Why does my dog carry water in their mouth and spill it everywhere?
Some dogs use holding and dribbling water as a coping mechanism during stressful or busy moments in the house, sometimes pawing at it to throw it around. This creates a severe slipping hazard that makes walking on kitchen floors dangerous.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Using specialized slow-feed or press-down water bowls
- 2Telling the dog off when she starts showing signs of tracking water
- 3Hiring a dog trainer
- 4Giving the dog ice cubes instead of a water bowl
- 5Putting the water bowl in the bathtub or shower
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“My dog (age 7 I believe Jack Russel/Chihuahua mix) keeps dribbling water everywhere, not as an accidental thing it seems to be her method of coping any time the house gets “too chaotic” except her sense of too chaotic is anything from making a cup of tea to multiple people walking around.”source ↗
“she’s learnt to hold as much as she can in her mouth and then runs around drooling it all over the floor and she paws at the water to throw it around as much as she can.”source ↗
“I’m mostly posting this now and in here because I just almost broke my damn arm slipping on the floor, I don’t want to have to start wearing non-slip shoes in my own kitchen.”source ↗
“my jack russell mix does something similar but with food, not water. she'll grab a mouthful of kibble and drop it in different rooms like she's decorating”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 3Why does my dog pee inside right after a walk?
- 3House-trained dog won't go to the bathroom outside after moving
- 13Why does my puppy keep peeing on the sofa and bed?
- 2How to handle chronic pet incontinence and constant messes at home
- 11How to stop your dog from causing embarrassing scenes in public
- 5How to handle pet urine damage on subfloors