Most lists put plastic, steel and ceramic side by side as if they were flavours. By the end of this page you will know which material is still clean and intact after years of daily washing, and which shape suits your dog. I will also show you where stoneware, the material we sell, is not the best choice, and how a single drop of water tells you whether a ceramic bowl is any good.
What is the best material for a dog bowl?
Stoneware and stainless steel are the best materials for a dog bowl. Both are non-porous, dishwasher safe and do not hold odours. Stoneware is heavy and stays put; stainless steel is unbreakable. Plastic scratches and traps bacteria, melamine does not cope with heat, and cheap earthenware is porous beneath the glaze.
Plastic: fine for a weekend, not for years
You can skip plastic unless you need a spare bowl for a weekend away. The problem is not the plastic itself but what happens to it after a few months. Teeth, kibble and your washing-up brush leave fine scratches, and those grooves hold on to fat and saliva that an ordinary wash no longer removes. Smell a plastic bowl that has been in use for six months, even straight after washing.
Plastic is also light. A dog that eats with enthusiasm pushes it across the floor until it hits the skirting board. And on a hot dishwasher cycle, a lot of plastic turns dull or warps.
If your dog develops bumps or spots on the chin, have your vet take a look. A plastic bowl is then the easiest thing to rule out.
Melamine and bamboo: pretty, but not for the dishwasher
Melamine looks like porcelain, weighs little and usually carries a cheerful print. Many "bamboo" bowls are in fact bamboo fibres bound together with melamine. As long as they stay cool, there is little to worry about. With heat, such as a hot dishwasher or warm water, substances can migrate out of the material.
The EU removed bamboo and melamine tableware for people from the market in 2021. Pet bowls do not fall under the same rules, so you still see plenty of them. If you have one, wash it by hand in lukewarm water and replace it as soon as the surface shows scratches or discolouration.
Stainless steel: unbreakable, and sometimes simply the better choice
Stainless steel is the right choice when a bowl has to survive what stoneware will not. Think of a puppy that picks up its bowl and drags it round the room, a bowl outside in the garden or in the crate, or one that travels in the car. Steel does not break, does not rust if it is decent quality, and can go in the dishwasher on the hottest cycle every day.
You notice the downsides mostly indoors. A steel bowl is light, so it slides and clatters on the floor with every mouthful. Kibble slides to the rim, where your dog has to chase it with his nose. And the rubber ring under many cheap bowls is exactly where dirt builds up: pull it off once and have a look.
Check the grade. Good stainless steel for bowls is called 18/8 or 304. If you see rust spots after a few months, it was a cheaper alloy and is better replaced. For a detailed side by side of the two, read our honest comparison of ceramic and stainless steel.
Not all ceramic is stoneware
The word ceramic covers two very different materials, and the difference decides whether your bowl lasts five years or starts to smell after one. Earthenware is fired at a lower temperature. The clay stays porous and only the glaze makes it watertight. Once fine cracks appear in that glaze, and with earthenware they sooner or later do, water and food residue soak into the clay. It never comes out again.
Stoneware is fired much hotter, so the clay itself becomes dense. Our bowls absorb less than 3% water. That is the difference you smell after a year.
The honest downside of stoneware: it breaks if it falls on a tiled floor. A bowl with a chip, however small, goes in the bin. A sharp edge and a tongue do not belong together.
How to test a ceramic bowl before you pay
- The drop test. Turn the bowl over. The foot ring is often unglazed. Put a drop of water on it. If it soaks in within a few seconds and the clay darkens, it is earthenware. If the drop sits there, it is stoneware or porcelain.
- The tap test. Tap the rim with a fingernail. Stoneware rings clearly; earthenware gives a dull knock.
- The glaze. Tilt the bowl under a lamp. A fine network of lines means the glaze has already crazed.
- Lead and cadmium. Ask whether the glaze is lead-free and cadmium-free. A seller who does not know has not had it tested.
Our Splatter stoneware bowl set is stoneware with a food-safe, lead-free and cadmium-free glaze, and it goes in the dishwasher. Every bowl is glazed by hand, so no two sets are exactly alike.
Which bowls suit your dog?
A good material is half the story. The shape decides whether your dog can eat from it comfortably, and that varies more by type of dog than by weight.
| Your dog | Which bowl fits | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Flat-faced (French Bulldog, Pug, Shih Tzu) | Shallow and wide, low rim | A flat face cannot reach the bottom of a deep bowl |
| Long ears (Cocker Spaniel, Cavalier, Basset) | Deeper, with a narrower opening | The ears fall outside the bowl instead of in the food |
| Fast eater | Slow feeder | An ordinary bowl, however nice, slows nothing down |
| Puppy that chews and drags | Stainless steel | Unbreakable until he grows out of it |
| Medium to large (Border Collie, Labrador, Golden Retriever) | Heavy, with a taller rim | Stays put during an eager meal and splashes less when drinking |
For small dogs up to roughly 10 kg, a 14 cm bowl with a 5 cm rim is enough; it holds about 800 ml. Medium and large dogs do better with 16.5 cm and a 7 cm rim, good for about 1000 ml. The taller rim on the larger size matters most for the water bowl: fewer puddles on the floor after every drink.
Whatever still goes over the edge, a placemat catches. The Splatter Bone Placemat is 60 × 44 cm, takes two 16.5 cm bowls side by side, and wipes clean with a damp cloth after meals. Your wooden floor stops collecting water rings.
If your dog empties his bowl in half a minute, no material will help. Get a slow feeder first and keep the nice bowl for water.
How long does a dog bowl last?
Replace a bowl on what you see, not on a date. A plastic bowl is finished as soon as you can feel the scratches with a fingernail; with daily use that is often within a year. A steel bowl lasts for years, until rust spots or deep dents appear. A stoneware bowl can last indefinitely, until it chips or the glaze cracks.
What counts in every case: wash the food bowl after each meal and the water bowl daily. A non-porous bowl comes fully clean with an ordinary wash. A porous one never does again.
Frequently asked questions
Is a glass dog bowl a good idea?
Toughened glass is non-porous and easy to keep clean, so on hygiene it is fine. The problem is breakage: glass shatters into sharp shards that are hard to spot on a floor. For a dog that occasionally knocks his bowl over, I would not choose it.
Can every ceramic bowl go in the dishwasher?
No. Stoneware with a food-safe glaze is fine in the dishwasher. Hand-painted earthenware with decoration on top of the glaze often is not, because the print slowly wears off. If the packaging does not say, ask.
Are wooden or copper bowls suitable?
Not for daily use. Wood is porous, absorbs moisture and food residue, and cannot go in the dishwasher. Copper reacts with moisture and acids in food and needs upkeep you do not want for a dog bowl.
Should the food and water bowl be the same material?
No, although it is practical. A heavy stoneware water bowl is a good move if your dog likes to tip the water bowl over, because water is what you end up mopping most often.
How can you tell whether a bowl is holding bacteria?
Run a finger round the inside once it is washed and dry. If it feels smooth, it is fine. If it feels slightly slimy or rough, or still smells of food, something is lodged in the surface that will not come out.
Choose a bowl you will not need to replace
See the Splatter stoneware bowl set, in 14 or 16.5 cm, from €29.95 for two bowls.
Want the bowls and placemat together? The starter sets combine a bowl set with a placemat, from €44.95. Prefer another design? See all stoneware dog bowls.