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Well, I took one look at the design and could immediately see its flaws, for any dog with the right head size to fit into the dispenser.
What's wrong with putting a washing up bowl down filled with water for the day? The worst that could happen is you come home to a really very wet floor.
I am sorry about what happened to those dogs. Ikea need to re-think that design.
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A lot of people like a water dispenser like that. I am not sure what the problem is. Would a dog get its head stuck in the area the water comes from. I am sure it was designed with the best of intentions. I always used the large bowl method for cays and multiple water bottles for guinea pigs.
It is sad that the flaw was only found after dogs died.
Catherine
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I am only guessing but maybe the dispenser part was too easily detachable. That both dogs tried to get more water by dislodging it, then put their heads inside it and sadly, got stuck?
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That makes sense. A number of dogs have died because of getting their heads stuck in potato chip(crisps) bags and other snack bags that can seal around their heads.
It seems that dogs like to stick their heads in things.
Maybe there could be some kind of safety valve on the water reservoir.
Catherine
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07-18-2018, 03:32 AM
(This post was last modified: 07-18-2018, 03:34 AM by Tobi.)
I just wonder why the dogs managed to dislodge the container in the first place. Surely it was on a screw/lock thread? Well it should have been and for it not to have been is a serious design fault.
My neighbour has a water fountain which is connected to her water supply. So there is a constant stream of fresh water for the dogs. I don't quite know how she has fixed it up but there are no dangerous parts which could come adrift. And if by chance the water was cut off for a few hours, the bowl is big enough to hold quite a lot of water.
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That fountain would be the ideal, but water here is expensive and it is metered. A running fountain would cost hundreds of dollars in water fees every month. Maybe that is why the water reservoir is so popular.
I wonder if the water reservoir snaps in place instead of screwing on. It would be the cheaper option and it probably looked safe.
Catherine