall guys to get a drink!
Alixandra says
Our English bulldog is a messy and vigourous eater. Her one cup of food takes her all of two minutes, but somehow her rubber-bottomed bowl ends up feet from where it should be! I would love to find something cute and functional for a bulldog!
Mark says
My greyhound requires an elevated food bowl. Instead of spending the big $$ on a setup from the pet store, I went and bought an iron plant stand from Lowes that fits a metal food bowl perfectly. My cocker was fussy and is now happy with some pottery bowls.
Kelly says
What a great idea…. one that I may be incorporating into my house.
We got our puppy right after having to put our 15 year old cat to sleep. Since the puppy was going to stay small, the ceramic cat dishes worked fine for the puppy and we never upgraded. I was just thinking the other day this puppy deserves her own bowls and a swanky eating area!
Thanks for the great ideas I love them all.
misty says
we have a VERY LARGE PUPPY. Stainless steel bowls it is.
For our smaller dog we have one of those retro double bowls and it sits on a stool.
I love these ideas at etsy for dog bowls…someday..
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=18372046
Ann-Marie says
How clever! As a dog lover who looks forward to owning a home some day (our apartment doesn’t allow dogs), I’ll have to keep this in mind.
yevonne says
We have two stainless steel bowls for food and water on top of a ‘Water Hog’ mat from LL Bean. My little pug has not figured out how to swallow his water before he leaves the bowl and this mat helps catch some of the dribble!
Cindy says
Right now, we’ve just got the two cats. Because we work weird shifts and long hours sometimes, we have a free-feeder (Le Bistro from Zellers) so that if we’re not home in time for dinner, they’re not starving. But I chose pretty blue and clear ones to match the rest of the accessories in the house. The water bowl is either a non-descript blue grey plastic dish and when that’s in the wash, a clear glass dip bowl subs in. For wet food, they get pink and blue ramekins.
I love, love, love the little set-up Burger has, and wish my boys were quite as neat eaters. I would love to be able to put things on a tray, but they kick their dishes around to put them in the “perfect” spot. Which sometimes means the water dish is re-located to under the kitchen table instead of the little nook where they eat.
Laura says
Rosie eats and drinks out of latte bowls from Anthropologie!
Lisa says
Oh my gosh, this is brilliant! I’m totally stealing this idea for my cat…
Cecily T says
Ha ha! This is cute, when your dog is either well-mannered, or maybe just little. My mutts have big brown (to match the kibble crumbs!) ceramic bowls, and they ‘dig’ the kibble. It sprays all over the floor, and my one dog insists on moving the food bowl around the floor. They aren’t light bowls either. I’m sure if I tried a dish underneath it that the food bowl would go flying and probably take the water dish out too.
Amanda says
Ries will be the proud owner of a stylish new set-up from Target, purchased this evening. Thank you for being so inspiring! She’s got 2 rounded-square white ceramic dishes atop a rounded-rectangle white ceramic plate- all for $12. I love the idea and bonus that it will clean up much better and just get thrown in the dishwasher. Also, good to know you’ve always used Natural Balance and like it- Ries eats that too, but only for the last few months since we were attempting to switch around foods and determine what her allergy could be. She seems to like the food, but it hasn’t cured any allergies, unfortunately.
Thanks for inspiring dog-friendly design!
Amanda