The dog water fountains
The fountain sold for cats is usually too small for a dog, and the sizing is simple: ounces per pound, per day.
Filter the dog gearWhat a fountain has to do
Reservoir, filter, pump. And the arithmetic.
The whole question is volume. One reviewer we cite sizes a dog at 1 to 1.5 ounces per pound per day, which puts a 90 pound dog above 90 ounces a day before you double it for safety. That is the difference between a 3 litre reservoir that lasts a week and one that empties overnight.
Two worth shortlisting
One for the big dog, one for the value.
Each one is on the list for a stated reason, and the reason is printed beside it. The full breakdown sits on the review page, with the owner complaint record and the date we read it.
PetSafe Drinkwell 360 Multi-Pet Fountain
One-gallon (128 fl oz / 3.8 L) stainless fountain with a 360-degree bowl, 1-5 interchangeable free-falling spout rings and an open bowl that stays drinkable when the power cuts. Drinkwell is PetSafe's own fountain line.
The largest reservoir of the two at 128 fl oz (3.8 L), with a 360-degree bowl so two dogs can drink at once, and an open bowl that keeps working when the power cuts. The pump is the weak point, and owners say so.
Best for a medium or large dog $74.95–$85.99 1 year warranty
PETLIBRO Stainless Steel Fountain, 3 L
Corded 304 stainless-steel fountain with a raised pump housing, adjustable flow valve and a three-layer sponge and activated-carbon filter. Manufacturer part number PLWF006.
The bigger reservoir per dollar, a 304 stainless tank, a pump rated at 30 dB or less and a 24-month warranty, twice the Drinkwell. The filter interval is the shortest of the two, every two weeks.
Best value and quietest $37.99 2 years warranty
Both, on the same columns
Click a column heading to sort.
A dash means the source did not publish the figure.
| Product | Reservoir | Noise | Running cost | Warranty | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PetSafe Drinkwell 360 Multi-Pet Fountain One-gallon (128 fl oz / 3.8 L) stainless fountain with a 360-degree bowl, 1-5 interchangeable free-falling spout rings and an open bowl that stays drinkable when the power cuts. Drinkwell is PetSafe's own fountain line. | 3.8 L | — | — | 1 year | $74.95–$85.99 |
| PETLIBRO Stainless Steel Fountain, 3 L Corded 304 stainless-steel fountain with a raised pump housing, adjustable flow valve and a three-layer sponge and activated-carbon filter. Manufacturer part number PLWF006. | 3 L | 30 dB | — | 2 years | $37.99 |
Sources per product are listed on each review page. Prices are dated observations from the retailer or manufacturer named there, not live quotes.
What the table cannot show
Three things to read the source for.
Size the tank for the dog, not the house
The rule of thumb one reviewer gives is 1 to 1.5 ounces per pound of body weight per day. A 3 litre tank is about 101 ounces, which is a week of water for a cat and less than a day for a 90 pound dog. Most fountains sold for cats are simply too small for a large dog.
The filter schedule is the real price
A fountain is cheap and a filter is not. PETLIBRO sells four replacement cartridges for $12.74 and says replace them every two weeks. PetSafe sells ten carbon filters for $12.99 and says every two to four weeks, plus a foam pre-filter and a pump wash every two weeks. Budget the filters before you budget the fountain.
Stainless steel is not a preference
Both fountains here have a stainless tank or tray. It does not scratch, it does not hold odour, and it is the surface that touches the water. The complaints on the Drinkwell 360 are about the plastic clips and legs cracking, not the steel.
Fountain questions
How big does a fountain need to be for a dog? One reviewer we cite sizes it at 1 to 1.5 ounces of water per pound of body weight per day, and says a 90 pound dog drinks 90 to 135 ounces a day, which is why a 3 litre tank empties in a day for a large dog and lasts a week for a small one. Read the review before you buy, and treat the figure as that reviewer’s rule of thumb rather than a veterinary number.
Does the water stay clean? Both fountains here recirculate the water through a filter, and both makers tell you to replace that filter on a schedule. PETLIBRO says every two weeks for the 3 litre model. PetSafe says every two to four weeks for the carbon filter on the Drinkwell 360, plus a foam pre-filter and a pump that has to be hand-washed every two weeks. The filter cost is part of the running cost, not a one-off.
What happens when the power goes out? The Drinkwell 360 keeps working as a bowl because its bowl is open and the water sits in it. The PETLIBRO model does not publish a battery backup, so we publish none. Owners on both models report pump failures, and a failed pump on the Drinkwell drains the bowl, because it has no check valve.
Will my dog actually drink from it? Some do and some will not, and the owner record on each review says so in both directions. The complaint log on the Drinkwell 360 includes owners whose pets refuse the fountain outright. That is why we print the complaint record rather than a rating.
Why only two fountains? Because these are the two we could source with a dated price, a manufacturer specification page and a traceable owner complaint record. Several larger fountains exist and we read them, but we could not put a dated price and a live manufacturer page behind them, so we left them out rather than publish a page we could not stand behind.
Size it before you buy it
Set the type, the capacity and the dog size, and the dataset filters itself in front of you.
Open the dog gear finder