• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to after header navigation
  • Skip to site footer
  • Home
  • Blog
  • YouTube
  • Recipes
  • Resources
  • Courses
  • Nutrition
    • Healthy Diets
      • Choosing A Dog Food
        • Choosing the best quality kibble dog food for your dog
        • You’re feeding your dog wrong! 10 Reasons why you are feeding your dog the wrong way
        • Choosing treats for a dog with a sensitive stomach: 7 rules of thumb
        • Feeding your dog: How much, how often, and what you should feed your dog
        • How to read dog and cat food labels like a pro
        • Essential Tips for Choosing Dog Food for Small Dogs & Puppies
        • 10 Things Every Pet Owner Must Avoid In Their Dogs Food
      • Homemade Diets
        • What to avoid when making your homemade treats
        • 18 of the best flours to use in your homemade dog treats
        • Bone Broth for dogs: What you need to know!
        • 7 rules of thumb when making your pets treats
        • 14 Binders to use in your homemade dog treats: The good, the bad & the ugly
      • Grain-Free Diets
        • The link between grain-free diets and DCM
      • Raw Food Diet
        • Article Review: How a raw diet affects the feline gastrointestinal tract
        • Feeding your cat a homemade or raw diet? You should know about these 3 deficiencies
        • How a Raw Food or BARF Diet Affects Your Dogs Microbiome
        • Five reasons your vet doesn’t agree with raw diets
        • How a Raw Food or BARF Diet Affects Your Dogs Microbiome
    • Healthy Treats
      • Choosing treats for a dog with a sensitive stomach: 7 rules of thumb
      • What to avoid when making your homemade treats
    • Holistic Health
      • Adaptogens & Nootropics: biohacking your dog
      • Dogs & Vitamins: Do dogs need them? Vitamin Deficiencies in dogs
    • Chia Seeds
      • The Dangers and Benefits of Feeding Your Dog Chia Seeds
      • Chia Seeds & Dogs: Which dogs benefit the most from chia seeds?
    • Flax Seed
      • Is Flax Seed Safe To Feed Dogs?: 8 Things to Keep in Mind
      • Flax Seeds & Dogs: Can My dog have flax seeds?
  • Gut Health
    • Probiotics
      • 4 All Natural Probiotics for Dogs we Love
      • How to choose the best probiotic for your dog
      • The pro’s & con’s of giving probiotics to dogs with pancreatitis
    • Microbiome
      • How a Raw Food or BARF Diet Affects Your Dogs Microbiome
      • Your pets microbiome & 4 things you can do to keep it healthy
      • Your pets microbiome & 4 things you can do to keep it healthy
    • 16 Holiday Foods that Can Harm Your Dog or Cat
  • Digestive Issues
    • Camping with a dog that has digestive issues
    • IBD & IBS
      • What’s the big difference between IBS & IBD?
      • Inflammatory Bowel Disease
      • Irritable Bowel Syndrome
      • IBD in Dogs
        • FMT: Could this be the cure for your dogs IBD?
        • Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD) in dogs, important things you need to know
        • FMT: Could this be the cure for your dogs IBD?
        • Budesonide or Prednisone, finding the best treatment for IBD in your dog?
    • Diarrhea In Dogs
      • 6 Things to do when your dog has diarrhea
      • 7 safe over the counter medications for diarrhea & vomiting in dogs
      • 13 Foods that can help if your dog has diarrhea or vomiting
      • Diarrhea in Dogs: 7 Questions your vet will ask
    • Pancreatitis
      • Pancreatitis in Cats
      • Pancreatitis in Dogs
        • Pancreatitis in dogs: Causes, Prevention, and Treatment
        • Best Petco treats for dogs with pancreatitis
        • How to comfort a dog with pancreatitis at home
        • What a veterinarian feeds her dog with pancreatitis
        • Camostat mesilate as a treatment of canine pancreatitis
        • The pro’s & con’s of giving probiotics to dogs with pancreatitis
        • 6 Possible Complications of Pancreatitis
        • Pancreatitis in Pets: Pet safety during the holidays
        • What Dogs are more Prone to Pancreatitis
        • 8 healthy low-fat natural treats for dogs with chronic pancreatitis
    • 5 things you should always have on hand if your dog has a chronic intestinal disease
  • Food Allergies
    • Chicken Allergies In Dogs: The Ultimate Guide
    • The differences between food intolerances and food allergies in dogs and cats
  • Diet Therapy
    • Feeding For Arthritis
      • What to look for in a quality joint-support dog food
      • Types of arthritis in dogs & how food can help
      • Arthritis in dogs: how the dog gut microbiome affects arthritis
      • How food can help prevent or delay arthritis in dogs
      • How to choose a joint supplement for dogs with arthritis
      • Joint Supplements to stop pain in dogs with arthritis
    • Common inherited diseases in Golden Retrievers and how food can help

Is your puppy drinking enough water?

Sep 25, 2020 · Courtnye

As a veterinarian, I am often asked about kittens or smaller puppies that don’t seem to drink enough water.

This is a serious issue as a dog or cat going without water can lead to death in a couple of days. And oftentimes the question comes from new pet owners who are extremely concerned that the newest member of their family isn’t getting the proper nutrition.

Several approaches have been used to estimate daily water needs. There are general guidelines for daily fluid requirements in dogs and cats, but individual variations exist. The quantity of water required depends on a number of different factors, including the animal’s diet, environment, activity level, and health status. The moisture content of canned pet foods varies from 60% to >87%. Dry pet foods contain 3%–11% water, and semimoist foods contain 25%–35% water. As a result, dogs and cats consuming predominantly canned food generally drink less water than those consuming predominantly dry diets.

While I assure these new owners that their new kitten or puppy is most likely getting the water they need there are some things they can do to make sure they are drinking enough.

There are seven main things you can do if you feel that your puppy or kitten isn’t getting enough water
  1. Make sure the water is fresh and changed throughout the day
  2. Add water to their dry food
  3. Leave water out for them
  4. Hand feed water
  5. Feed wet food
  6. Change the water bowl
  7. Add some flavor to your pet’s water
  8. Have multiple water bowls around the house

OFFER FRESH WATER

Some cats and dogs are finiky when it comes to having clean water available constantly. Changing it throughout the day may entice them to drink more

ADD WATER TO DRY FOOD

If you are only feeding dry food, try adding a little warm water to it and see if your pet eats it all

LEAVE WATER OUT

If you are only giving water with meals then begin leaving it out throughout the day. If you are not comfortable leaving it out then offer it many times during the day.

HAND FEED WATER

I don’t recommend force-feeding water, but putting some on your pet’s gums or nose to entice them to drink may work

OFFER WET FOOD

Obviously, wet food has much more moisture than dry kibble so offering this with your pet’s dry food may help them get more water in their diet

CHANGE THE WATER BOWL

Sometimes the sound of metal water bowls can scare a new puppy or kitten, this is especially true if they have tags that hit the bowl when they drink. If you think this may be part of the problem try changing to a plastic water bowl

ADD SOME FLAVOR

If you are extremely worried about your new pet getting enough water you can try adding some flavor to entice them to drink. Do this in the form of bone or chicken broth (no salt or fat) to read about bone broth and dogs click here.

HAVE MULTIPLE WATER BOWLS

This may help increase water consumption and is especially true for cats, which don’t often drink a lot of water.

What if nothing helps?

If you make some of the changes listed and take the time to monitor your pet’s water intake and notice that he or she isn’t drinking at all throughout the day you may want to consider taking them to the vet. This is also true if your pet isn’t eating or shows any signs of illness such as vomiting or diarrhea.

Dehydration is something that should be taken seriously as young kittens and puppies need to drink sufficient water for healthy growth and development. Lack of appetite is also usually noted in pups or kittens that don’t drink enough water.

Also, keep in mind that if you have recently brought the puppy or kitten into your home, they may just need a period to acclimate to the new environment before they eat and drink normally.

Category: Uncategorized

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Sidebar

GET FREE RECIPES TO YOUR INBOX

SHOP UNIQUE PET ITEMS

Recent Posts

  • Breeds predisposed to osteoarthritis and how food can help
  • Rosemary Allergies In Dogs
  • How to choose a joint supplement for dogs with arthritis
  • Joint Supplements to stop pain in dogs with arthritis
  • How food can help prevent or delay arthritis in dogs

Our Course

Life-changing tips personalized for you, weekly.

  • What to do — Amazing insight on what you should be doing to be better.
  • What not to do — Stop running in circles and put burnout in the past.
  • Plan ahead — You’ll now have the freedom and flexibility to set your medium and long term goals.

I want to learn how to be better at what I do.

This is a demo form.

Copyright © 2023 · · All Rights Reserved · Powered by Mai Theme

Twitter · LinkedIn · Pinterest

Cleantalk Pixel