Dog hardly drinks water

[hannahmonk]

Hi all,

Not sure whether its something to be concerned about or not but our dog hardly drinks any water,to be honest we have changed him from dry to wet food which seems to be doing him the power of good,his coat and his appetite but now he hardly drinks?I appreciate there is more moisture in wet food but surely he should also be having a drink?maybe im being paranoid as he seems ok in himself....

 

[chelynnah]

He may be drinking when you're not seeing. Is he the only dog in the house? If you want a good idea of how much he's drinking, measure the amount of water you put in the bowl in the morning, then measure what's left before refilling again the next day (evening whatever) for a few days. Also keep in mind they do tend to drink less in the winter, and as you say if he's on a wet based diet he will drink much less than on a dry food. I'm sure you should be able to google something like healthy average water for dog to drink (or you vet should be able to tell you what is average for a dog his size), and if his drinking is around that average there's nothing to be concerned about. If it should be more there's things you can do, and might also be worth a vet visit for a blood workup.

If you want him to drink more for your own peace of mind, you can always add a bit of chicken broth to the water to encourage him. But I'd try and get an accurate measurement first.