We Tested the Best Slow-Drinking Water Bowls for Dogs: Here’s Which Ones Stop Gulping

Often our dogs can get a little too excited and drink water too quickly. This can lead to a sick dog (like a dog throwing up from drinking too much water), a wet floor and a messy house. 

Fortunately, human ingenuity has solved this canine problem – slow drinking water bowls have been designed to stop gulping. They’re also great for reducing unwanted water on floors – after all, if a dog can’t get to a big bowl of water, they can’t splash it around. 

I ordered and tested a number of the top bowls on the market, and I found that some were vastly better than others. Either way – they’re mostly different, and you should get one that meets your needs.

Methodology

I purchased all of these products from Amazon, assembled them,  photographed them, and tested them with my pets. I paid retail for all of these items, and none were provided promotionally. We will receive a fee if you buy something thru one of our links on this page. 

Deep Dives:

UPSKY 3L Dog Water Bowl

This was my favorite dog bowl of the set I tested. I found it to be the largest, easiest, most aesthetic (I like steel, so I understand if that’s a niche opinion), and is the easiest to manage. Unlike some of the competition, it does not have a top piece to pop on and off (and ultimately wear out) and seems like it will do well in the dishwasher. Additionally, it did not require any consumables or electricity, which is always a plus. 

Unlike some of the comparable plastic items, it does not have a replaceable filter that can get moldy. This has one plastic piece (which appears to be dishwasher safe) and one steel piece – so there’s much less to break, shatter, or warp.

You will have to add the anti-moving strips yourself to the bottom of the bowl, but it only takes a moment. 

We believe this item has the best design, and is great for people looking for an anti-gulping water bowl to sit on the floor. 

Due to the high quality of the materials, and lack of unnecessary filters, and lack of parts that can break/difficult assembly process, this is our number one choice for this category.

Road Refresher™️ by Prestige Pets

This Road Refresher bowl was a strong choice for travel use cases, for a number of design decisions & smart features. 

First off, the packaging tells us enthusiastically that it has been advertised on television, and it won the Pet Products News award for New Products in 2009. This tells me it’s been thru a few iterations of design improvements.

Their packaging also claims it reduces slobber by “up to 90%”, which, while great, was not a claim we were able to confirm or deny.

The bowl is 3 pieces, mostly plastic. You do have to pry off/pop off the black plastic ring at the top, which takes some force. As you’ll have to take this off for cleaning (but not necessarily for refills), it’s not totally clear how this will hold up over time. 

It has a foam insert which you are not supposed to remove. It’s easy to think this is packaging trash (I sure did), but the back instructions tell you to leave it there. It’s not clear to me how this will hold up or get moldy over time and exposure to water.

The bowl is three pieces. It is relatively small, only 54 fluid ounces (or 1.4 liters) , which if you have a larger dog, could mean several refills per day so your dog can get their full daily ration of water.

Where this bowl stands out is how thoughtful it is about travel (it is, after all, in the name). It’s a good size for packing, and instead of non-slip rubberized feet, it has a hook-and-loop fastener at the bottom of the bowl: 

It of course includes another piece of hook and loop, so if you were looking for a bowl you could put in your car and wouldn’t slip around, getting water everywhere, this would be a great choice. 

UPSKY 2L Plastic Dog Water Bowl

The UPSKY plastic bowl is one of the most popular items on Amazon – in fact, when we ordered another, different branded bowl on Amazon, we received this one as well. It’s unclear if this was an Amazon error or simply this bowl being sold under multiple brand names. 

The UPSKY bowl includes both a carbon filter – that the water does not pass thru – and a prying tool. The prying tool works to take off the outer plastic ring, that allows assembly, filter insertion, and cleaning. You’ll need to keep this tool for future cleaning, as you’ll need to change out the filter. 

The filter is a little confusing – the water doesn’t actually flow thru filter, but rather around it. It doesn’t seem to actually filter the water, but definitely needs replacement and can get moldy. The documentation from UPSKY suggests that you replace the filter every 2-3 months. 

It was easy to pick up off the ground due to the side cut-outs, and has a good 2 L capacity. 

Due to the filter, the prying tool, and the generally unaesthetic design, we don’t recommend this bowl over others, although it seems to be a fine no-spill dog bowl. 

ElsPet Diamond Floating Bowl

The ElsPet diamond floating bowl is nicely designed but has usability flaws that prevent it from getting our number one ranking. 

First of all, the package, like the (other square one) includes a white piece of plastic. What could this do, you may ask? Well it turns out the plastic outer ring is so hard to take off, you need that white thing to pry it out. 

You’ll need to keep this for as long as you want to take this out (maybe you could use a butterknife), but you’ll need to keep this to clean the top piece of the water feeder. 

Additionally, this water bowl features a filter:

As an astute reader, you may observe that the water does not actually flow thru the filter, despite it being there. As these filters need replacements (the packaging suggests every 3 months), it’s not entirely clear to me what this could do to help the quality of the water, beyond getting moldy. If you live somewhere with potable water this is likely unnecessary, and if you live somewhere with non-potable water it’s unlikely this will help. 

Additionally, it is somewhat difficult to pick up due to the lack of cut-aways in the sides. It’s not a huge issue, but yet another usability flaw in an otherwise nice looking bowl.