Finding The Perfect Water Bottle For Cooper

I've had trouble finding the best drinking solution for Cooper for when we're riding.  I had one thing that was a bottle that had a long cup-like carrier. You lay the bottle on it's side and it clips together for carrying.  To use it you flip the bottle up and squeeze it and the water fills the long thing for the dog to drink from.  This was ok as long as it stayed upright.  As soon as it was on it's side it would leak.

Another device I found was another one that held a bottle.  This style had a small attached bowl at the bottom end.  You put a regular 16 ounce bottle of water with a sport top in the holder.  When you gave the dog a drink, you would hold it with the bowl side down, open the sip top of the bottle and squeeze water into the bowl.  This was fine, but you had to struggle with closing the sip top while the dog tried to drink or the water came out all over the dog's nose. 

After that I resorted to just carrying in a small frisbee for him to drink from.  I would pour the water out of the bottle into the frisbee and he would drink it.  This was fine, but sometimes I wanted to give him a drink while he sat on the bike because maybe the black top was too hot for him to stand on or some reason like that.  It made it a little harder to give him a drink in that case.  Overall it was the easiest way so far since there was no struggling with water splashing all over Cooper's face or leaking into my trunk.  It was the best I could do, until.....

One day last summer, while I was browsing in a store in VT, I came across a stainless steel sport bottle for dogs.  This bottle was a 24 ounce bottle with a lick ball at the opening.  When the dog needs a drink,  you just turn the bottle up side down with the ball facing down and allow the dog to lick the ball for a drink.  This is like the water bottles animals drink from in the pet stores.  It seemed perfect for us, so I bought it.

I know Cooper had never had a drink from a bottle like this before.  I was sure I would have to teach him how to use it.  He wasn't at all interested in figuring it out if it only contained water, so I tried putting chicken broth in it.  This was a bit more enticing but when he licked the ball too hard he got a flood of broth.  This caused him to become more cautious and eventually he lost interest. 

The next time I introduced the bottle to him he was a little interested in it since he remembered the broth.  That was a treat so he wanted to see what was in it this time.  He was nervous about licking it.  This time I had put milk in the bottle which is a thicker liquid.  It would flow a little bit slower, allowing Cooper to enjoy the drink and get used to the bottle.  I hadn't given him much milk the first time, allowing him to finish all and want more.  I gave him seconds and left him wanting more.  I washed the bottle and put it away.  

Some of the things I like about this bottle are:

-The material is stainless steel and BPA free.

-It opens in two ways.  Just the ball, and also the whole top comes off for filling with ice if you want to.

-It's big enough to keep a big supply of water so you don't have to refill often. 

I tend to fill the bottle about a third full of water and freeze it the night before a ride.  This way  Cooper's water is cold for most of the day.  He drinks cold water better than warm.  On days where hydration is so important, I will do about anything to make him want to drink a lot.  It's really easy to become dehydrated on a hot day while riding a motorcycle.  I'll do anything it takes to keep him healthy.  I'm glad I found this bottle.  It really makes life easier for me and Cooper.