My 4 month old puppy has recently developed a new habit of digging in his (or any other) water dish. He does it in hot and in cold water.

At the dog park he will kind of guard the water bowl and when someone fills it up he will pounce on it and "dig"until the water is all gone!!!

Is this a husky thing or is my puppy crazy!!

LOL - this must be a common trait.

We found out that the shine from the stainless steel water bowl was what made Zoe do it, so we switched to dark plastic and it stopped with the bowl.

She did the same thing at the dog park and we would just make her sit near it when another dog came up and give her a treat when she left. Took a while but now she doesn't "guard" the bowl. She still runs to it but doesn't bother the other dog, so we were happy with that.

Mya does the same thing! I've also noticed she doesn't do it in plastic containers only metal ones.

Dizzy does it in any type of bowl. He splashes water way up the wall if I don't stop him. He gets this blissful wild look on his face like its the most fun thing ever!

Orion does this too! He will empty anything of water lol his bowl (metal) the cats bowl (plastic) mums dogs bowl (stone) my gardening buckets if it has been raining anything he can get his little paws on. In the weekend he even managed to turn the outside tap on and proceeded to dig a hole underneith the stream of water to make himself a mini mud pit before I caught him!

Pippa doesn't do this at home (knock on wood), but has a reputation at the dog park for doing it.

One lady who I love tells everyone not to feel bad when their dog does it, because there's this husky...

I found that elevated dishes that sit in a stand really help. Evie will dig in water if it's in a bowl on the floor, but not in these.

Bella will put her nose down to the bottom of the bowl to grab ice cubes if i put them in. We havent seen any digging in water, but we do get big puddles in the yard when it rains and bella loves to dig then. Jasper just drinks his water.

He also loves the bathtub. He digs at the drain, and if I turn the faucet on for him he plays and plays.

Yuki dug in hers when she was a puppy. Irritated me to death as she was constantly getting my carpet wet although I couldn't get mad cause it was adorable. When I got them the pet fountain she stopped, but she still digs at the one at the dog park.

Sheba did it when she just a little baby, and she still does it now. Thankfully not at home anymore, but I would have to clean up a giant water mess at least once everyday.. DANG PUPPIES!

JillC wrote:

I found that elevated dishes that sit in a stand really help. Evie will dig in water if it's in a bowl on the floor, but not in these.

I second this! Lycus' indoor water dishes are elevated and does not dig. His outdoor dishes aren't elevated and he digs in those a lot.

Sky digs in the water the dogs have outside, it's a plastic washing up bowl though so she can really get in there for a good dig. The water bowl inside is a plastic normal size dish and *touch wood* she has never dug that one.

My first husky Tasha, would flip hers upside down and then pounce on it with her front feet and skid across the floor. She thought that was the most fun thing. The top edges of the bowl were all scraped up.

Shaqua LOVES to "dig" in her water bowl. Has since she was a pup. She doesn't do it to the small water dishes that I use inside, but the big buckets are free game (and yes, including those at the dog park). I think it has to be a husky trait. I've heard this is common from many husky owners.





Another thing I've noticed about water- When she drinks out of the small water bowls (the ones she will not swim in) she drinks the water against the edge of the bowl, making it look like she is licking the side of the bowl while she drinks.

wpskier222 wrote:

My first husky Tasha, would flip hers upside down and then pounce on it with her front feet and skid across the floor. She thought that was the most fun thing. The top edges of the bowl were all scraped up.

Phoenix was doing this up and down our hall with his food bowl this afternoon.. it was meant to be one that wouldn't tip over lol

when i first got Zoë (husky mix) she would always dig in the water bowl (it's a blue plastic one) but quit after awhile.

then i got Maya and she does it and still does. when drinking she will follow the ripple she makes in the bowl. until she quits digging in her water bowl i only fill the bowl to about 1/3 up and she doesn't dig as much but she does. if i fill it all the way up she will splash all the water out

sierra "dips" her paws in the outside water dish very lady like, jack will dig sometimes in the dish at the dog park, THANK GOD they do not do it in the house!

your dog is not crazy

Yes... lol Eska also dipps... we were out side on the weekend and I caught her standing in a little water dish with both front paws tried to get it on video but no luck

This is Betty's absolute favorite thing to do. I suppose it must be the stainless steel, I'll have to switch to something different. And find a way to keep her from pestering the other dogs at the park as well

I'm so glad to know my little one is not extremely hygienic and washes his paws all the time. Lol! Elevated or not he "digs" in the water bowl leaving no water for my other fur babies. I guess it's a husky thing.

Kaikoura does the same thing at just over 8 weeks of age, we were wondering if it was a trait characteristic! She loves to put her front paws in the water bowl while drinking then digging. This means lots of wet socks while going about the kitchen

Nanook does the same thing, however I've noticed in the last week or so he "face plants" in the water. It's really funny I'll have to take some video so you can see.

haha saski does this. digging in the water bowl and sometimes she will dunk her whole face in the water and blow bubbles which is really hilarious.. been trying to record a video but im tooo slow haha

wpskier222 wrote:

He also loves the bathtub. He digs at the drain, and if I turn the faucet on for him he plays and plays.

Jen - I know this is an old post but it is too funny The first time we stayed in a hotel with Ami, Wayne filled the water bowl from the tub tap. Ami went crazy over the running water. So I thought, why not give him a bath. Wrong! Once he saw the water running and the tub filling, he leaped into the tub, started digging furiously, leaped out, ran around, I frantically got the wet dog back in the bathroom, shut the door, he leaped in the tub, started digging furiously...I was horrified - thought we were going to have pay for a new tub! Fortunately, red roof has chosen materials that stand up to dogs and there was not a scratch. All I had to do was mop up the 2 inches of water all over the floor