A Behind the Scenes Look
We are constantly getting questions about what products we use in our day-to-day lives in the RV, so I’m going to blog about some of our favorites over the summer. These are all items that we have found and decided to give a try based on recommendations from others. If there is something you think we should try, please leave us a comment and let us know!
Its Not That Easy
Making sure our dog gets enough exercise is a top priority more days than not. Living in confined quarters can be hard on everyone and a tired dog is a happy dog in our world.
My dog needs roughly 1/2 gallon of water/day based on her size, age and activity level. That means any time we are out, we need to make sure she is hydrating, too. We taught her at an early age to drink from a plastic water bottle because we could always stop at a convenience store and buy her a bottle of water if we were caught out and about without a drink for her. We also used the fabric bowls that can be folded and easily kept in the glovebox. They worked great, but were messy and smelled funky if you didn’t get them fully dry between uses.
What We Got
Then we came across the Aqua Dog water bottle. When we bought ours, blue was the only color available, but now they have multiple colors to choose from. There is only one size for these bottles – 20 oz. and we have found that is enough for most of our adventures (even with spills). The bottle is easily refillable either from a faucet or body of water. Its also BPA free.
The idea is that you fill the bottle with water and when your dog wants a drink, you squeeze the bottle and water fills the cup on top. Dog done drinking? Release your squeeze and the water goes back in the bottle so not a drop is wasted.
What We Did
I carry the bottle either in my daypack or strapped onto the strap of my crossbody purse. It only took a few times of asking her if she wanted a drink and letting her use the Aqua Dog before she would proactively “ask” for the bottle (i.e. bump my purse with her nose). The velcro strap unexpectedly broke (just normal use – nothing strenuous) the first outing, but we can still manage using the pieces.
Also, the water sucking back in feature doesn’t work on ours, so we drip the water remaining after each drink on her back to help keep her cool. Not a deal killer for me – who likes drinking backwash, anyway?
The bottle is plastic and easy to clean and fill. We hand wash only, so I can’t comment on dishwasher safe.
Overall Verdict
We paid roughly $12 for our bottle and that feels a bit overpriced for what we received. We’ve had it almost a year and it continues to serve its purpose albeit the sucking back in doesn’t work and the strap broke day 1. They are roughly $9 on Amazon, which seems more appropriate.
For us, this bottle comes in pretty handy. Decent solution for us – would recommend.
author’s note: I will update this review if anything changes in my opinion about this product.