I love having raised feeders for my dogs at home. The height makes it easier (and safer) for them to eat and drink, plus they add a stylish decor element to my kitchen. I was thinking that a raised dog bowl holder would be a cool DIY project! As I browsed Pinterest all the tutorials I found involved wood, a power drill, jigsaw, and other tools that I don’t have.
I’m low on tools but big on creativity! So I came up with an alternative using quick setting concrete and some plastic planters. There are a lot of tutorials for making concrete planters and bowls online, but I couldn’t find anything that showed you how to make a concrete dog bowl holder, so I made up some of the process on my own. Now you can watch what I did and make this project for yourself.
How to Make a Concrete Dog Bowl Holder
This post includes a supplies list, step by step instructions plus a detailed video showing exactly how I did this DIY. You’re gonna want to watch the video to see Lucy’s cute face! Overall, it was surprisingly easy and something you can accomplish in a weekend. When I first finished making these dog bowl holders I used them in my kitchen, but now they live outside as our backyard water bowls.
Ready to make this project and make it easier for your dog to eat and drink from a sturdy raised feeder? Let’s do it!
Concrete Dog Bowl Holder Materials
• Plastic Planters or Bowls (this one would work)
• Food and Water Bowls (these would be perfect)
• Quick Drying Concrete
• Water
• Rocks or Weights
• Sandpaper
• Metallic Spray Paint (optional but worth it! I like Rusto-Oleum)
I found the concrete, spray paint and other materials at my local Home Depot, but you can also shop the Amazon products I linked to. If you watch the video, then you’ll see why I needed to make a mid-project shopping trip!
Weekend Project: Concrete Dog Bowl Holders
Check out some photos of the whole process below. My trusty assistant, Lucy, was on hand through the whole thing. I think she had a feeling this project was for her!
On Day 1 of the project, I created the molds using plastic planters (I found them on clearance at the end of the season) and Lucy’s stainless steel food and water bowls. Keep in mind, these will have to dry overnight.
I used rocks that I had on hand from a gardening project to hold the metal bowls down in the wet concrete. Without something to weigh them down they would float up and you would end up with a very useless blob! These rocks worked perfectly, plus I thought the white rocks, grey concrete and minty planter look so pretty together. Even when I’m working with concrete I have to make everything look pretty!
When I woke up on Day 2, the concrete was ready to come out of the planters. It took a little work to get them loose, which is why you don’t see that part on the video, but I managed to get them out without any cracks in the concrete. This is why I recommend you use flimsy/bend plastic planters. Honestly, the cheaper the better! That way you can loosen the mold by bending the sides and pop out the concrete.
Once I popped the concrete out of the molds they still needed a little time out in the air to dry completely. You can see the dark part at the very bottom is still a little wet.
The outside of the concrete is very smooth, but the top was a little rough. So, while I waited for everything at the bottom to dry I sanded the tops with some fine grit sandpaper to even it out a little bit.
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Finishing Touch: Metallic Spray Paint
Lastly, I couldn’t resist using a little spray paint! I taped off the bottom third of each concrete bowl holder and applied metallic chrome spray paint. I have chrome drawer pulls in my kitchen so I thought this would be a nice way to tie it all together. It also looks really good with the stainless steel bowls.
Update: After having these bowls outside for almost 3 years, everything about them has held up really well! The spray paint looks just as good as it did on Day 1!
Concrete Dog Bowl Holders are Beautiful And Functional
Lucy and I both love how these turned out! If your dog is an enthusiastic eater and pushes the bowl all over the kitchen, this would be a great bowl holder for you since each one weighs about 10 pounds!
I love the urban industrial look of them, very on trend and versatile enough to go with many different decor styles.
One final step I didn’t mention in the video is the sealant I applied before using these in the house. Since Lucy gets water and drool everywhere, I used a granite counter sealer spray all over the concrete. I know there’s special concrete sealant, but I already had the granite stuff on hand and it seemed to work perfectly! If you want to use a sealer just for concrete, I’d recommend this one. I’m always happy with stuff from Rust-Oleum!
For the final photos and video shots, I put Lucy in a cute bandana. I have another DIY tutorial for our reversible dog bandanas if you want to another fun dog mom craft project!
ABOUT THE BLOGGER
Tori Mistick is an influencer, educator, podcaster and founder of the award-winning dog mom lifestyle brand Wear Wag Repeat. Her mission is to help women live their best life with dogs – as pet parents and petpreneurs! Her dog mom advice has been featured in BuzzFeed, Good Morning America and The Wall Street Journal. Tori is currently mom to two chocolate labs, Lucy and Burt (who she adopted as a special needs senior dog). They love to discover dog friendly things to do in Pittsburgh and the surrounding area.
Love this post? You should check out these other DIYs:
DIY Sidewalk Crack Mosaic
DIY Flower Crown for Dogs
The Cutest DIY Reversible Bandana
Treat Recipe and DIY Doggy Treat Bag
Take the BEST Photo of Your Dog
Great photos last a lifetime and remind you of every sweet moment with your pup! My free e-book teaches you how to take professional style photos using just your phone.
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I absolutely love this project and can’t wait to try to make one. We have a Doberman puppy and he would always tip his bowls over as soon as he emptied them. He would then proceed to bark at them like crazy until we took them away. Now, at 3 months old, he just takes the empty bowls and hides them in the furthest corners of the yard when finished. This should solve a couple of problems. Thank you for sharing.
Oh no! You have a very cheeky pup! These should do the trick for sure! Share a photo when you make them!
Hi there,
This is a fantastic idea. We have been searching for concrete dog bowls but no one seems to do them near me & just have basic ones. Can I ask did you spray the planters (moulds) with anything on the inside before putting the concrete in.
Thanks so much
Hi Amanda – these are great bowl holders! Nope. I didn’t put anything in the planters before pouring in the concrete. When I smooshed in the bowl I did coat that in oil so it wouldn’t stick. Good luck!
wondering if concrete its a safe material ?
Decor minimalist for any house