Training Adventure Dogs

There are a so many options in regards to dog diets these days between types of food and commercial brands. Regardless of what you feed your dog, there is one ingredient that every dog owner needs to prioritize – water.

Hydration is a key element in your dog’s overall health. How important? For all stages of your dog’s life, water helps them feel their best.

Do you know how much water it takes to hydrate your dog each day? At a minimum, your dog requires 2 ounces of water per pound of body weight to maintain hydration. For example, a 50lb dog needs 100 ounces of water. However, if your dog has a high activity day, you need to add an additional 1-2 ounces!

How do I make sure my dog is hydrated? I know most of us (including myself) do not actually measure and track how much water each of my dogs drink in a day, but there are several things that you can do to help to aid in your dog’s daily hydration. Here are some of my best hydration tips!

1. Add water to your dog’s meals, especially if you feed a kibble diet. Kibble only has 10% moisture, meaning it is 90% dry matter. It would take 4 cups of water to re-hydrate 1 cup of kibble. You should ALWAYS soak (for 10+ min) your dog’s kibble prior to feeding them AND make sure water is available around meal times because eating kibble literally dehydrates your dog.
2. Make sure you are using a glass or stainless steel bowl for water! Plastic and ceramic bowls grow bacteria. Our dogs can smell bacteria and will drink much less from that bowl.
3. Get into the habit of cleaning your dog’s water bowl regularly (daily or multiple times a week) to keep the water clean and fresh so your dog WILL drink!
4. Flavor the water in the cold weather months. Most dogs are less active in the winter and therefore may not be enticed to drink as much daily. Adding a little flavor can help! I suggest low sodium Bone Broth or K9 electrolytes
5. Make hydrating dog popsicles! You can find cheap popsicle molds on Amazon so you can make 6 at a time. Fill it 1/2 with water + 1/2 with low sodium bone broth. I like to add a dehydrated chew like a duck foot at the end or some kind of healthy / single ingredient treat to be an added bonus that ensures your dog wants to eat the popsicle.

When it comes to hydrating your dog, there are lots of ideas out there. Here are some common myths / ideas that I have heard, lets talk about whether its fact or fiction.

Should you give your dog ice cubes as a way to hydrate them when it’s hot outside?

There is a myth that ice cubes can cause heat stroke in extreme temperatures. If your dog is really hot (panting, drooling, etc.) then you need to address cooling them down physically through cold rags to their groin, armpits and paw pads. Generally, giving your dog a couple ice cubes as a treat is totally safe. Putting ice cubes in your dog’s water bowl to make the water colder is also generally safe. Pre-hydrating before exercising your dog is the BEST way to avoid dehydration and ice cubes are not a short cut to re-hydrating or cooling them off if they are over-heated.

Is it safe for dogs to consume snow?

If you are positive that the snow is fresh and clean, then it is safe to consume in small quantities. The issue with a dog eating a lot of snow is that it can lower your dog’s body temperature to a dangerous level. The other consideration is that if you live in a city or suburban neighborhood and it snows in the winter, I would never allow the dog to eat snow because snow plows and blowers contaminate the snow, ice melt, toxic chemicals from the streets and more can all make your dog very sick.

Is it okay for dogs to share water bowls?

The majority of contagious diseases that can be transferred from one dog to another happens through sneezing, coughing or feces. However, there are some pathogens that can be transmitted through things like communal bowls. In fact, one of the most common infections that dogs get from one another is giardia and that can be spread through a water bowl. If you own multiple dogs or know the dog and owner and you know that dog is healthy, then generally, it should be safe to share a water bowl – just make sure you are still cleaning your water bowls regularly. However, I would never allow my dogs to drink from a communal water bowl in places like dog parks, dog group classes, dog daycares or businesses who leave water bowls out for customer’s dogs. You have no way of knowing when or if those bowls are ever cleaned. I personally always carry a clean water bowl and a stainless steel container full of water specifically for my dogs so that I never have to worry about water sources in public.

If you have any additional questions regarding water, please comment below and I will answer and add to this post!

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