Dog Feeder DIY + Giveaway
If you take your dog parenting as seriously as we do, you’re going to love this post! We’re always trying to find ways to make our pups happy, while keeping our homes looking tidy and visually pleasing. There’s always a fine line between your home looking like your dog runs the show, or intentionally creating well thought out spaces for your pets.
We’re always happier when our dog’s toys, food, and bed are in their designated spots. You might remember this post... a little corner just for Finn. Well, we’ve decided to take it a step further- in a more practical direction.
We’ve teamed up with Solid Gold, America’s first holistic pet food with more than 40 years of experience developing transformative nutrition for pets, to bring you two DIY projects that make feeding your dog easier, and certainly looks better than most alternatives. The best part? Both of these options require zero nails or screws… it’s all done with wood glue.
D I Y # 1: Recessed dog dishes built into cabinetry.
Our dogs are both large breeds, so they’re taller. We’ve seen a lot of these types of feeders built into the kick plate under cabinetry, but that’s too low for our big pets. We opted for a deep drawer that was tall enough for Finn to comfortably eat his favorite food. Please ignore his choppy beard in these photos- someone pretended to be a groomer last month and it’s slowly growing back, ha! Poor guy.
Ok, let’s get started on option one. Here’s how to build it:
1. MEASURE: note the depth, length and width of the drawer you’d like to fit. You’ll need a 1″ thick board (we used poplar). Mark four legs that are measured using the depth of the drawer, minus the thickness of the board you plan to use for the top.
2. CUT: begin by cutting four legs and four cross braces, followed by the top piece. Cross braces are used to square the legs and should be cut to fit inside the legs (see image in step 3). Cut the top piece using the length and width measurements of the drawer (tip: cut 1/32″ larger than planned, then sand it down as needed, so it fits nice and snug).
3. ASSEMBLY / GLUE: Glue the legs to the cross braces, which forms a rectangular frame. Use a square and clamps to ensure true corners without shifting during the drying process. Once the legs and frame are set, glue the frame to the top piece.
4. INSERT BOWLS / PAINT: Measure the placement of your bowls, draw a template (these bowls have a lip- so take into account the holes will actually be smaller than the dishes), use a jig saw to cut two continuous circles (tip: cut 1/32″ smaller than template, then sand it smooth). Paint the top (ours was pre-painted) and insert dog dishes.
Your frame should fit snuggly in your drawer, flush with the top- so it’s easy to open and close. I love that it’s not a permanent cabinet alteration, but looks and feels custom.
Odds are if you’re interested in your pet’s your well-being and you’re going out of your way to build a new eating area for them, you also find their nutrition pretty important. We take our dog’s diet very seriously because we want them to live a long, healthy, and happy life.
They’ve been eating grain and gluten-free since they were puppies. We would never feed them any animal by-products, corn, wheat, soy, sugar, artificial preservatives or flavors. So we were both very happy to find Solid Gold, made right here in the USA and packed with high-quality proteins and a blend of 20 nutritious superfoods. Finn and Piper both eat this food, a grain & gluten free option crafted with cold water salmon and hearty vegetables. What do you guys feed your dogs? We’d be interested in your feedback! Ok, onto the next DIY…
D I Y # 2: Free standing, marble top dog feeder.
This might be our favorite DIY to date. This pet feeder is anything but an eyesore and we actually don’t might leaving it out and exposed. Who doesn’t love marble?! Plus, the interior can be altered and used as food storage… in the case you don’t have one of these nifty cabinets close by.
1. PLAN: Determine the appropriate size for your dog and source a slab of marble. You will be able to cut the circular shapes into the stone, but finishing a marble edge is much trickier. We found a slab that already had a finished edge… or you could take the easy route and hire a fabricator to take care of all cuts and finishing (if you do this disregard step 5).
2. CUT: After determining the desired overhang around the marble, it’s time to begin cutting and building the frame accordingly. We used 1″ x 4″ pine boards for the frame. Much like the first DIY, you’ll need legs and cross braces. Cut 4 legs of equal length, followed by 8 braces- 4 horizontal for the length, 4 horizontal for the width.
3. GLUE: Glue the frame together using a square and clamps (just like DIY #1). Once the frame is completely dry, it’s time to close it in. Our frame is wrapped in aspen panels. These pieces came from Lowes and were already sized as needed; we only had to make one cut. Glue the aspen panels to the frame, two sides at a time… allowing it to completely dry in between (tip: keep all pieces flush with the top, so marble will sit level).
4. BASE FINISHING: use 1/4″ x 3″ poplar planks to trim out the base. Miter the edges, if desired. Apply horizontal trim around the top and bottom of the base using wood glue. Next do the same with the vertical trim pieces. Your base is reading for sanding, priming and painting!
5. CUT / AFFIX MARBLE: Position and draw your circle templates onto the marble. Using a Dremel SAWMAX with a diamond grit blade, begin to cut circles. Be sure to stay 1/2″ inside the template when cutting. Once the bowls are close to fitting and the circles have been rough cut, switch to an abrasive 60 grit sanding/grinding wheel and sand circles to a finished look. Once the bowls fit, adhere the marble slab to the base with an epoxy appropriate for tile and stone.
This is the perfect height for both of our breeds, Bernese Mountain Dog and Giant Schnauzer…. it ended up being about 15.5″ tall. Did you know that elevated dishes aid in a dog’s digestive health? Finn and Piper are definitely happy eating from their new feeders, and we’re happy they look nice in our homes!
We’re giving away a customized package formulated by a Solid Gold Pet Nutritionist based on your pet’s profile.
It will include:
One month’s supply of holistic pet food (of your choice or nutritionist’s recommendation)
Expandable pet travel bowl
Tote bag
Enter to Win (CLOSED):
1. Like Solid Gold on Facebook
2. Like Sold Gold on Instagram
3. Comment below with your pet’s name and their most mischievous moment!
One Room for Tuesday reader will be selected at random and will win the bundle of products mentioned above. Giveaway closes in two weeks. Good luck!
UPDATE: This giveaway is now closed. Thank you for entering and congratulations to Melissa for winning the bundle!
High fives to all the boss dog moms and dads out there! Let us know if you try either DIY or if you have any questions. If you’re not into DIYs or have a small dog… these bowls are very cute. Regardless, we’d love to hear how you keep your pets happy and healthy!
*This post is brought to you in collaboration with:
All content, ideas, and words are our own. Thanks for supporting the sponsors that allow us to create unique content while featuring products we truly use and enjoy. Special thanks to Kalyn Gibson for fabricating & creating these DIY projects on behalf of Room for Tuesday.