Is my dog drinking enough water?

Updated 07/11/2023

Ever wondered “Is my dog drinking enough water”? Tracking your own water intake is one thing, but keeping tabs on your four-legged friend’s H2O habits can be a whole other ball game. We’re answering a whole list of thirst-quenching questions, from “How much water should a dog drink a day?” to “What should I do if my dog’s not drinking water?”. Get ready to lap up all the drool-worthy details on hydration for hounds! 

How to get your dog to drink more: an expert’s opinion

We spoke to Dr Marc Abraham OBE - multi-award-winning veterinarian, author, broadcaster, and animal welfare campaigner - over on our community forum about how to get a pet to drink more. Take a look below to see what he had to say.

“Firstly, it would be useful to know if your pet actually needs to drink more, is he or she dehydrated, are there kidney, liver, or even hormonal issues? Also the type of diet, such as kibble only, often determines the need for maybe more drinking and hydration, so that must always be taken into consideration. 

Saying that, pets can be encouraged to increase their fluid intake by soaking dry food, considering integrating a proportion of wet diet, providing free-flowing drinking fountains and/or multiple drinking stations around the house, cleaning water bowls regularly, preparing flavoured broth-type drinks, and even providing pet-specific, flavoured rehydration solutions in or alongside their normal drinking water.”

How much water do dogs need? 

A good rule of paw is for dogs to drink 1 ounce of water per pound of body weight each day. But wait, there’s more to hydration than size alone! Breed, age, activity levels, diet, health conditions, and even weather all play a part in how much water your tail-wagger needs to drink.

Breed: Some breeds have more difficulty regulating their body temperatures during hot weather, so it's particularly important to keep an eye on the water intake of brachycephalic (flat-faced) breeds such as Bulldogs, Boxers, and Pugs.

Age and activity levels: How much water should a puppy drink? Young fur babies may need to slurp up more water per pound than their seasoned counterparts - they’ve got more energy to burn and mischief to make after all! As for our wise old woofers, they might drink a little less simply because they’re not as active as they used to be. On the other hand, very active dogs may drink a lot of water. 

Diet: Wet dog food provides pups with more hydration than dry kibble, and fur babies can also increase their water intake by eating dog-safe fruits and vegetables.

Health Reasons: Dogs with certain health issues may drink more water than usual. Conditions such as diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease may cause dogs to drink and urinate quite a lot. It’s important to never restrict their water. 

Weather: Just like humans, pooch pals will generally need to drink more water in hot weather to help regulate their temperatures.

Signs of dehydration in dogs

So how do you know your dog’s drinking enough water? Here are the signs every (hu)man and their dog sitter should look out for:  

Lethargy

Dehydration can make our furry friends feel like their batteries need recharging, and they might seem unusually low on energy. 

Looking for water

It sounds simple, but if your fur baby’s clearly looking for water, there's a chance they're dehydrated. This may mean drinking out of muddy puddles on a walk or licking droplets of water off the floor - desperate times call for desperate measures. 

Dry nose and gums

Dehydrated dogs can have dry noses and pale, dry, or sticky gums. You can test to see if your fur baby’s dehydrated by pressing on their gums - the pink color will take longer to come back if your furry friend needs to drink more and their gums may feel sticky. 

Loss of appetite

Dehydrated pups may be uninterested in their food and they might even turn their noses up at the most tempting of treats.

Excessive panting

If your furry friend is panting more than usual or appears to be breathing extra fast, it could be because they're dehydrated.

The scruff test

The scruff test is a quick and easy way to tell if your pooch pal’s dehydrated. Simply lift the loose skin between your fur baby’s shoulder blades away from their back and see how long it takes for it to settle back into position. If your furry friend has drunk enough water the skin should spring back within a second or two, but it can take longer for dehydrated dogs. 

What to do if your dog’s dehydrated

• Help your furry friend to take small sips of water, but make sure they don’t gulp it down as this can make them vomit. 
• If your dog’s not drinking water, try to increase their hydration by offering them ice cubes or wet/tinned dog food with lots of moisture.
• If your four-legged friend’s symptoms don't improve or are worsening, take them straight to the vet. Dehydration can lead to heatstroke, a very serious and even fatal condition.

How to get a dog to drink water 

Wondering “Why is my dog not drinking water?” There are a few things you can do to make good old H2O a little more appetizing.

Keep water fresh

"Why won't my dog drink water"? Well, would you want to drink their water? Give your fur baby water you’d want to drink - that doesn’t mean a chilled bottle of sparkling water, it means providing your pup with clean, fresh water every day (better yet - change it twice a day!). Drinking from a mucky bowl is off-putting, to say the least, plus it’s a breeding ground for bacteria and germs. Wash your pooch pal’s bowl daily and get rid of anything floating around in there that shouldn’t be. Lastly, keep the water in a cool place away from direct sunlight - we all know what it’s like to drink a lukewarm bottle of water on a hot day!

Make water tasty

If your dog’s not drinking enough water, it might be because plain-old H2O just isn’t that appealing. Some dog owners add a few drops of bone broth to encourage their furry friends to drink, and a dog water fountain encourages pups to drink with a constant stream of filtered water. 

Make water accessible

Make sure the water bowls can be accessed easily and spread a few around the house. This is particularly important if you’ve got an older fur baby who may have difficulty getting to their water.

Water on the go

It’s a good idea to bring portable water bottles and collapsible bowls along for the ride on any outings with a furry friend in tow. Bear in mind that while you might not feel overly parched after a walk around the park, your four-legged friend has likely been running back and forth and making new furry friends, which is thirst-inducing stuff! Be sure to come equipped with water for your woofer whenever you’re out and about! 

Hydration from food

Your pooch pal will be able to get a certain amount of hydration from their regular dog food - wet dog food generally contains a higher water content than dry food. You may wish to mix a little water in with their food, and you can also increase their water intake by treating them to pup-safe fruit and veg with high water content like cucumber, carrots, and watermelon.

So what have we learned about hydration for hounds? Well, we now know that the golden ratio is roughly 1 ounce of water per pound of body weight, but that breed, age, activity levels, diet, health conditions and weather conditions all have a part to play in your pup’s H2O needs. Red flags for dehydration include lethargy and excessive panting but remember to take it slow when it comes to rehydration and head to the vet if your pooch pal’s condition doesn’t improve. Prevention is the best medicine though, so keep those water bowls brimming with clean, fresh water, and stay hydrated, furry friends!

Meet our veterinary expert, Aisling

This article has been checked by veterinarian Aisling O’Keeffe MVB CertSAM ISFMCertAdvFB. Aisling qualified as a vet 7 years ago from University College Dublin. She has worked in a mixture of UK small animal hospitals along with Irish practices. She worked for 3 years in a feline-only hospital where she further developed her feline medicine and surgery skills. She currently lives and works in a small animal hospital in Cork, Ireland.