Puppies haven’t necessarily learned the same feeding etiquette as some adult dogs. They can be inclined to wolf their food down and spread debris all over the floor. They transfer food to the water bowl, and vice versa, and give themselves indigestion and gas. It takes them some time to eat less aggressively and cause less mess. In the meantime, you need food and water bowls that still let your puppy eat and drink comfortably and without unwanted hindrance.

With a wide variety of stainless steel, ceramic, and even plastic models available, as well as a selection of slow feeders and even thermal bowls, it can be challenging to choose the best bowls for puppies.

Below, you will find reviews of 10 of the best bowls for puppies, designed to help you find the one (or more than one!) that is best for your dog’s needs and the cleanliness of your kitchen.

 

A Quick Comparison of Our Favorites in 2024

 

The 10 Best Bowls for Puppies

1. Hepper NomNom Bowl Set – Best Overall

The modern Hepper NomNom Bowl is our pick for the best bowl for puppies, offering a chew and spillproof tray and dual stainless steel dishes. The wrap-around tray catches food mess and water from the bowls as your messy little pup eats and is made of PP plastic that is safe for your puppy to chew on.

Although this bowl was developed with cats in mind, it has ended up being extremely beneficial for puppies and small dog breeds, too. Cleaning the NomNom is simple because the bowl and trays are all dishwasher safe. The dual bowls snap in and out of the tray, so they are secure and stable while eating: no rattling to annoy you or put your puppy off eating.

The NomNom is a bit more expensive than many standard bowls on our list, and you may need to replace it as your larger breed pup grows, but in addition to its functionality, it’s got a modern look and comes in three stylish color options making it well worth the price.

All in all, we think this is the best bowl for puppies out there.

At Dogster, we’ve admired Hepper for many years and decided to take a controlling ownership interest so that we could benefit from the outstanding designs of this cool pet company!

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2. Loving Pets Bella Bowls Pet Bowl – Budget Buy

The Loving Pets Bella Bowls Pet Bowl is a cute stainless steel pet bowl with a colored metallic finish adorned with paw print and bone motifs. It is a simple bowl, does not include a tray, and doesn’t offer any slow-feeding components, so it is best suited to puppies that are good eaters or if you are trying to encourage positive feeding habits right from the off.

The whole bowl is dishwasher safe, and it does include a rubber, non-slip base. This prevents the bowl from wandering around the floor when your dog eats and is especially suitable for use on hard floors. The rubber base also prevents scraping and rattling noises that you get with some bowls.

The bowl comes in a good range of sizes, and the 3.5-cup model should not only be suitable for your puppy as it grows a little older but also represent the best value for money. Its low price makes the Loving Pets Bella Bowls Pet Bowl the best bowl for puppies for the money.

The only real complaint is that there is a large sticker on the inside of the bowl that is very difficult to remove, and it will leave sticky debris. Also, while the bowl is dishwasher safe, putting it in the hot wash section of the dishwasher can lead to some degradation of the embossed exterior.

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3. K&H Pet Products Thermal Bowl

We don’t always advocate the use of plastic bowls because there are concerns that plastic can leach into water and food. However, the K&H Pet Products Thermal Bowl does use BPA-free, lead-free plastic, which is considered safer for pets. The use of plastic also facilitates the thermostatically controlled heater that is used in this bowl, and that prevents water from freezing over or getting too cold in freezing conditions.

Not all puppies need a thermal bowl, but if your dog spends a lot of time outdoors in the cold or you have a utility room where your dog eats and drinks, this can prevent the bowl from freezing over or the water from getting uncomfortably cold.

The bowl is pricey, and it needs to be plugged in for the thermostatically controlled heater to work, but if you have a breed like a Huskie that prefers to spend time outdoors and you live in a cold environment, it’s a beneficial purchase. Other than the thermostat, the bowl is very basic: a round plastic shape that is quite shallow to help prevent freezing.

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4. Frisco Bones Non-Skid Ceramic Dog & Cat Bowl

Ceramic dog bowls are sturdy, less prone to movement, and can look great. They are also more likely to smash if dropped, can be heavy, and cannot always be put in the dishwasher. The Frisco Bones Non-Skid Ceramic Dog & Cat Bowl is a white ceramic bowl with debossed bone designs around the bowl and a tan-colored ceramic base.

It has rubberized, non-skid feet to prevent your puppy from pushing the bowl all over the floor while feasting. Frisco claims that it is dishwasher safe, as long as you put it on the top shelf, and there is a choice of two sizes with 2.5- and 4.5-cup capacity.

The bowl is ceramic and is quite fragile, so you need to take extra care not to drop it. If the bowl cracks, this leaves the perfect spot for bacteria to form and grow, so a cracked bowl needs replacing. As with most ceramic bowls, this one does cost a little more than a basic plastic or stainless steel model, but it is a good bowl overall, and isn’t prohibitively expensive.

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5. Frisco Bone Shaped Ridges Slow Feed Bowl

Some puppies eat like they haven’t been fed in months. Not only does wolfing food down cause more of the kibble and wet meat to escape the bowl and find its way onto the floor, but it can also cause indigestion and other gastrointestinal upset for your puppy. One solution is to use a slow feed bowl, like the Frisco Bone Shaped Ridges Slow Feed Bowl.

This plastic bowl has bone-shaped plastic ridges in the bottom of the bowl. Your puppy has to work around the ridges and has to get in between the plastic to get to their food. It might not quell the dog’s desire to eat, but it does mean that they take smaller mouthfuls, and there is a greater gap between each mouthful, so it should prevent gas and digestive upset. The bowl is very reasonably priced, is made from BPA-free plastic, and is dishwasher safe, with a three-cup dry food capacity. It also has a non-skid base to reduce noise and movement.

The dish does do a good job of slowing most puppies down, but particularly voracious eaters will still wolf their food down, while the somewhat inhibitive design means that slower eaters can struggle to get to the last pieces of food.

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6. Outward Hound Non-Skid Plastic Slow Feeder Interactive Dog Bowl

The Outward Hound Non-Skid Plastic Slow Feeder Interactive Dog Bowl is another slow feeder bowl. It has a non-skid base, is dishwasher safe, and the ridges are circular. Because circular ridges do not have corners or restrictive edges, it means less food gets trapped or caught in the bottom, and your puppy should be able to get to every mouthful of food without being forced to leave some behind.

The bowl does come in two sizes, with a 2 cup or 4 cup capacity, although it is a struggle to fill the bowls without them spilling over. If you opt for the larger of the two bowls, its depth does make it difficult to get to the last few pieces of food, which can be frustrating for a hungry puppy.

The slow feeder is also more expensive than other basic plastic bowls, but it is easy to clean and its design means that it shouldn’t tip over or move around the room while being used.

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7. Frisco Stainless Steel Bowl

Stainless steel is a popular bowl material because it is naturally anti-bacterial, easy to clean and maintain, and it is safe for dogs to eat and drink from. It will also hold food or water with no problems, and while it can scratch or dint, it is very difficult to break or crack.

The Frisco Stainless Steel Bowl is actually a set of two bowls so suitable for feeding a combination of wet and dry food or for use as a food and water bowl combo. The bowls have a 4.75-cup capacity, although you should expect to fill them with a little less than this, otherwise, they will be overflowing, and your puppy will be set up to leave a mess around their feeding area. The bowls can also be put in the dishwasher for easy maintenance, and they feature a skid-proof base.

Although they are made of stainless steel and do have a rubberized base, these bowls are quite easy to tip, so if you have an energetic eater, you may need to look for a different design or a bowl made from a heavier material.

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8. Outward Hound Fun Feeder Interactive Dog Bowl

The Outward Hound Fun Feeder Interactive Dog Bowl is a plastic bowl with a spiral ridge in the bottom of the bowl. The ridge is designed to slow fast eaters, reducing mess and preventing digestive problems. It is made from BPA-free, lead-free plastic and can be put in the dishwasher for easy cleaning. Its wide design means that even the four-cup capacity bowl is unlikely to tip over, while the anti-slip base prevents an exuberant dog from pushing its bowl all over hard floor surfaces. There are two size options: a 2-cup and a 4-cup feeder.

However, the ridges mean that the capacity works out less than this, so you may need to buy a size larger than anticipated. The ridges are also designed in such a way that very little food actually fits between them, and this can cause frustration when your dog is unable to get the last pieces of food out. Larger pieces of kibble can easily get stuck in the channels, too, and are impossible to remove by dog tongue alone.

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9. Midwest Stainless Steel Snap’y Fit Dog Kennel Bowl

The Midwest Stainless Steel Snap’y Fit Dog Kennel Bowl fulfills a very specific need. It clips to a kennel or crate wall and locks into place. It is ideal for nighttime crating and if your dog has a wire fence where you can clip the bowl. It comes in a variety of different sizes and can be used for food or water.

The stainless steel bowl is dishwasher safe, which makes it easier to get rid of debris and keep the bowl in good condition. Obviously, if you don’t have a crate or kennel, the bowl won’t be useful for your puppy. However, this is another bowl that is cursed with a difficult-to-remove sticker that is on the bottom of the inside of the bowl and can leave a residue in the water or food section.

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10. Frisco Double Stainless Steel Pet Bowl With Silicone Mat

No matter how wide a dog bowl or how effective the ridges are in a slow-eater bowl, an exuberant puppy can still make a mess around their feeding area, typically by firing bits of dry kibble and flicking wet food debris onto the floor.

The Frisco Double Stainless Steel Pet Bowl With Silicone Mat aims to combat this problem. The double stainless steel bowls are dishwasher safe and fit into a silicone mat. The mat can also be placed in the top rack of the dishwasher so is easy to keep clean and hygienic. The mat does help a little in preventing the bowls from being pushed around the floor when your dog eats, and for a double bowl with a mat, it is well-priced.

However, the silicone mat does not do as good a job as a rubber base in attempting to prevent the bowls from moving around. The bowls themselves are very small, too, and while the shallow bowl is OK for holding small amounts of food for a small puppy, they only hold a small amount of water, so it will need refilling often.

 

Buyer’s Guide: Choosing the Best Puppy Bowl

Puppies are inexperienced at eating, can wolf their food down so quickly that they give themselves indigestion and other digestive problems, and cause a big mess around the food and water bowls. Training your puppy to be a tidier and healthier diner is necessary, but getting the right bowl also plays a major role in ensuring a clean and stress-free dinner time.

Bowl Material

When choosing a bowl, you have three basic materials to choose from, each with its pros and cons.

Bowl Type

As well as choosing the material of the bowl, you will also need to decide on the best type of bowl. Options include:

Size and Capacity

Puppies are smaller than their future adult selves, so it is reasonable to give them smaller food and water bowls. However, you don’t want a bowl that is too small because this means that you will overfill it and increase the likelihood of spills and debris. Most bowls have a capacity measured in cups or in ounces for water bowls. These measurements assume that the bowl is filled to the brim, which you will rarely do if you do want to avoid spillage, so opt for the size up from the one that you need.

Non-Slip

Materials like plastic and stainless steel are easy to push around hard floors. The noise can be excruciating even when you’re sitting in another room, and it means that your messy eater is probably spilling food right around the utility room or kitchen. Non-slip bases and non-slip feet prevent this movement and are usually made from rubber or another grippy material to stop that movement. If you feed on a carpet, a non-slip base may not be necessary.

Dishwasher Safe

You must keep dog bowls clean and free from residue. While this can be done by washing them by hand, it is more convenient if the bowl can be put in the dishwasher. The dishwasher gives a more thorough cleaning and prevents you from having to pick bits of wet food from inside the bowl. Always check before placing a dog bowl in the dishwasher because while this is a desirable and common trait, not all bowls are dishwasher safe.

Mat

One way to prevent mess caused by the daily feeding frenzy is to use a mat or tray underneath the bowls. Some dog bowls come with their own mat so you don’t have to buy or place one separately. These may also prevent some movement around the floor, although a non-slip base remains the best option to stop slippage.

 

Conclusion

There are many dog bowls available, including stainless steel, ceramic, and plastic models. There are slow feeders, mats with bowls, and double bowl sets. Hopefully, our reviews of the best bowls for puppies have helped you find the one that is best for your dog, your kitchen, and your requirements.

We believe the quality of the Hepper NomNom bowls combined with the convenient food catcher make them the best bowls for puppies, while the low price and features like the non-slip base and dishwasher-safe materials make the Loving Pets Bella Bowls Pet Bowl the best puppy bowl for the money.

• See also: Best Bowls for Toy Dog Breeds – Reviews & Top Picks

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Featured Image Credit: Rick’s Photography, Shutterstock