I don't know if my dog drinks enough water





How much water should a dog drink per day? My dog is 25 pounds and she barely drinks half a bowl. I didn't think much about it, but my parents' dog is the same weight and drinks about 4 bowls a day. Is there something wrong with my dog?

As long as her access to water is not restricted, I wouldn't worry about how much or little she is drinking. We have a Malamute mix that had the opposite behavior when we first got her (at ten weeks). She would drink and drink and drink, up to minutes at a time if we let her. We had to restrict her access, because obviously at ten weeks, she can't hold all that water - and she would just go right back to it. Eventually, she grew out of it. We think it may have been a hoarding-type behavior, since her remaining littermate was very pushy, and her new sibling was more easy-going.

Hi Zoey, I have a 16mo old Lab and he drinks about 3 bowls a day. Some days more, when he is outside more and it's hotter, but mostly I have to refill his bowl about 3X at least in one day... Is your dog very active or outside much?

Charlie Murphy & Princess' Proud Mommy, ~Anna

 

 

 

As a rule, a dog will drink when it needs to. The daily requirement of water will vary dog to dog depending on level of activity, age, size, diet and health. If the dog seems to be in good health otherwise, drinking in excess can be of concern. It can indicate an underlying health problem and should be addressed.

It would also be interesting to compare actual ounces for ounces of water intake between your dog and your parents dog.

Marcie Whidden
PetDoc.com

That's strange, my dog drinks about five big bowls a day and she always has to pee. But as soon as she runs out of water, she picks up the empy bowl and carries it around the apartment until I refill it. It's hard to keep up with all her peeing, Will she be dehydrated if I give her less water per day?

Five bowls a day does seem a little much for the average dog. Sometimes dogs can get a urinary tract infection which causes them to pee more which in turn causes them to drink more. There also could be some other medical issue going on.

Before offering less water, I would rule out any possibility of a UTI or something else with a trip to the Vet.

Marcie Whidden
PetDoc.com


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