Water: A Vital Source Of Life Dogs need to drink water to keep themselves hydrated just like humans. Along with a healthy balanced diet, water forms an essential part of nutrition for your canine kid. As dog owners, we need to ensure that our canine kids have access to clean drinking water all day through. A bowl full of fresh and clean water should be placed in a convenient place from where the dog can drink when she wants to. It may need re-filling often.
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Role of Water
Like humans, the cells inside a dog’s body contain water and thus are necessary for their healthy functioning. Water acts as a carrier of important nutrients in and out of the cells. It helps with the digestion of the food and with the absorption of the nutrients. Water also has an important role in maintaining the normal body temperature by cooling down the body.
This essential liquid also plays a vital role in the movement of joints by acting as a lubricant and a cushion. Adequate water levels are necessary for cushioning of the spinal cord and other tissues. It also helps in cleansing of the body by removing the waste by way of facilitating urination and bowel movements.
How Much Water Do Dogs Need?
Well, it depends on a lot of factors like the weather conditions, weight, age, size and the level of activity. Ideally, a dog should have about 100 milliliters for every kilogram of body weight (one ounce for every pound of body weight) daily. So, a dog weighing 20 kgs should be drinking around 2 liters of water daily.
During hot weather and especially after a lot of exercises, your pet loses water fast as she will pant and salivate heavily. She will gulp down more water than she usually does and you will need to refill the bowl.
Does Your Dog have Enough Water?
If your dog is not drinking enough water, she could get dehydrated. A sustained state of dehydration could lead to organ damage and eventually the death of the dog. A quick way to check is to pinch and lift a fold of skin over the neck or near the shoulder blades. If the skin returns to original shape fast, then your is OK. However, of the skin gets back to shape slowly, this is a sure shot sign of dehydration.
You can also check the dog’s mouth for signs of dehydration. Dry and sticky gums, dry nose or sunken eyeballs are all signs of dehydration/illness. Consult your vet immediately if you observe any such symptoms – your dog may not be drinking enough water due to a hidden health condition.
Other symptoms of dehydration include loss of appetite, change in color or urine and lethargy. If you find your pet dehydrated and refuses to drink water, try giving some chicken broth. It should help restore some amount of water level in the body. If she refuses broth to have broth also, please visit your vet, your dog may need to be given a saline IV.
Is She Drinking Too Much Water?
Your canine kid drinking too much water can also be an indication of illness. Having an excessive amount of water after a bout of activity, in hot weather or after eating dry food is normal, but if these are not the causes, then you may need to consult a vet. It could due to illnesses like diabetes, kidney disease, hypercalcemia, pyometra or Cushing’s disease. There are severe health conditions and need medical intervention before they cause irreversible damage.
How Do Dogs Drink?
Have you observed the slurpy sound your dog makes while she drinks water and how it gets splashed over the floor as well? What you have perhaps not observed is the way the tongue curls backward to scoop up the water inside the mouth. That’s because the movements are swift and precise.
Why Do Dogs Use This Technique?
It has to do with the mechanics and laws motion. Research carried out at Virginia Tech by Dr. Sunghwan Jung, associate professor of biomedical engineering and mechanics, has led to some interesting facts. Dogs (and even cats) do not have well-developed cheeks like humans, horses or elephants, which helps in suction while drinking water.
All carnivores have the mouth opening extending all the way back through the cheeks up to the joints. This increases the bite force (as the mouth can open wider than normal) and allows them to kill their prey easily Dogs because of their carnivore lineage have inherited this physiological attribute.
So, dogs have improvised and developed the technique of curling up the tongue backward and lapping to drink. This action creates the momentum required to create a column of water upwards. Dogs then bite into the column to pull the water up into the mouth. That’s the reason some of it splashes around, and the whole process seems sloppy and messy.
Why the tongue is rolled back like a spoon has a scientific reason behind it. It is not really to scoop up the water but to have more surface area meet the water. The more the surface areas, the bigger the size of the column! Isn’t that amazing?
How Do They Compare To Humans?
Dogs compared to humans take longer to drink the same amount of water. Humans drink in a vertical standing position and are aided by gravity to push the water down. On the contrary, because they need to bend downwards while drinking, dogs put in more effort. Try imitating this feat by bending your tongue backward, and you will start appreciating the unique skills your pet has!
Happy Parenting
Nature has wonderful ways of ensuring that all its creations learn to adapt and survive. Always help your dog live a healthy life by providing clean and fresh drinking water. On hot days, add a few cubes of ice to the bowl. Dogs love cold water! Thoroughly wash and dry the water bowl at least once in two days. For puppies, you may get a fountain bowl. To avoid the mess, you may also consider getting spill proof mats and bowls. Having understood the reasons behind why and how dogs drink, will make you more understanding of your pet and forgive her for creating the mess around the water bowl.
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