How to Make a Dog Auto Water Feeder

4 Materials
$10
4 Hours
Easy
Nowadays we all have pampered pooches, and mine is no different. The summers temperatures here can get very hot and at times as high as 45 degrees Celsius. The high temperatures can make a small amount of water in their water bowl very hot. They also drink more in the summer and for some reason, they will not drink out of the second bowl I put down. I always felt really bad when I came home from work and they had no water. My idea was that I would freeze bottles of water to put in the dispenser. And in the morning before I go to work I would put one into the dispenser. And as the level goes down the water will be topped up with the cold water from the melted ice. Nothing is too much work for my pampered pooches.
For all my projects I try and make them out of recycled materials so this was how I got mine. My wood was a recycled drawer front from this unit. I used an old water bottle and a nozzle of a plant auto feeder. And for my insulation, I used old styrofoam packaging from a pot I bought.
These instructions are just giving you the idea, not the dimensions because your size will all depend on the size of the bottle you will be using as well and the thickness of your styrofoam. It is basically just a box.
But because I am using recycled wood I try and use what I have. I joined the 3 sides first so it would be easier to glue the styrofoam inside. I cut the styrofoam to size and glue them to the inside of the box using contact glue.
Before you glue your box together do a test fit first to make sure it all fits together. I say this because I did not do that and as it turned out my wood was too small to fit the back.
I did not have any more of the same wood so my box only had insulation on 3 sides.
You can bypass this step this was just how I fix mine. I cut the styrofoam shorter and that made a space for the back to fit inside. I Glued it in place and clamped it together until the glue was dry.
I glued the front section on next leaving enough excess so that the lid can fit on and be hidden. But if you make your box correctly you can bypass this step as well. And I filled in the draw handles holes with wood filler.
The size of your hole will again be according to the size of the neck of your bottle. But if your bottle is a snug fit in the box that will hold the bottle in place and you can cut the hole in the centre.
But if your bottle is a snug fit in the box that will hold the bottle in place and you can cut the hole in the centre.
But if your bottle is a snug fit in the box that will hold the bottle in place and you can cut the hole in the centre. Finish glueing your box together.
Next, I sanded down the box and removed all the sharp edges with a router. Because the lid will be taken on and off a lot I wanted to make the lid easy to remove. To keep it simple I just added a hook and eye latch which just screwed into the lid and the box.
I varnished the box ready to mount it on the wall. To attach the box to the wall I used some flush mount hanging and added one to the back of the box and one to the wall. And the box just slides onto the mount on the wall. When you mount the box make sure your feeder tube is in the water about 2cm.
And now your pampered pooch will have cool water on those hot days. I also thought the box was a bit plain so I decided to go over the top and decorate it.


To see a more detailed tutorial with more pictures and to find out how I transferred the images with waterslide paper  http://uniquecreationsbyanita.com/how-to-make-a-pet-automatic-water-feeder/
And this was the final product, and the pictures make it perfect. It looks like she is laughing at me for making this in the side image. LOL


The cost of this project will depend on what you have at home.
Suggested materials:
  • Wood   (recycled)
  • Water bottle   (recycled)
  • Plant feeder nozzle   (amazon)
See all materials
Unique Creations By Anita
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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