Spoiled dog


EddieHagler

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I just finished a dog food stand for my dog.

As I was sitting in our kitchen (under renovation) and watching our 5 month old dane drink water from it; it occoured to me we must have the most spoiled dog around.

How many other Great Dane puppies drink and eat from a stand made specificaly for them by their owner.

Now this is not the first dog food stand I have made. It is actualy the fourth. The previous ones were not very good and this one is certainly not going to win any competitions or commisions.

The one she was using was a crudely assembled one from scrap wood and I had to change the legs to accomodate her growth. (it started out only a few inches high, then I changed it to one about 1 foot high. This one is 19 inches high and should suffice into her adulthood.

The feeling was good that I was able to make someting for a family member that they could use for years.

I don't have a a lot of woodworking tools and the few I do have are cheap or old. The wood itself was just plain old domestic Pine.

It was not very well assembled. But It was a good feeling to make something useful for my family. :D

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My dog is sort of my shop mascot. She's a 13 year old border collie and she's spent more time in my shop than anyone other than me. I occassionally kick her out when ever I'm doing a particularly loud operation, because I worry about her ears. (She doesn't like plugs and I can't keep the muffs on her.) But I always let her back in and she provides my moral support. Sometimes I let her naw on or play with a small cut off. You'd be surprised how many ideas I bounce off her. She's great to have around for a quick sniff of my project or a little calming pat on her head when I realize I'm going to have to redo an operation for what-ever reason.

There's no shame in building a project for a dog. They support us, it's only natural to build something to support her bowl.

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I have been told by others in the past that raising the dog bowls off the floor for bigger dogs actually helps them digest food better.

Yea, its better for big dogs, and it's cleaner if you dogs have big ears(no water bridles from ears that got in the water bowel).

I made this set out of black walnut for a pair of dogs that I no longer have.

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Actually, I made one with spruce cabriole legs, and a teak top for my Saint Bernard. It wasn't perfect, and there are things I'd do differently now, but I worked. It was his second one. The first I made with a maple top, before I learned how easily maple rotted. I had some teak left over from a boat project, so I went with that. Sadly, he is no longer with us, but I am sure it helped him reach his eleven years. I do know that he much preferred eating from his table. When/if I get another dog, I'm sure I'll use it again.

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It's funny you mentioned that you made some food stands for dogs that are no longer with us. I started making dog food stands after the death (two weeks apart) of 2 Great Danes that we dearly loved and were also spoiled.

We had 3 dogs until last September. We had been feeding one of them on the big dog food container we keep dog food in. The second one ate off of some boards I had screwed together and place on top of a couple of cinder blocks. The Third (our surviving one) ate off a shelf (3 pieces of plywood in a U shape) that my dad had made for his computer desk but was no longer needed for that.

The big brindle male (Clide) 8 1/2 years old (old for a dane) died of heart failure in mid September. The black female (Shadow) somehow damged a disk 2 weeks later and would never walk again. Our vet (heartbroken for us) was willing to do whatever we asked but suggested that we put her down. Shadow was about 8 years old herself.

We were devastated. These were 2 members of our family. In my grief I decided to make a food stand for the remaining dog (a dane mix and 9 1/2 years old) My mother-in-law requsted one as well for her 2 danes (she puts food in each dish) They had been eating off of Cinder blocks as well.

I made the first 2 (one of wich you can see to the right of the one I made.)

When my wife found us a puppy to adopt I decided I was going to make a better one. In the mean time I made one out of scrap to use until she got bigger. I made it so I could remove the legs and replace them with taller legs as she grew.

I need to learn joinery and since Dan S made me feel bad about my design I will have to build another one and try to employ more advanced techniques in attaching one piece of wood to another.

Also Can anyone tell me how to avoid runs in the stain I am using. I bought some Cabot water-based PolyStain. The can says to brush it on but I keep getting these runs every time I apply a coat of stain.

What am I doing wrong there?

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This is Clide and Shadow

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This is Aspen and Glacier (the puppy) right after we got her.

Glacierfeb12011small.jpg

Glacier now.

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Yea, its better for big dogs, and it's cleaner if you dogs have big ears(no water bridles from ears that got in the water bowel).

I made this set out of black walnut for a pair of dogs that I no longer have.

gallery_818_183_16092.jpg

gallery_818_183_69966.jpg

Those are sweet, Dan!! Any dog would be proud to own those!

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