Dog bowl stands can make meals more enjoyable for your dog. Raised bowls can help ease joint and neck pain in elderly dogs and those with arthritis. They can also help large breeds eat easier without having to lower their heads to the point of discomfort. The raised bowls help reduce strain on your dog’s hips and shoulders. The food also moves easier from your dog’s mouth to their stomach as they eat.
Dog bowl stands can even keep the feeding area cleaner by making it more difficult for dogs to move their dishes around. The benefits don’t just stop at dogs either. Humans will have to bend less to pick up and put down the food bowl. This eliminates strain on dog owners’ joints and muscles too.
Best of all, these stands don’t have to cost a fortune. If you’re a DIYer, you may be interested in making one yourself. We have some DIY dog bowl stand plans you can get started on today to give your dog a more comfortable experience during their next meal.
The 13 DIY Dog Bowl Stand Plans
1. Medium Dog Bowl Stand by DIY Huntress
| Materials: | Wood boards, wood, dog bowls, wood glue, screws, nails, large drill bit, wood putty, paint or stain of your choice |
| Tools: | Miter saw, jig saw, drill, wood clamps, Kreg Jig Pocket Hole System |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy to moderate |
This medium dog bowl stand can cost around $100 in stores. But with these materials, the cost averages around $18 to build it yourself. You can also adjust the measurements to fit your dog’s bowls. The wood can be painted any color that you choose to match your décor or brighten up a room. If you’re a handy DIYer, you can build this in about a day. However, beginners shouldn’t be afraid to tackle this one, as it’s not complicated.
2. Simple Raised Dog Bowl Stand by Anika’s DIY Life
| Materials: | Lumber, wood glue, pocket hole screws, paint or stain of your choice, dog bowls |
| Tools: | Kreg Jig K4 or Kreg 320, right-angle clamp, power drill, miter saw, sander |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
This raised dog bowl stand is easy and inexpensive to make. The wooden frame comes together quickly and holds two dog bowls. You can paint or stain this stand any color you’d like. It’s best to buy the dog bowls that you want to use first so you can customize the measurements of the stand to accommodate them.
3. Converted Dresser Dog Bowl Stand by Practically Functional
| Materials: | Two-drawer dresser, dog bowls with rims, paint, varnish, large drill bit |
| Tools: | Jig saw, screwdriver, cordless drill, pencil, paintbrush, wood glue, quick grip clamps |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
If you have an old two-drawer dresser lying around, you can easily convert it into a raised dog feeding station. If you don’t have a dresser, you can probably find one at a garage sale, thrift store, or online marketplace. There’s no need to buy a new piece of furniture for this unless you’d prefer to. If it isn’t the color that you want, it can be painted or stained your desired shade. Without painting the piece, this project should take around 2 hours. You can also use the bottom drawer to store dog food, treats, and other supplies.
4. Butcher Block Dog Bowl Stand by Well She Tried
| Materials: | Dog bowls, butcher block, butcher-block finish, hairpin legs, 80-grit sandpaper, soft cloth, denatured alcohol |
| Tools: | Router, circular saw, palm sander, tape measure, drill, compass |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
Using a butcher block and hairpin legs, you can build this butcher block dog bowl stand for your dog. This project takes a bit of skill because a few of the cuts can be challenging.
5. Dog Bone Sided Dog Bowl Stand by Daddy by Day
| Materials: | Wood boards, dog bowls, wood screws, pencil, spray paint |
| Tools: | Compass, tape measure, drill, daredevil spade bit, jigsaw with a wood blade, miter saw |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate to difficult |
This cute dog bone-sided dog bowl stand looks like it came from an upscale boutique, but you can make it yourself with the right tools and materials. It may be more difficult to do than some other plans listed here, but the result is adorable. You can paint this stand any color, and the bottom has a handy shelf for storage. The wooden dog bones on the sides give this stand a stylish look.
6. Wall Mounted Dog Bowl Stand by Martha Stewart
| Materials: | Stair tread, dog food bowls, sandpaper, primer and paint, wall bracket kit, wood screws, wood filler, pencil |
| Tools: | Jig saw, measuring tape, drill |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
This easy wall-mounted dog bowl stand is made with a repurposed stair tread and a wall bracket kit. Even if you only have basic tools, this project should be a snap for you. You can place this at any height on the wall that will be comfortable for your dog. Just measure the distance from the floor to the place where your dog’s legs meet their chest. The shelf catches any spills or food crumbs and keeps them from going all over your floor. The bowls fit securely on the shelf so they can’t be moved around.
8. Modern DIY Dog Bowl Stand by Woodshop Diaries
| Materials: | Wood scraps, wood screws, wood glue, dog bowls |
| Tools: | Drill, jig saw, nail gun |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
You can make this modern DIY dog bowl stand out of any wood that you have left over from other projects. If you don’t have wood scraps, plywood will work fine. You can also check out a video tutorial for this project. It’s easy to adjust this stand to accommodate your dog’s height. You even have the option to add a few decorative strips along the front, but they’re not necessary.
9. Small Dog Bowl Stand by Amber Oliver
| Materials: | Dog bowls, wooden board, wood glue, paint of choice, sandpaper |
| Tools: | Jig or scroll saw, drill, corner clamps |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
This dog bowl stand works well for small dogs. The bowls are easy to remove and clean but difficult for dogs to spill. Once you’ve finished building this stand, it can be painted or stained however you like. Even if you’re a beginner when it comes to power tools, this is still a project that you can do easily. It takes about one afternoon to complete, and you can use either a jig or scroll saw, whichever you have.
10. Multi-Dog Dog Bowl Stand By Kelly Concepts
| Materials: | Dog bowls, wood board, hairpin legs, polyurethane |
| Tools: | Jig saw, table saw, drill |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
If you’re handy with tools, this multi-dog dog bowl stand may not be difficult for you to do. Novices may find it a bit challenging, but you can still get it done by following the step-by-step directions. This stand holds two dog bowls with a large, shared water bowl in the center. It makes mealtimes and cleanup easier. A coat of polyurethane gives it a perfect finish.
11. Concrete Dog Bowl Stand by Tori Mistick
| Materials: | Plastic planters or bowls, dog bowls, quick-drying concrete, water, rocks, sandpaper, spray paint |
| Tools: | None |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
These concrete dog bowl stands are for single-bowl use, but they’re easy to make, so you can craft as many as you need. They can be painted any color and will add a bit of style to any room. If you don’t have tools but still love a good DIY project, this one is for you. The height and weight of the stands ensure that dogs can’t tip them over while eating or drinking. While this is an easy project, it still may take several days to complete due to the concrete needing to dry.
12. Large Dog Food Station by Jen Woodhouse
| Materials: | Plywood, drawer slides, drawer knob, pocket screws, brad nails, wood glue, marble contact paper |
| Tools: | Wood clamp, Kreg Pocket-Hole Jig, drawer slide jig, tape measure, drill, nail gun, sander, circular saw |
| Difficulty Level: | Difficult |
This large dog food station is covered in marble contact paper to give it a classy look, but you can use any contact paper that you like, though it’s best if it’s water resistant. This stand includes a drawer that can be used for dog food storage, making mealtimes convenient. The stand is ideally built with large dog breeds in mind. If you’d love to make this stand for a small dog, the tutorial includes instructions for a smaller version.
13. Dog Feeding Station With Storage by Jennifer Stimpson – This Old House
| Materials: | Drill bit, contact paper, paint, dog bowls, wood boards, paintbrush, sandpaper |
| Tools: | Screwdriver, compass, rasp, jig saw, drill, combination square |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy to moderate |
This sturdy feeding station has a storage compartment for convenience. Your dog’s food can be kept close by for easy feeding. The station can be built in 11 steps. If you’re handy with tools, this will be easy for you. Since you will have to wait for the paint to dry, this project will take a few hours over 2 days to complete. It is a piece that looks expensive but can be made at home for about $40 worth of supplies.
Conclusion
While these dog bowl stands vary in appearance, you can find the right one to work for your dog. Many of these plans are customizable, so no matter what size dog you have, there is a DIY dog bowl stand plan that will be comfortable and practical for them to use. You also don’t have to be an expert woodworker to make a dog bowl stand that your dog will love. We hope that you have enjoyed these plans and have found one to get started on today!
Featured Image Credit: Ingrid Yeh, Writer
The 13 DIY Dog Bowl Stand Plans
