Petmate 24301 Le Bistro Waterer with Microban, 5 Gallons, Bleached Linen

The Petmate 1 Gallon Waterier met my needs. I got tried of refilling my Westies water bowl couple times a day. The 1 gallon container allows me to have plenty of water for them without the worry of them knocking over their water bowl during the day and not having water until I come home from work. There's lots of squirrels that need be chased in the backyard and chasing squirrels requires the Westies' to refill with water. The Petmate 1 gallon waterier placed by my in & out doggie door , will provide water for two 18 lbs Westies for 3 - 4 days before refilling. Jim Deal Fort Wayne IN

I HAVE SEVERAL CATS AND I LOVE THIS WATERER, IT IS HEAVY ONCE IT'S FILLED BUT THAT'S TO BE EXPECTED.I WISH I WOULD'VE GOTTEN IT A LONG TIME AGO. MY CATS ARE INDOOR CATS.I DO FILL IT IN THE TUB BUT I KNEW BEFORE I BOUGHT IT, IT WOULD NOT FIT IN THE SINKS!!DUH!! I GUESS IT BOILS DOWN TO WHAT YOU ARE WILLING TO DO FOR YOUR ANIMALS, DON'T KNOW THAT I WOULD BUY THIS FOR A DOG CERTAINLY NOT MEDIUM OR LARGE DOG, SMALL DOG IT SHOULD BE JUST FINE!!GREAT!! THANKS AMAZON!!

This was a great purchase as I recently adopted a third dog who is too small to reach the toilets those days when the water bowl got empty :-O Anyway, this serves the purpose and gives peace of mind! I've had it about a month now and they all like it although it "gurgles" sometimes and startles them (when the new water comes down as they drink) but this definitely has entertainment value and doesn't stop them from using it. I took off 1 star because the base seems pretty cheap (a two part plastic snap together deal that has little tabs that look like they won't last that long), but the 5 gal. bottle is tough and sturdy and when it is all put together, it is pretty solid as a unit. My big dogs (Pitbull and Boxer) haven't messed with it at all (i.e., tipped it over, moved it or chewed on it). For 29.00 bucks, it was a good purchase.

I used this waterer for several months. I had always rinsed it out with fresh water before refilling it, and scrubbed the bottom part. Within 2 days, the bottom part would always start growing an orange slime on it, and I smelled the plastic water-holder part, and it smells like algae (although none is visible). I feel awful for using this product for my cat, and have switched to a regular bowl that I can thoroughly clean daily. I am only keeping the automatic water dish in the event I'm away a day or two. Other than that, DO NOT USE FOR DAILY WATER.

Fills easy. I have 2 medium cats and the water lasts so long I sometimes forget to fill it. It's never been knocked over. I can leave and never worry about water. The microban filter is a plus when you have water like ours.

This product is as advertised and was a fair price. It works properly, but is awkward to clean. The cleaning has to be done frequently since it drinking bowl catches a remarkable amount of food and dirt. It is a good product, but difficult to maintain.

I use this to water feed my small dog, he drinks out of it whenever he likes and I don't have to refill the water for him daily. when I use this, i only need to refill it weekly or every other week. The watch out is not to wait too long to refill, there could be bacteria growing in the water and may not be good for your dog.

While it functions great as a pet waterer, the Microban does not work very well. We have to clean it every time we fill it (used with dogs). It is only a few months old and will get green over several days. We contacted the company and got virtually no support--just a note that we may need to clean it occasionally. No kidding. That's what we told them. So good waterer, terrible customer support, and does not stay clean very well.

This works well, and holds a large amount of water compactly. But my dog refuses to drink out of it! I think she prefers fresh water, and the surface of the water starts to collect dust and particles quickly.

1 gallon, blue, approximately $15 at Petsmart

I picked this up at Petsmart about a month ago and it still works great. I can tell that before we got this, our kittens were dehydrated. They wouldn't drink from their water bowls if the water got too low. With this fountain, they always have access to water! I only fill it halfway so that I can clean it out every time I have to fill it.

Pros: No need to refill the water bowl 3x/day, knowing kittens are hydrated, avoiding spillage (they sometimes get carried away while playing and knock over dishes)

Cons: Hair and other bits tend to gather at the bottom of the fountain every few days. I've caught the kittens trying in vain to clean it out. (As long as you don't completely ignore it once you fill it up, you should be good) Put a dishtowel underneath it while your pet gets used to it. It took our kittens about a week to stop being messy with it.

The 5 gallon Le Bistro waterer is great. I can go for weeks without having to worry about the cats having enough water to drink. The only problem with it is that it gets too heavy for me when I try to fill it up.

Works great this is our second one the first one lasted about 5 years but then the bottle started to turn yellow and bowl got some algea we could not get rid of, so we replaced it. I don't think they had the Microban 5 years ago

I bought this to satisfy the thirst of two big dogs. It works fantastic. The bowl is big enough that the water doesn't slop everywhere. We fill the 5 gallon bottle at a commercial water dispenser with the other household bottles.

Bought this when my parents were visiting with their cats. It worked fine, the cats would use it but did not drink as much as they would at home where I got them one of those electric fountains that filter the water one year for Christmas.

Better for a small dog as you might get the water to go down faster. I would still change the water ever day since the cats love fresh water but I got this incase we decided to go somewhere while my parents were visiting me and would not have to worry about the cats having water if we decided not to return back to my place until the next day.

I would suggest getting one of these incase you had to leave your cats home for a day or two unattended; there will be plenty of water for them.

I have several large dogs. I don't understand the complaints of it being too light. Mine has never gottened tipped even by my hundred pounder. Since it always contains several gallons of water, it's pretty darned heavy. Inverting a 5 gallon bottle without spilling any can be tricky and physically demanding. Replacing the bottle provided with a handled one has helped greatly with that. An extra $15 at Walmart, but worth it for ease and convenience. I also have a hose on my kitchen sink that simplifies the filling process. I thought most kitchen faucets had those these days. Before that, I used to fill it in the bathtub, but that meant hauling the full bottle through the house, so the kitchen sprayer hose works best for me. I've been using mine for several years. If and when it breaks down, it will be quickly replaced. Going back to an open water bowl would be completely unacceptable.

This is a good basic watering dish that will provide fresh water to your pets in a fairly consistent manner.

Originally I'd gotten it for my wolfhound. The gallon of water was usually gone by the end of the day and the water dish itself would have a lot of doggy saliva in it. The dish wasn't working the way I'd envisioned for the wolfhound, so I put it in a feline accessible place only for my cats. They love it!

The unit, especially when less than half full, became a toy for the wolfhound. I've not had any problems with tipping or the water bottle becoming a toy with the cats!

This is also great for a short vacation. Generally I leave the cats at home and have someone come in every other day to refill water and food dishes. This device is great!

I have had this for about a month and have two 50 pound dogs that go through about 5 gallons a week. Seemed like a good fit for this bottle (note that the pic is of the 5 gallon dog food dispenser and not the waterer). Well, within a day or two of using it the dogs refused to drink from it. I pulled the bottle and poured a glass of water from it and it tasted awful. The plastic leaches chemicals into the water and the dogs wanted nothing to do with it. They drink out of some of the most rancid puddles and mud holes and they wouldn't touch this water. I can only use this dish without the bottle attached for them to use it. I would only suggest this for someone with enough dogs to empty it daily - otherwise the chemical taste of the water will get too strong.

I have two large dogs and their water bowls in their stand only have about a 2 qt capacity. One of my dogs drinks a lot of water and I have to fill her bowl about 3-4 times a day. This product has been very helpful for those times when I'm away, because if they have no water, I don't worry about them having access to water. It works beautifully. I don't have an unsightly pail that they might have trouble drinking out of and it keeps the water clean. I highly recommend this product.

The water definitely gets stagnant before my cat can drink it. What I like is the look of it, because I put it right next to our water machine and it looks really cute there!

...but well worth the money. If you must leave your felines at home for two to four days as you trek to parts unknown, this is wonderful insurance that they will be well hydrated and well taken care of! Simple but brilliant product!

I bought the LeBistro Portion Control Feeder and for the first 12 feeding times at breakfast and lunch it worked like a champ. Then it stopped delivering meals. Fortunately I was aware of it - I bought it for when we went away for weekends, but wanted to be sure the cat wouldn't starve while we were gone so set it up to feed. The Waterer I bought is fine. It's just a little water cooler. I wish it were a little more solid though.

Back to the Feeder - I had to reset the whole thing twice before it worked. I had the right times and portions but just didn't drop the food. I'm going to give it another week or so before I ask to have it replaced.

When it works it's great - good design for the cost. Pretty easy to set up.

But intermittent behavior defeats the purpose of being able to leave with confidence.

bought it for my chihuahua and place it outside on my covered porch. She would use it initially, but after a few weeks, she stopped using it. I tried changing water, washing the bowl and the water tank, but she still refused to use it. She rather risk falling into the pond to drink from the pond instead (my pond has water plants and kois, but it does have a filler with UV lights).
I noticed there are some greenish grime inside the water tank near the 'neck'. I tried to use a cotton swap to clean it, but was not able to get rid of all of them because of the 90 degree angle and the neck is narrow. So the "microban' part doesn't work

so I bought a new one. Again, my dog would use it for a few weeks and stop using it. this time, I don't see any grime in the water tank. I removed the tank, wash the bowl, and just pour fresh water in the bowl, and she still wouldn't use it. She would, however, drink from the stainless steel bowl intended for food (and I never wash it).
So I believe it is the plastic that cause bad taste to the water. It would be a great product if they can make it stainless steel.

First off, the review by Poog is right in saying that this water dish is not ideal for a young, playful cat. I have 3 cats. Two of them use the water dish fine, but the 3rd cat, he is young and very playful and this dish has been knocked over twice! So, for now I can't use it as we have hardwood floor in the kitchen.
Other complaint about this water system is there is no way to really clean inside the water canister. Can't fit anything in the tiny neck of the bottle to scrub and I can't fit this thing in the dishwasher without it tipping over.
Other than those 2 things, this is a nice water system that eliminates having to keep refilling a water bowl.

I've gone through two of the 5 gallon water dispensers. I kept them in my yard for my lab but not exposed to much if any direct sunlight, and we don't get cold enough to freeze the water but the plastic bottles still crack and split after about a year. This wasn't an isolated experience because I've gone through two of them and both have cracked and split after a year of use. The replacement bottles aren't cheap and not any better made than the original so I'm looking for a better product. I just wish they had thicker stronger bottles because then I'd buy another.

Seems to be well made with good quality material. Jug gurgles as water feeds to the drinking bowl. Husky jumps back and slowly sneaks up on it again. Lab assumes it's his stomach growling, as always.

I really enjoy not having to fill the dog's water bowl four times a day (2 Golden's and a Border Collie) but there are a few limitations with this product.

1) Filling it isn't easy if you don't have a deep basin (like a janitorial basin in a basement or the like)
2) Cleaning the inside of the water jug to get rid of the inevitable algae buildup takes some creativity and effort.
3) It isn't easy to keep the watering portion of the bowl clean since it doesn't need to be filled as often as a regular watering bowl.

This is my second one (first one finally cracked from overuse as a stool when I was too lazy to sit in a real chair to put on my boots). I thought in the time between my first purchase and this one (eight years) they would find a better solution for the five gallon bottle. Filling it is difficult. It does not fit in any sink I have in my cabin so I have to either fill it outside with a hose (Pacific Northwest damp, rain, cold = not fun) or in the shower. Filling it in the shower is a pain and can be messy putting it back in place ( I have one arm that I can't lift with.. comical but not fun).

I used those automatic waterers for years for my five animals. I always had a mess (water everywhere) and I had to fill it frequently. This one has a very large bowl. The animals (dogs and cats) don't splash the water outside the bowl and the water stays fresh for a couple days or more. I've been very pleased and will never use an electric one again.

I bought this despite the reviews stating that the glugging sound scares dogs. I have two big dogs, one a rottweiler mix and one a shepherd cross, and while they're both gentle sweethearts, neither is scared of *anything*.

Until this thing. When we first filled it they both immediately started happily drinking from it, which caused it to glug, and they both sprung back as if a cobra had struck at them! After a day or two the rottweiler was perfectly fine with it, but our shepherd cross still tiptoes up to it like Jack Bauer defusing a bomb. We had to get him used to it by leaving another inert bowl of water next to the jug for a couple of weeks until he got used to not being attacked by the glug-monster.

Still, after seeing how common this complaint is you'd think the manufacturer would de-glug this thing. It wouldn't take much of an engineering change and I'm thinking of trying to rig something up myself, but I shouldn't have to, you know?

I agree with others who remarked that the size can make the tank awkward to handle. I like to filter my pets' water, but bc of its size I am forced to use tap water from my tub. I do have some rescue dogs. I adopted my long haired chihuahua in the summer of 2007 and noticed he did not drink much even though it was quite warm. I lated learned that he was afraid of the gurgling noise! (This from a 5 pound chi who wants to take on dogs many times his size). He did eventually acclimate to the sound it makes. For customers who are purchasing ANY waterer like this for first time, I would suggest making an alternate water source available - such as a bowl - until you are certain your pets will drink from it. All in all, this is a great product that can be very beneficial as long as you monitor your pets' intake initially.

The photo is deceiving. This arrived without a lid, so you have to tip it over to fill, and try and fit it in the bottom without spilling the water all over. I think they are using a photo of the FEEDER, which does have a lid. This is a big difference.

The feeder is great, but I will probably return the waterer, it's too hard to fill.

Ok. I got this because I have two dogs and five cats. I had a one gallon waterer that seemed like it needed to be filled twice a day, so I needed a larger one. This is a great product but it has it pros and cons....
PROS: Looks great!, Has large bowl unlike many waterers, Doesn't make as much noise as other waterers, more than one animal can actualy drink out of it, other than it's weight, it's drawbacks are no worse than other wateters.
CONS: It would probably be hard to fill in a regular sink, I just put in the spray hose and taped the lever down and it filled in a snap. It is also very heavy when full and you need to be able to lift prob. 35-40 lbs and flip that over without spilling everything. You also loose alot of the water when you flip it over when it fills the bowl, so I filled the bowl half way (don't fill it all the way or it will overflow when you put the top on) before adding the canister. It is also hard to flip it over without spilling it, on my old waterer I just put the bottom on a flipped it quickly, but that would be a very hard manuver with this monster, so be prepared for a splash.
Though it has some drawbacks, it is no worse than other waterers and I am quite happy with it.
Oh, I'd also like to add that the pictured item (currently anyway) is a feeder, NOT the waterer. The waterer does not open on the top like the feeder shown.

the tank works great and stays cleaner than others I have had in the past but someone should have engineered some kind of handle into it. I have spilled a lot of water on the floor getting the tank back on top. Still I would recommend this dog water dish, and it can be a bit funny to watch the dogs get used to the bubbling of the water tank.

The Waterer was okay, a bit difficult to fill up and then flip over into the bin. Would be better if had an opening at the top to fill as it is already in position. However, the major problem I had, was the shipping of the item was the WORST!!! I had purhased this item, as I was going on vacation for a week and wanted my 2 cats to have plenty of water, and at the last minute I had to go out and buy another watering system, because there was a HUGE dent in it that would not come out. It was nearly crushed in half. I did contact the seller and I was offered to return it to them and I would receive a credit less the shipping cost, however, the cost of returning it through UPS (seller's choice) and the extra effort was not worth returning the item. I would have only got about 50% of the amount I paid back from the seller.

I have 4 cats and find that if I fill this more than halfway the water gets discolored before it's time to refill. My cats like to play in it getting scum and food in the water so it needs to be cleaned at least once a week. It's a great product, and I don't mind filling it halfway, however it would have probably made more sense to get the smaller one. I would also suggest that the food and water are kept a good distance from each other to help keep the water clean. It is not fun to clean it while it's still full. As for the 'gurgleing' it is not a major problem with cat's since they don't drink as much as dogs it rarely happens while they are standing there. When it does they either run off and come back later or they try to play with it.

I bought this for my 2 dogs & it works great & cleans up easily! The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of five is because of it's large size it makes it really hard to fill it up inside your home. It doesn't fit under my kitchen sink faucet. I don't have one of those tall neck faucets or a sprayer (wish I did))otherwise it would be a snap to fill. I have to use my bathtub to fill it up and my bathtub is upstairs. The container is really heavy once it's full. My only suggestion would be to purchase a smaller one (2 gallon or 1 gallon), waterer. It would be easier to handle. I also bought the 5 gallon feeder & I LOVE it! It holds a whole 5lb. bag of food which is great! So get the larger feeder & the smaller waterer. Oh and my dogs love the gurgling sound the water makes after they drink out of it! :)

This waterer is a great concept, but does have some drawbacks. For starters, one of my dogs is scared to death of it and wont come near it because when the water level in the bowl gets low it gurgles just like a water cooler at work. The first time it happened she was drinking out of it and it freaked her out and now wont go near it. The other dog is just fine with it, but then again he's deaf, so the gurgle doesn't bother him. lol. The other issue i had with this is just like all water bowls, it gets dirty. so you still have to clean it as often as you would any other water bowl, but it's a bit more cumbersome having to take the big jug off, clean the bowl and but the jug back on. So, if your dog isn't afraid of the noise it makes and you don't mind the extra hassle cleaning it, it's great. Otherwise, just get a large bowl; that's what i ended up having to do.