Customer Reviews

Drinkwell Big-Dog Pet Fountain

5 star:		(103)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I have been using the fountain for a few weeks now.
It holds 2.5 gallons of water, I use bottled water to fill it because that's what we drink, so I'm not worried about the filter replacement. In fact.. I don't think the filter is all that useful or purposeful. (A regular charcoal filter that the water flows around) honestly.. I don't think I'll every buy a replacement.. using bottled water as I said I feel it's not really necessary!

Once a week I clean it out.. I did not buy the cleaning kit, again doesn't seem necessary. I use the hose sprayer on my small kitchen sink to turn it upside down in and spray every crack & crevice with our hottest tap water setting for a few minutes. Works great, no scrubbing necessary.

The flow rate adjustment is great too.. fast flow or slow.. .the slow setting makes the least water trickling sound, we don't even hear it, and the fast is like any soothing home water fountain.

2.5 gallons lasts our pack of 2 medium 1 large dogs, and 2 housecats about 1 week.. I may add a little to the bowl before the week is over now that its summer but not much. I let it run down a bit low and then clean it.

I would recommend buying it, and may buy another for our covered outside area as well.

We have 3 Scottish Terriers and they LOVE this thing! Scotties love fresh, running water to drink, but don't like getting water in their face. With this fountain, they get the fresh, filtered water they like, without having to worry about it getting in their face. The filter also helps clean out the debris they bring in on their beards! The large reservoir means I am not constantly refilling their water dish. I would highly recommend this product.

I've been very pleased with this fountain. I placed it beside my "Catit" cat fountain, which needs refilling less often now-- I'm assuming because my big dog prefers the Big Dog fountain. My cats also like it, sometimes to drink from, sometimes just to watch. I like that it holds a lot of water. It's a bit noisy, I hear the water running all the time, that might bother some.

We've had this thing about a week now. It's definitely got our older dog drinking more water, which is why we got it.

It's not quite as great as I hoped, though. For one thing, I don't see why they didn't make the reservoir larger. We still have to fill the thing up once a day or so (though we'd have to do this at least as often with our old water bowl). They could have easily doubled the size of the water reservoir without making it awkwardly large.

For another thing, the water tastes good to our dogs, but it looks kind of unappealing. I somehow hoped that since the water was pumped through a filter continuously, it would be crystal clear. It's free of hair, but it has an enormous floating island of drool on it. The problem is that the water intake for the recirculation is on the bottom of the basin, but since drool floats on the surface, it just builds up until you skim it off or clean the thing out. I'm sure they could have designed it so that some of the water intake came from the water surface. But like I said, the dogs don't mind. The water is much less gross than our water bowl would get (besides the floating drool island).

The third thing about it that could be better is that it's not super quiet, even on the slowest setting. It's not that bad though; we have it in the kitchen, and we never turn the thing off. It's a bit of white noise that doesn't interfere with watching TV in the living room or anything. But if you're concerned about noise, you should be aware it'll make some.

Despite these quibbles, I still give it 4 stars. It gets our dog drinking more water, which is good for him.

One last thing -- the instruction manual makes a big deal of cleaning out its various parts weekly. I think buying the brush kit (and some extra filters) to go with it is a good idea, instead of having to go back and have a second set of things shipped to you the next week (if you don't have a pet store local that sells the extras for this thing).

This is a great product. I have a dog in chronic kidney failure, and the vet has suggested he increase his water intake. This has made life SO much easier! No longer will he pass the bowl because the water isn't fresh enough. Before, I was changing his water bowl at LEAST four times daily to encourage him to drink. Now, he will drink whenever he gets the urge. It may just prolong his life!
I have three beagles (all are medium sized dogs, about 20 or so pounds each) and a Labrador (about 70 pounds) and this tank needs refilling just ONCE daily for me. My filters last me about a month, I will rinse and reuse them as much as I can.
The pump is SILENT, and you will hear a gentle trickle. You can barely notice it, I only hear it when my house is totally silent. But COME ON, it is a FOUNTAIN for gosh sakes. I didn't expect silence from running water. That is an impossible feat. And, the dogs LIKE to drink from the water like they like to drink from a hose. They prefer the "stream" over the bowl.
AND, like the other reviewer, this is a great product at a GREAT price (52 dollars!) so I will probably be placing an order for another one. :) LOVE IT!

This product is great for all three of my dogs two are medium sized and one small dog...plus 3 cats. Just make sure to fill it up every week.

I have had it in use for about 3 months now.
It works as advertised.

Its going to be hard to find a replacement filter element easily, locally, it turns out. I don't want to have to mail order and pay shipping everytime I need to replace the filter, which is probably 2 months ago. :(

So I guess its going to end up as a water dispenser, without filtration, in the long run. :/

I have 2 great dane puppies, one drinks from it all the time, and the other one prefers the bathtub (i have to turn it on of course :).

Its also too low for a big dog, so I have it on a small table, so that the drinking height is more natural for my large breed.

The one that uses the Big Dog, is a slob, so I have to clean it free of dirt and debris almost every other day. And the saliva foams up in the fountain flow, and floats at the top of the water surface, and looks nasty. So I have to clean and refresh water every day or two.

So if you were planning to have a water dish that maintains itself for a week or more, i think you will be disappointed, if you care about clean, fresh water for your 'big dog.'

This may not be a problem for smaller breeds and cats that lap up the water and don't make a mess like big dogs do.

It seems kinda flimsy plastic and I don't expect it to last forever, and the aquarium pump type tiny motor that spins the propeller to flow the water may not last, but we'll see.

A simple device, and works simply.
Far from perfect, but works as advertised.

I have 2 cats and a dog, and one of the cats love drinking from the faucet. As a result from Drinkwell, she doesn't hop on the kitchen/bathroom counter anymore! I decided to purchase the dog version, as it holds more water and doesn't spill easily. I am extremely please with this fountain and recommend to anyone who has dogs as well as cats.

The only recommendation I will make is to get one filter per big dog. I have two 80 lb. dogs, and have to refill the water filter about 3 times every two days. It is worth it because I love the idea of my doggies having pure, fresh, clean water !! I am procrastinating on buying the 2nd one, but will soon. The local dog store price was 90$ and I got mine on amazon for 60$ shipping included !!!!

Drinkwell Big-Dog Pet Fountain

WOW! What a product!! I was using two 1/2 gallon bowls for the kids (7 dogs, 3 cats) and was changing and washing them 2-3 times a day. With the Drinkwell Fountain (Big-Dog) I just fill up the reservoir once or twice a day. The filter keeps the water clean of hair and slobber. Cleaning the fountain is very simple - even my husband can do it! The cats drink exclusively from the stream coming out of the spout. The dogs, being dogs, just DRINK! They seem to drink more water, too. I wish I would have thought of this product, I wouldn't still be a poor but honest landscaper!
Thanks again,
Mari - Elk, WA