How To Encourage A Dog To Drink More Water? | June 2024 Best Ways

Water is indispensable for dogs and humans alike for the body to function properly.

As a pet dog parent, when your dog not drinking water, the few daily questions that would keep bothering are:

• How to encourage dog to drink water?
• How to get dog to drink more water?
• Why my puppy not drinking water?
• Is it ok if my dog wont drink water?
• How much water should a dog drink daily?
• Why today my dog not drinking water?
• How much water is good for a dog?
• How many times should I give my dog water?
• How to avoid dehydration in dogs?

Staying hydrated is important for overall good health as it aids in maintaining body temperature, removal of waste from the body, and lubrication of joints.

It is hence imperative for dog owners to ensure freshwater availability around the clock for their dogs to attain optimal hydration.

How To Encourage Dog To Drink Water? | Best Ways

Water is essential for the proper functioning of all cellular, organs, and tissues of the body.

In scenarios where a dog not drinking water or a puppy not drinking water, a lesser intake of water can lead to dehydration in dogs, kidney stones, organ failure, and even death, in acute cases.

A dog should, as a general rule of thumb, drink approximately 1 ounce of water, i.e. 1/8th of a cup, per pound of body weight each day.

As a dog parent trying to learn how to encourage dog to drink water, one must also be familiar with How to Check for Dehydration in Dogs?

Similarly, drinking too much water can result in stomach bloat, electrolyte imbalances, or Hyponatremia in dogs (water toxicity).

It is never necessary to measure the precise quantity of water your dog drinks on a daily basis, until unless directed by your Veterinarian,

As a dog parent, you should make sure that your dog has plenty of clean and fresh water for his everyday intake.

There are several factors that can affect how much water should a dog have and this amount may vary from dog to dog.

There are many factors to consider when monitoring your dog’s water intake such as their size & weight, food & diet, age & growth, and exercise & activity level, weather conditions, medications, and disease conditions.

A dog weighing 10 Kg should have roughly 650 ml of water per day; and a dog weighing 35 Kg should have roughly 2.25 L of water per day.

We enlist the general guidelines, which may be of good help when your dog not drinking water or your puppy not drinking water and one is trying to find how to get dog to drink more water:

• Size & Weight – If your dog is a large breed dog, he would generally require more amount of water as compared to a dog of a small breed.
• Food & Diet – If your dog is eating moisture-rich wet food or homemade food, his water intake will be less than the average daily intake.
• Age & Growth – If you have a very young puppy, his hydration need would be fulfilled from his mother’s milk. A growing puppy drinks more water than its adult counterpart.
• Exercise & Activity Level – If your dog is very active and exercising outdoors, it is always a good idea to bring water along with you so that you can give him frequent short water breaks to keep him hydrated. It should be noted that a lactating dog, a dog on heat, or an active dog mostly drinks more water than other adults.
• Weather Conditions – During summer and warmer months of the year, to reduce the body temperature, you may see your dog panting. Panting helps keep a dog cool by releasing water through respiration, which results in the loss of water through the tongue. To compensate for the loss of water and to avoid dehydration in dogs, your dog may also need to increase their overall water intake more than usual.
• Medications – Certain anti-inflammatory drugs, heart failure drugs, and seizure medications can lead to excessive urination and a compensatory increase in thirst in a dog. If your dog is on medication, it would be advisable to discuss with your vet whether you need to increase or decrease your dog’s water intake.
• Disease – Some diseases such as kidney disease or diabetes can cause an increased thirst in dogs. If your dog is not well from any underlying disease or has mobility or a pain issue, he might not drink the required amount of water. If you’re worried that your dog is either drinking too much or not drinking enough, don’t wait, give your vet a call to establish the exact reason.

A brief of detailed information on the various factors affecting water intake in dogs is elaborated in General Guidelines for Water Consumption.

There are a few ways of best practices to tackle how to get dog to drink more water. A detailed write-up on How to Ensure Proper Hydration in Dogs that you can start implementing at home:

Feed Wet Food

In case of a dog not drinking water or a puppy not drinking water, add fresh water directly to the dog’s food, kibble, cooked, or raw food.

You can also supplement your dog’s meal with canned wet foods to meet the water requirement of the body.

And if you are feeding only Dry Dog Food, try to switch to canned and then to a balanced raw diet to greatly increase the amount of water your dog is getting from each meal. 

You can find a wide variety of Wet Food for Dogs here.

Change the Bowls | Buy More Bowls

In some cases, changing containers of different shapes (bowls, plates, saucers) or of different materials (stainless steel, glass, ceramic) or of different sizes, different colours, or placed at different locations, can work wonders in meeting the water intake requirement.

Pets Empire Stainless Steel Dog Bowl, Meat Up Stainless Steel Dog Feeding Bowl, and Trixie Ceramic Bowl provide a healthy alternative to plastic bowls and is safe for your four-paw companion, can be used alternatively for a change. 

You can find here a wide selection of Dog Bowls for your furry friend.

Strategic Placement of Fresh Water Bowls

You can switch to keeping the water bowl for your dog near his bed or near his food bowl.

A simple change in the position of the water bowl may sometimes work positively.

At times, several bowls of fresh water can be placed at different parts of the house based on proximity to their sitting, playing, or resting places.

Behavioral Modification 

Whenever your dog goes to get a drink, reward your dog with a treat, and give verbal praise and a gentle pat after they take water.

When the puppy not drinking water, give your puppy an incentive. A bit of motivation to drink water by way of simple praises like ‘good boy’ or ‘good girl’, and a gentle pat on the head will work magical.

Add Some Flavour to the Water | Make the Water Taste Better

Please add some yummy flavorings like chicken broth, bone broth, blended boiled egg, liver gravy, or boiled vegetables to your dog’s water bowl to make it more enticing.

You may also up the flavor by adding a sprinkle of food toppers such as Pedigree’s Grilled Liver Chunks Flavour in Gravy with Vegetables or Pedigree’s Chicken & Liver Chunks in Gravy to your dog’s water bowl.

You may also use Drools Absolute Salmon Oil Syrup to tempt your dog to drink more water. This oil is packed with Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids which also help in nourishing a canine’s skin and developing the furry coat.

There is another option of using Zesty Paws Probiotic Bone Broth Food Topper for Dogs that can be added in a separate bowl with ample freshwater to provide a tasty flavour to dogs. This broth besides aiding in promoting daily digestive health, also contains a mixture of pumpkin and ginger, to provide additional support for dogs with upset stomachs, diarrhea, and irregularity.

All these changes in flavour can be done as and when required to entice your fur baby to have water from the water bowl and to improve or balance the water intake.

Care should be taken to consult the Veterinarian or Healthcare Specialist for the said exercise.

Clean Bowls

You should take care to wash the bowls often and make sure the water is fresh and clean every day. A dog owner must ensure freshwater availability around the clock for their dogs to attain optimal hydration.

Please take extra care to wash the bowls frequently and replenish them with fresh water every time.

Buy and Use a Fun Dog Water Fountain

As a further temptation for your dog to have more water, if possible, do consider getting your dog to drink from a water fountain.

The running water from the dog water fountain may create an enticing factor for your dog. Also, the dog water fountains constantly circulate and filter the water to make it cleaner and provide a fresh taste.

PetSafe Drinkwell Platinum Fountain is a favorite dog water fountain. Its free-falling stream of water encourages dogs to drink more water.

When faced with the puzzle of my dog wont drink water try to make it a game or a playful activity with lots of verbal praises and treats.

Serve Normal, Clean, and Fresh Water

Always serve normal, clean, and fresh water at room temperature, instead of cold.

Feed Ice Cubes

If the dog not drinking water, try to offer your dog some ice cubes as they can be great fun. Some dogs love to chew on ice cubes and this is another way to increase water intake.

Make him Feel Thirsty

At times if the dog not drinking water, indulge in short frequent fetch or run activities to make your dog have some exercise and feel thirsty. This will keep him motivated to have more water.

Consult Veterinarian or Healthcare Specialist

It is of paramount importance to note that if all the efforts are still not motivating the dogs to have more water, care should be taken to consult a Veterinarian or Healthcare Specialist, without any delay.

A dog owner’s motivational exercise should never extend too long and timely advice should be taken.

Conclusion – How To Encourage A Dog To Drink More Water?

Water is an indispensable part of a dog’s body and critical to good health and well-being. Water is essential for the proper functioning of all cellular, organs, and tissues of the body.

The most general rule of thumb is:

A dog should have one ounce (29.57ml) of water per pound (453.59 gm) of body weight per day.

There are many factors to consider when monitoring your dog’s water intake such as their size & weight, food & diet, age & growth, and exercise & activity level, weather conditions, medications, and disease conditions.

So, keeping an eye on your dog’s water consumption and monitoring water intake is very important and should be a part of your routine daily care as lesser intake can result in dehydration, and drinking too much water can result in water toxicity (Hyponatremia in dogs).

“Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody.”~ Mark Twain

In case of a dog not drinking water or a puppy not drinking water, you may Feed Wet Food, Change the Bowls, Change the placement of Fresh Water Bowls, and Give Verbal Prais, and a Gentle Pat on the head.

You can also try some Behavioural Modification by offering Frozen Treats, Add Some Flavour to the Water, Clean Bowls, Buy More Bowls, Offer from Your Hand, or Put Your Hand into Water while your Dog is Drinking.

It is also recommended to Buy and Use a Fun Dog Water Fountain, Make the Water Taste Better, Serve Normal Water, Feed him Ice Cubes, Make him Feel Thirsty, and if required please Consult your Local Veterinarian or Healthcare Specialist.

Monitoring the water intake of your dog is very important and should become a part of your routine daily care.

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How to Encourage Dog to Drink Water? | June 2024 | A Quick Snapshot

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