Product Review: Good Life Pet Water Bottle

The Good Life Pet Water Bottle is a unique portable watering solution for dogs. No bowl required, dogs can drink straight from this bottle thanks to the stainless steel roller ball at the end. Yup, it's basically a rabbit bottle, but for dogs. I love it. The entire top of the Pet Water Bottle also twists off for easy cleaning. BPA-free stainless steel is non-toxic and super durable, both the 16oz and the 24oz sizes fit in most car cupholders, backpack pockets, and other places normal people like to stash water bottles.

Photo by Erin Koski

My problem with every portable dog waterer is that they universally require the water to be poured into a bowl of some sort. I have to guess how thirsty my dogs are, and if I pour enough for them to drink their fill I'm left with the slobbery dregs in the bowl when they're done. Then I'm left with the option of A)pouring it out, and B)dumping it back in the bottle. Sometimes there's not a terribly convenient place to dump it, and other times it feels like a terrible waste.

I admit that I bought this water bottle almost entirely for its novelty. It's like a rabbit bottle, but for dogs. Big roller ball and everything. It even sounds the same when they drink out of it. Reminds me of a dog that came to daycare with an actual rabbit bottle and refused to drink out of anything else.

Novelty aside, the Pet Water Bottle seems to actually solve my problem rather handily by eliminating the need to pour water into a bowl. Brisbane figured out how to drink from the bottle right away, and really seems to like it. Ru wasn't interested, but he's pretty tough to get liquid into in general so it's a tossup between "can't figure out how it works" and "determined to stay dehydrated today".

Pros: No bowl required, dogs can drink straight from the bottle. Less wasteful than squirting water out of a bottle, and easier for the dog too. Leak-proof cap at the top keeps everything sealed perfectly even when I keep forgetting about it and flinging it out of my car. Lower cap opens up the entire bottle for easy cleaning. Very easy to clean and also sanitary, unlike plastic bottles that can harbor bacteria in tiny scratches. Convenient clip for securing it to things. Fits in all the places designed to hold water bottles, like the holsters on my backpack and training bag.

Cons: It leaks. When you tip it over so the dog can drink, it dribbles quite a bit. The website specifically recommends using it outdoors exclusively. It's also quite heavy. I have the larger size and would think twice before taking it hiking. Also, the opaque sides and lack of bowl plus the dribbling makes it kind of difficult to figure out how much water is getting into my dog. Does he stop drinking because his thirst has been quenched, or because he got tired of licking this thing?

Bottom Line: So far the biggest adventure for the Good Life Pet Water Bottle involved being filled with water and then forgotten in my car for a couple of weeks. It ended up rolling around in the rear cargo area on a winding road, getting flung across the parking lot at the beach when I pulled out my seat cover, and being dropped several times on pavement. When I finally remembered to bring it back into the house, I found it was none the worse for the wear. It didn't even smell funny.