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Water is one of the building blocks for a dog's overall health & wellness. It serves many functions - dissolving nutrients to prepare them for digestion, transporting them through the intestinal wall. Hydration also plays a key role in keeping organs health and is well, essentially to all bodily functions. It's an indispensable part of the canine diet.
Like humans, a dog's body is made up of two-thirds of water. Without it, the body can't flush out toxins from the blood. Water also plays a critical role in maintaining regular body temperature and lower it down, when needed.
The problem with dry food
Kibble, freeze-dried and dehydrated foods are all dry food. That means they are low on moisture (kibble is moisture deplete) because the natural water content available in fresh foods has been reduced through different processes. Dogs who only consume these kinds of diet (or majorly, these diets) might struggle to meet the water content they actually need.
Remember that dogs lose out on water through processes like respiration, salivation, urination and passing faeces. This coupled with a low moisture (moisture deplete diet, in the case of kibble) can pose a huge problem. The lack of water can not only interfere in the body functioning (overall organ health) effectively but can also lead to dogs being dehydrated.
How can I get my dog to drink more water?
If you are feeding dry food (kibble)
Incorporating fresh food into the diet can certainly elevate moisture levels in the food and help in meeting some of the requirements but this may not be enough.
Always provide access to drinking water after a dry meal - this is key!
A popular recommendation is to soak kibble in water or bone broth but the effectiveness of this seems to be unclear. A recent study shows that softening dry food with water caused an increase in pathogenic bacterial, disturbed the intestinal microbiome, and in fact, caused some stress and potential threat to the intestinal health of the dogs. The evidence for either case doesn't seem to be strong enough.
If your dog is struggling with a chronic health condition, usually drinks lesser water and is on a kibble diet, I would highly recommend moving to a fresh food diet - your dog's body needs a lot more support which dry food won't provide.
If you are feeding dehydrated or freeze dried food
It's recommended that you rehydrate both dehydrated and freeze dried foods before feeding. This is highly recommended for dogs with CKD (chronic kidney dysfunction), gut issues and other chronic conditions where consumption of water is key.
I know of dogs who have dry/hard stools or even loose stools when they consume a completely dehydrated meal. Adding fresh vegetables, fruits and even rehydrating these meals had an impact on how it was digested (and excreted) by the dog.
Dehydration is the process of lowering moisture in foods for longer shelf life. Most commonly, heat is added to the food by hot air, which also reduces moisture levels in the food. This is a technique different from slow cooking. Dehydration doesn't mean removing moisture completely from the food.
Freeze drying is a process of freezing food at low levels and then storing them for longer use. This method seems to be most beneficial in terms of retaining natural compounds found in fruits, vegetables & meat.
In both these processes, moisture isn't removed (as is done when dry food is processed at extremely high temperatures) and so rehydrating these foods can provide water content to your dogs.
If you are feeding fresh food
Feeding raw and home cooked (balanced) diets are certainly the choice when it comes to feeding moisture rich foods. But here's a catch: while this is a more effective choice, it doesn't substitute the dog's need for daily water intake.
While dogs fed fresh diets will comparatively drink lesser water, their water intake still needs to be monitored and they still need to be provided access to clean drinking water through the day.
My dog doesn't like drinking plain water. What do I do?
This is a common question I get in my nutrition consults. And the answer lies in getting creative! Some dogs prefer flavoured water (that's what they like) and so you could try:
Adding some coconut oil to water
Feeding coconut water
Diluting yogurt with water
Feeding broth through the day (in limited quantities, broth can be high in sodium)
Making your fresh meals soupier (about 1/4-1/2 cup of water to this)*
Every dog will have their own preference - so you can play around with these and see what works for your dog!
*some dogs experience acidity or regurgitation if the water content along with their meals is very high, so always start small.
Is drinking too much water a problem?
Here's the catch - drinking too much water can also pose a challenge. The kidneys in the body can't flush out excess water., in such cases. This dilutes sodium levels in the blood, leading to a condition called hyponatremia and can be life-threatening.
Like with most things, water content too needs to be balanced. There are several recommendations on ideal water content for dogs, but it seems to average at about 40-60 ml of fluid per kg of body weight. Of course, there could be variations depending on size of the dog and seasons (for instance, colder seasons might see your dogs drinking lesser water).
For my clients, I recommend allocating 1-2 litre bottles for their dogs, filling it up to the amount of fluid the dogs need for the day and use that to monitor water content for their dogs. You may not go through the full bottle on every day basis but it will give you a much better understanding of how much water your dog is consuming. And always provide free access to a bowl of drinking water. |
Does the source of water matter?
Turns out, yes it does. There seems to be some evidence of fluoride exposure poorly impacting brain development, hormonal balance and bone growth in dogs (similar results were also found in children). Thus, it's recommended that your dog drink filtered water, versus tap water.
With filtered water,
It's important to routinely service & maintain your filtration systems
Check the pH level of the water (normal range should be between 6.5-7.5) - drinking water being too acidic or alkaline can also have other effects on the dog's body and gut
While focusing on your dog's overall health and well being, remember to also observe your dog's hydration patterns and make tweaks wherever needed.
If you'd like to get support on your dog's nutrition, connect via the consults page and we can chat more!
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