When it comes to choosing dog bowls for your pup, you'll be met with a wide variety of size, style and material choices. In addition to selecting a bowl that that will hold an appropriate volume of food to meet your dog’s needs as he grows, other factors come into play. Stainless steel bowls offer a wide range of pros compared with other types of dog dishes.
Durability
Stainless steel bowls are durable and rust-proof, and can stand up to even the most ambitious chewing dog. If your pup has been known to destroy plastic bowls in the past, give stainless steel a try. You'll save your dog from the potential of cut tongue, gums and paw pads, which can occur if your dog tries to rip apart a plastic bowl and ends up getting caught on sharp edges.
Safety
Dog food particles can get caught in cracks and crevices of scratched plastic bowls as well as in chips and cracks of ceramic bowls. If not cleaned and disinfected very carefully, bacteria can build up in these areas and make your dog sick. Stainless steel bowls are extremely hygienic and easy to clean using regular dish-washing soap.
Noise
Stainless steel bowls can be noisy of your pup likes to pick them up, drop them or clang them around. Look for weighted bowls and/or bowls with a rubber ant-slip pad around the bottom to hold it in place. A lipless stainless steel bowl will help keep your dog from walking off with his bowls and hiding them.
No Chemicals
Many molded plastic bowls are manufactured with chemicals, which can expose your dog to dangerous toxins over time. Some dogs have allergies to certain plastics. Stainless steel bowls don't present this hazard, promoting a positive long-term impact on your pet’s overall health and well-being.
Heat/Cold
While stainless steel dog bowls have a lot of benefits, you need to be aware of a few drawbacks. During warm months, water left outside in a stainless steel bowl will get hot faster than water in some other bowls and therefore the water may not be as refreshing to your dog -- meaning he'll drink less, and that's a bad thing. Concurrently, stainless steel bowls used outside in winter have the potential to be extra cold and will harden wet foot to the bowl, making it more difficult for your dog to access and less likely he'll drink enough water.
References
Writer Bio
Lisa McQuerrey has been a business writer since 1987. In 1994, she launched a full-service marketing and communications firm. McQuerrey's work has garnered awards from the U.S. Small Business Administration, the International Association of Business Communicators and the Associated Press. She is also the author of several nonfiction trade publications, and, in 2012, had her first young-adult novel published by Glass Page Books.