How can I get my dog to drink more water?

[BattyDem]

Ozzy's a poor drinker and the vet wants him to have more water so he doesn't develop any problems in the future. (A recent urinalysis showed a potential for problems, though everything's fine now.)

He's very odd ... he hates drinking out of his water bowl (I've tried several different types), but he'll lick water off the floor, off my hands, even off his own body when he's in the bathtub! I thought there was a possibility that he hated getting his face wet, but I tried squirting water out of a bottle and he drank from the stream that came out. He got soaked, so obviously, he doesn't care if his face is wet. In fact, he loved it! I thought about getting a doggie drinking fountain, which constantly squirts water into a bowl, but every one I found has to be plugged in. Ozzy has a nasty habit of chewing on things he shouldn't, so I could never trust him alone with it. Frankly, I'm not really comfortable with the idea of his water being that close to electricity anyway. What happens if it splashes or he knocks the bowl over?

He gets bottled water, so it has nothing to do with him not liking the taste of tap water. He loves ice cubes, so I've been giving him plenty of those. I bought a water bottle (the kind he drinks from by licking the metal tube) and he's tried it a couple of times, but he's not really thrilled with it. I tried putting a little Gatorade in the water (the vet said it was fine), but it didn't really make a difference unless I did a 50/50 split of Gatorade and water, which is ridiculous. I don't want to create a situation where he'll drink nothing but Gatorade! I know there are some flavored waters for dogs, but again, I'm afraid that I'll be training him to hate plain water instead of encouraging him to drink more water.

So ... any ideas? Has anyone ever gone through this? Does anyone know if they make battery-operated fountains for dogs?

By the way, Ozzy's a 9 month old schnoodle. Between the schnauzer half and the poodle half, he's pretty much got "the art of being stubborn" mastered.

:crazy:


On edit:

Forgot to mention ...

The vet suggested adding some water to Ozzy's food, but I can't put too much, otherwise he won't eat it. He really hates squishy food. I'm only able to put a tablespoon of water in each of his two meals. Any more than that and he just sits down and stares at the plate. Won't eat it at all! At least that's one extra ounce a day. Hey ... every little bit helps, LOL!

[GentryDixon]

1. Add some to his food.

[BattyDem]

5. Tried ... he won't eat it.

He hates it when his food is wet. :-(

[GentryDixon]

13. I feed my dog rice when he is not feeling well.

I add extra water to it when I serve it up, and he does seem to like it. Throw some shredded cheese on top. The cheese tastes so good, he may not notice the water mixed in with the rice.

My vet suggested this remedy years ago.

[emilyg]

2. Check with your vet first - I had a

dog like that and would offer a piece of herring daily. Made him thirsty.

[BattyDem]

6. The vet is the one who told me Ozzy had to drink more water.

We discussed various was to accomplish that, but so far, nothing has really worked.

[emilyg]

14. I meant ask your Vet if herring or

something else salty is OK to give him.

[BattyDem]

15. Oh ... I misunderstood what you meant.

Silly me. :blush:

I'll definitely ask him about it if nothing else works. I tried crushed ice earlier today and Ozzy loved it. I'm going to give him some more after he has dinner in a little while. I'm hoping that he will enjoy it as much as he did this afternoon and it wasn't simply a temporary burst of enthusiasm for something new. :-)

[ginnyinWI]

3. get him a giant version of a hamster water bottle. yes really.

I think they have them for larger animals, like livestock? Sheep maybe? Any farmers out there who know of any?

He might just hate the idea of lapping up liquids, or he's scared of it when it splashes on his face, and this way it would just drop into his mouth. He likes ice cubes or water on the floor so it's not the taste he dislikes. A store like Farm & Fleet might have it--one that has farm supplies.

Or, have you tried putting water into some sort of plastic tray on the floor? Like a cafeteria tray? He'd think he was licking the floor.

[BattyDem]

7. Bought one.

He sort of likes it. He's tried it a few times and though he certainly hasn't taken enough water from it to make a difference yet, it's possible that he'll get more comfortable with using it over the next few days. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. :-)

The tray is a good idea. I just tried it and he did drink some water out of it, so we'll see what happens. Obviously, I can't put too much water in it or else it will be too similar to drinking from a bowl, so I'm still hoping to find a solution that will get him to drink larger amounts of water at a time. But if all else fails, at least I know he'll drink from the tray. Thanks for the suggestion! :hi:

[InvisibleTouch]

4. My dogs always get very thirsty after they've worked on a rawhide chew for a while.

That's not a daily snack, but a treat for special occasions is fine. Also, encouraging him to exercise more might be an option.

[BattyDem]

8. He does drink after doing those things.

He'll take a nice big gulp from the bowl! :D

I thought that was enough. I figured he would drink if he was thirsty, but the urinalysis showed there was a potential for problems in the future and the vet said he really needs to drink more water during the entire day, not just after eating or exercising. It's tough. How do you make him drink if he's not thirsty? :shrug:

[Kookaburra]

9. Have you tried one of those bubbler cat water things?

You can get them at places like Petsmart or Petco. They keep the water moving and sort of bubble like a fountain. My cat loves hers. Maybe you dog would too.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2754468

[BattyDem]

11. I think he would love it!

I simulated the effect of those fountains by squirting water from a bottle and Ozzy drank a lot! The only problem is that it's electric ... and he chews on everything! I'd be worried about him chewing the plug when I wasn't looking and/or wasn't home. I've been searching the internet for one that's battery-operated, but it doesn't look like anyone makes them. :-(

[BattyDem]

10. Ooooh ... I think I may have found a solution!

It worked once - not sure if it will work again or in the long term, but my fingers are crossed! :D

Ozzy was playing with an ice cube this morning. He tossed it in the air and it shattered when it hit the floor. Lots of little pieces all over the place. He followed the trail of ice chips across the floor and ate every one of them!

I was just about to give him an ice cube, and I considered putting it in a plastic bag and crushing it so it would be like the pieces he ate off the floor earlier today. Then I remembered that my blender crushes ice very well. So ... I made Ozzy a plain snow cone, LOL! Lots of crushed ice in a little dish ... and he LOVED it! Of course, it was something new and he's always enthusiastic when he gets something new, so I'm not sure if he'll like it as much if I do it again. I'll try it later (after he eats dinner) and let you all know what happens. :-)

[livetohike]

12. Great!

You could also make ice cubes from beef or chicken broth :-).

[BattyDem]

16. That's not a bad idea.

I can try that tomorrow if the plain ice doesn't excite him as much as it did this afternoon. :-)

[BattyDem]

17. UPDATE: The "snow cone" solution seems to be working

:D

As I mentioned in a previous post, I crushed some ice in the blender and gave Ozzy a plain "snow cone" this afternoon, which he loved! I gave him another one after dinner this evening and although he wasn't as enthusiastic as he was this afternoon when it was a completely new experience, he did enjoy it very much. So hopefully, this will continue to work for a while. He is peeing a lot more, so he may even be getting too much water now, LOL! I'll probably have to cut down on the amount of ice.

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions! :hi: I'm definitely going to use some of them. I know Ozzy ... he'll get bored with the plain ice eventually, so I'll have to change things up a bit to keep him interested.

[BrklynLiberal]

18. Glad you have found an answer...even if temporary.

I opted for the Drinkwell fountain. I had to get two since I have a German Shepherd and 5 cats. The cats drink out of the dog's fountain as well, so I always have to fill his more frequently. :D
I believe they all drink more water...and it is circulating and filtered, so I think it tastes better for them.
Perhaps if you put the fountain up against the wall, and taped the wires near the baseboard or something like that...your pup would not bother it.
What I did, so that the wiring would not get so full of cat hair ..was to wind up the wiring between the fountain and the plug, and put it into a small box..which I taped shut.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000L3XYZ4/maxnut8-20


Also..If you continue to use a bowl..make sure it is stainless steel..not plastic. It is healthier..and perhaps the plastic is part of what turns him off to drinking out of his bowl. Plastic can get minute scratches in it, and these scratches can harbor debris and other negative things that might cause your dog to dislike the smell or the taste of the water in the bowl.

[canichelouis]

19. My dog didn't drink enough water either

My vet suggested placing the water bowl in another spot.

I had several.

He enjoyed drinking from a bowl on the hallway front steps.

His favorite was on the porch. I kept a watering can next to the bowl for easy filling.
I suspect that it had something to do with temperature.
Even in winter, I would just add more water on top of the ice.

His very favorite was a garbage can lid with water puddled inside.

I discovered his enthusiasm one day after a windy storm, when my neighbor's lid ended up in my yard and the pooch kept running over to it and would drink.
I kept it and it never failed to entice him.=== Make your own puddle and fill.

[BattyDem]

20. I figured out that Ozzy was "bored" with water

We had this problem months ago with food. He wouldn't eat the same food for more than a couple of days, so I was constantly trying to come up with ways to make it different and exciting. I alternated between two or three different dry foods or sometimes mixed them, I added different brands and flavors of wet food to the mix, etc. It got to be ridiculous ... and expensive because I was buying premium brands. :crazy: I finally solved the problem by switching him to a homemade diet. He's happy and his meals are no longer costing me a fortune or stressing me out. :-)

But ... the water thing had me stumped. Obviously, he likes water, but he wouldn't drink enough. He would take little sips - just enough to wet his throat - and then he'd walk away. I've been going nuts the last few days trying to get him interested in drinking. I placed bowls in two different rooms, I bought him a hanging water bottle that he can drink from by licking the metal tube, I've given him ice cubes and on Friday, I discovered that he loves crushed ice, so I've been making him plain "snow cones" twice a day.

A couple of hours ago, I noticed something: Ozzy took a big drink from his water bowl. A little while later, he went over to the water bottle and drank from the tube - twice! Earlier in the evening, he ate some crushed ice. In other words, when he wants some water, he now has several options to choose from ... and he loves it! He's never had that much water in such a short period of time before. :D

It sounds like your dog enjoys variety as much as Ozzy does. It's amazing how something so simple as changing the location of the water or the way it's dispensed can make them so much more enthusiastic about taking a drink! For most dogs, thirst is more than enough motivation to take a drink, but apparently, our dogs need something more. Either that, or they just like driving us crazy, LOL!

Putting the bowl on the steps is a good idea, but I'll have to improvise a bit because Ozzy's terrified of stairs. I can't get him to go near them, no matter what I do. However, I could definitely elevate a bowl and put it in another room. That would be something completely new for him - he should love it!

Thanks for the suggestions! :hi:

[Pakhet]

21. Everyone at my house has to drink out of a glass

oh, they'll deign to drink out of a bowl if there's no one home, but the looks I get if I am and there's no water glass available could kill. good thing they share or I'd have short wide mouth glasses all over the house. and don't even get me started on the two (out of 7) who HAVE to have ice in their water...

(but they're not spoiled :) )

[MadMaddie]

22. ha...ha..ha..

The things we do for our pets.

[BattyDem]

25. LOL!

Come to think of it, Ozzy always tries to take a sip from my glass whenever I leave it on the end table. Maybe he thinks a bowl is beneath him! ;-)

[Butch350]

23. Give him something salty...

A few cheetos cheddar jalapeno crunchies gets my Rotti to the water bowl fast.

[BattyDem]

26. He likes pretzels

I only give him a couple of pieces when I have them because he doesn't actually eat the pretzel, he just sucks the salt off of it and spits the rest out, LOL! Maybe I should give him more to make him thirsty. :-)

[badgerpup]

24. Don't know how this will go over, but it worked at my house...

I was going to be hospitalized for an unknown length of time and wasn't really sure about the people who were going to look after my monsters kitties.

A LARGE bowl of dry food solved one problem...they're used to having access to a free-feed station...but water was something else.
I put a bowl in the tub, filled it, and then left the tap on very s-l-o-w drip into the bowl.
My hospital stay was five days, and I came home to happy, relieved, well-hydrated kitties...

...who then peed and pooped on the floor, just to let me know they hadn't been amused by my absence.

[BattyDem]

27. LOL! They always make their feelings known, don't they?

"I'm mad ... so I pee and poop on your floor!" :rofl:

The tub idea is a good one - I'll have to mention that to my friend, who has three cats and occasionally takes weekend trips. :-)

Not sure if it would work for a dog. If I did that for Ozzy (he's not that big, but he can jump in and out of the tub with no problem), I know he would drink directly from the dripping tap, not the bowl. :D


edited: typo :blush:

[BattyDem]

28. UPDATE #2 ... Ozzy has been drinking more lately

:D

I discovered that he likes variety. So ... he has a bowl in the kitchen, another in the living room and a hanging water bottle in the dining room. He also gets a plain "snow cone" (bowl of crushed ice) once or twice a day and he gets several ice cubes every day. He hates it when his food is too wet, but I can get a tablespoon of warm water in each of his two meals without him making a fuss, so that's an extra ounce a day.

I don't want him getting any crystals in the urine and/or bladder stones, so I hope the extra water has resolved the issue. He's peeing more, so obviously the water is doing what it's supposed to. His urine will be checked again next week, so I won't know until then if the potential for future problems has been eliminated.


edited: typo :blush: