How Much Water Should My Dog Drink in Santa Clarita, CA

Your dog needs to drink enough water to be healthy. Your dog’s drinking habits are key to their overall well-being, and when they do not drink enough, they can get very sick. Dogs should drink a lot more water every day than most people realize, and it is easy to think that your dog is drinking enough when they are not.

Getting your dog to drink enough water should be easy so long as you have provided them with a clean source of water and an accessible bowl that they can use to drink. If your dog seems to be feeling poorly or you have not noticed them drinking recently, you should always check on the cleanliness of the water bowl and its placement. Making sure that your dog can access the water that they need to drink every day is key to its overall well-being, and you cannot neglect this aspect of your dog’s health.

How Much Should Dogs Drink?

A 10-pound dog should drink about 1 ounce of water per pound of body weight per day. This means that a dog that is 100 pounds will need to drink about 100 fluid ounces of water every day. Without a healthy diet, your dog will not drink enough, and you need to also be sure that your dog is being given the right diet to support their overall well-being.

Wet dog food provides a measure of water and can offset some of the drinking that your dog will need to do to be healthy on a daily basis. These dog foods are about 65-80% water, so if your dog is drinking much less after making a change to a new food, this should not be cause for alarm.

The amount of exercise that your dog gets will also impact their water intake needs. If your dog is exercising hard every day, they will be likely to drink up to half again as much as on days that they are not exerting. Being sure that your dog has access to clean and fresh water when they are playing hard is essential so that your dog does not get overheated or start to feel sick.

What Happens if Your Dog Does Not Get Enough Water?

If a dog is not drinking enough water, there are a few different symptoms to watch for.

Heatstroke

Heatstroke is the most common thing that can happen if your dog is not drinking enough water. This is a very serious condition, and it can even lead to death if not attended to right away. Dogs that are exerting in the sun or heat for too long without access to water are prime candidates for heat stroke or, at minimum, dehydration.

Dehydration

Dogs that do not get enough water on a regular basis that are not exerting might show signs of dehydration. Their skin and coat might be dry, and they might have hollow or sunken eyes. They might also be disinterested in food or seem lethargic and dull in their aspect.

Gastrointestinal Issues

Dogs that are not allowed access to clean water might also suffer from gastrointestinal issues that can be prevented just by cleaning the water bowl. It is always wise to make sure that you try and keep your dog from drinking out of natural sources of water like creeks, ponds, or even puddles. This is part of why having clean water on hand is so essential. It is not uncommon for dogs to look for cleaner water than a contaminated bowl and get sick from drinking from a puddle or a dirty water source.

How Can I Check That My Dog is Drinking Enough?

If you want to be sure that your dog is drinking enough, you can do some simple tests to verify this. Dogs that are dehydrated might show these signs:

1. Pale, dry, sticky gums
2. Dry and sunken looking eyes
3. Nose and mouth that are dry
4. Dry coat
5. Sunken in look in the abdomen
6. Dull, lethargic, disinterested in stimuli

You can also do the skin tent test, which verifies if your dog is hydrated enough. You will just gently pinch the skin between your dog’s shoulder blades and lift the skin up. It should spring back when released and slide right back into place. If it does not, your dog is dehydrated. This is usually the easiest test to perform to know if your dog is getting enough water and combined with all the other signs of a hydrated dog, this is the most helpful way to check on this.

What Should I Do if my Dog is Dehydrated?

If your dog is dehydrated, you will want to be sure that you reach out to your veterinarian right away. There are some things that can be done at home to try and help with hydration, but your vet will almost always need to provide your dog with fluids and try to diagnose the reason for the dehydration. If you have realized that your dog did not have access to water for a time, allow them to drink some water and take a break, then drink some more and take another break until they stop asking for water.

You will need to observe your dog for a while to see if they are feeling better or still need to see the vet after this process has been completed. Dogs that drink too fast might start vomiting, and dogs that are not feeling well might not be able to keep water down.

Dog Dehydration is Very Serious

If you think that your dog is dehydrated, don’t take a wait-and-see attitude about this issue. You will want to be sure that your get your dog the support that they need right away. It can be hard to resolve dehydration at home, and your dog will probably need to see the vet for supportive care to get them hydrated again. Once this process has been completed, you can work with your vet to make sure that you isolate the reason for your dog’s dehydration and resolve it.

Call (661) 799-0655 or book an appointment online to talk with your Stevenson Ranch Veterinary Center vet about your dog’s water consumption or dehydration.