Your Brachycephalic Dog Needs This Bowl - Engineered Just For Them
All dogs are good dogs, but I’m a Boston terrier person. God loves a terrier and SO DO I.
There are people out there who spew vitriol about brachycephalic breeds, which… okay. Smushy faced dogs are not doomed to a life of suffering, you just need to know how to care for them. I learned a lot from my first Boston, and it wasn’t until he was old (and, to be frank, dying) that I learned about The Enhanced Pet Bowl.
Brachycephalic dogs are known to be gassy, and a big part of that is the amount of air they swallow when they’re eating. Think about putting a flat face in a traditional pet bowl - they have to put in so much effort just to get the food into their mouths, they’re going to end up swallowing a lot of air. This can lead to bloating, nausea, and so, so many farts. Raised bowls are great option because they lessen the amount of effort a dog has to put in just to eat or drink. But with a flat face, a slanted, raised bowl, specifically made for their particular needs, is even better. That’s the Enhanced Pet Bowl.
An Enhanced Pet Bowl will cost you significantly more than you might expect to spend on a dog’s food bowl - especially if you’re like me and have only ever bought dog bowls at Target. BUT, if it works for you and your dog, it is worth every penny. I was wary about trying something so niche and potentialy wasting $40-$50, or having to deal with returning the bowl to a small company across the country. That’s why first I bought an Enhanced Pet Bowl from Amazon. I was fairly sure I needed a medium, but Amazon only had small and large, so I went for a small. As I expected, it was too small, but I could tell it would work and my dog would use it, so I returned the small bowl and planned on buying a medium from Enhanced Pet Products directly. BUT they were sold out of mediums! I debated getting a large, or just giving up, but I found a medium Enhanced Pet Bowl on Mercari (for $45 after shipping), and bought it straight away.
You can buy the bowl (or the stand) separately, but I suggest buying both the bowl and stand. The way I see it, if you’re already in on a $30 food bowl, throw in another $10 to get the stand and use the system to its full potential. The bowl and the stand are easily separated (the bowl just rests on the stand, but even a voracious eater can’t knock it over), and everything is dishwasher safe. You can vary the height of the bowl by turning the stand over, and you can change the angle of the bowl itself by putting the opening of the stand facing the front or the back of the bowl. Basically, if you first try this system and it doesn’t work, there are multiple variations that may work better.
Currently i’m fostering a blind Boston terrier, and the Enhanced Pet Bowl is perfect for her. She responds more to sound than smell, and the Enhanced Pet Bowl makes a very satisfying “dinnertime!” sound when I knock a spoon against it. The raised bowl helps her reach her food easier, and the slant and ridge help her get every bite and not swallow too much air, so her post-meal nap is gas free.
Water bowl is two of these stacked, silicone mat is from Amazon, dog is one of a kind
I’m going to be getting another dog while my foster is still here, and I’m already planning on getting another Enhanced Pet Bowl for Future Puppy. I didn’t know about Enhanced Pet Bowls until my last dog was elderly, but now that I know, every Boston that comes into this home is going to have a bowl perfectly suited for their needs.
