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How much water should a dog drink daily.

I just finished Tom Brady’s book The TB 12 Method. It’s a very detailed and refreshing book on maintaining maximum health even as we grow older. As a 42-year-old professional NFL quarterback, who seems to getter better each year, not worse, even in this body pounding sport he is one to listen to on how to live and eat healthily.

 One part of his eating and wellness routine is hydration…how much water to drink for optimum health daily. I am one who drinks little water daily. I never seem to think about it or be thirsty. But watching my wife and older kids who go the gym or do Yoga regularly I watch them drink water regularly and really enjoy it daily.

 Brady’s hydrating mantra is to drink half his body weight in ounces of water daily. So, at his weight of two hundred-twenty pounds, he drinks 110 ounces of water daily. my first reaction was…that’s a lot of water!

I not only realized I was way under hydrating but wondering how our dogs were doing as well. So, I started researching this by talking with vets and reading articles on hydration for humans and animals. This article covers what I learned.

1. Many Dogs Don’t Drink Enough Water

 You might be surprised to learn that while some dogs naturally and instinctively know to drink the correct amount of water, many dogs today don’t drink enough water, And, some drink too much. So, it’s possible your own canine companion is either under- or over-hydrated.

Keeping an eye on your pet’s water consumption is important because too little can result in dehydration, urinary tract issues like kidney stones, and organ failure. And drinking too much water can be toxic.

Also, the amount of water your dog drinks can be an indicator of an underlying illness. Dogs with pancreatitis, parvovirus, or leptospirosis tend not to drink much water, but a brewing bladder infection, other types of infection, or a metabolic problem such as Cushing’s disease, and diabetes can cause excessive thirst and water consumption. So, if your pet is drinking less or more water than normal, you should have her checked by your veterinarian to rule out an underlying condition.

2. Water Consumption Guidelines for Dogs

How much water your dog needs each day depends on his size, diet, age, activity level, and weather conditions.

A good general guideline is that a healthy dog should drink between ½ and 1.0 ounce of water per pound of body weight each day. So, a healthy 65-pound Labrador Retriever should be drinking between about 33 and 65 ounces, or about ¼ to ½ gallon of fresh water daily.

If your dog is eating a moisture-rich, species-appropriate diet, she’s getting some of her water needs met with each meal, so she may not drink as much from her water bowl. But if she’s eating primarily dry dog [Kibble} she will need more than the average daily intake to compensate for the lack of moisture in the dry kibble.

If, however, you feed your dog canned dog food he is getting a fair amount of water as can food has a high moisture content, which is a good thing.

3. Special Needs

Puppies need to drink small amounts of water every couple of hours and should be closely monitored and encouraged to drink.

After a period of hard play or exercise, use caution when your dog rehydrates. If he immediately laps up the contents of his water bowl, rest him for a bit before you refill his bowl.

If your dog is outdoors often and very active, it’s good to have water outside in a clean bowl, or with you when he exercises or runs with you so that you can give him frequent short water breaks to keep him hydrated.

During the warmer months of the year, especially during summer, it’s important to monitor your dog’s water intake to ensure she’s adequately hydrated.

4. Over-hydration

The medical term for the desire to drink too much water is called psychogenic polydipsia. Symptoms of over-hydration (water intoxication) include staggering/loss of coordination, lethargy, nausea, bloating, vomiting, dilated pupils, glazed eyes, light gum color, and excessive salivation. In severe cases, there can also be difficulty breathing, collapse, loss of consciousness, seizures, coma, and death.

If your dog tends to overindulge in the wet stuff, make sure you’re there to supervise his activity. The bodily condition that occurs when dogs over-consume water is called hyponatremia (or inadequate levels of sodium in the bloodstream). It is most commonly seen in dogs who like to stay in the lake, pond or pool all day; pets that lap or bite at the water continuously while playing in it; and dogs that swallow water unintentionally as they dive for a ball or other toy.

Be aware of the symptoms of water overhydration and monitor your dog’s appearance and behavior when he’s playing in the water. And if your dog enjoys being sprayed with water from the hose or sprinkler, you should monitor that activity as well. Water from a hose or sprinkler is under pressure, and you’d be surprised how much your dog can swallow in just a short time of play.

5. How to Tell if Your Dog is Under – Hydrated

To determine if your dog may need more water, lift some skin at the back of her neck and let it go. If your dog is well hydrated, the skin will fall quickly back into place. The skin of a dehydrated dog will fall more slowly and form sort of a tent. Another method is to check your dog’s gums. Moist, slick gums indicate a good level of hydration; dry or sticky gums mean your pet’s body needs more water.

If your dog doesn’t drink enough water, make sure to praise her and give her a treat whenever she drinks from her water bowl, and place fresh water close to all the places she frequents, like her bed and food bowl.

Add dog-friendly tasty flavorings like chicken or bone broth to your dog’s water to make it more tempting and consider getting a pet drinking water fountain as a further enticement.

And most importantly for enough hydration for your dog, especially if you’re feeding dry dog food, switch to canned dog food to increase the amount of water your pet is getting from each meal.

If you have your dog on the Fresh Meals 4 Pets program, that is ¼ fruits, ¼ vegetables and 1/2 dry kibble, or wet food they will naturally get water from the fresh fruits and vegetables, which is a great way for getting properly hydrated. However, even on the Fresh Meals 4 Pets program you may still need to drink at least the minimum recommended water hydration requirement of 1.0 ounce of water for each pound of body weight each day.  diet.

6. Summary – Be Observant

Just as you and me the water needs of our bodies differ, daily, weekly and by season so always be observant of your dog and you will be able to tell if they are getting enough or too much water each week. Remember this, hydration is critically important to your dog’s health Humans and animals are mainly water and we cannot go long without replenishing our bods critical need for good ole H2o.

These 6 Tips to Ensure Your Dog Drinks Enough Water Daily. How much water should my dog drink daily article by Steven Monahan, with research from world renowned holistic veterinarian Dr. Karen Becker’s blog at – https://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/dr-karen-becker.aspx

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