Help! My Corgi hates drinking water
The pet store where I got him from offered water to their pups through a nozzled water bottle which I was against because I find it hard for the dogs to have sufficient water.. Each lick is like 1-2 drops of water! Imagine how hard it is for them to drink.
Barney also had this bad habit where he would 'dig' his water bowl with his paw wetting himself and the floor (he still does this occasionally when nobody is watching)
During the first week that I had Barney I have the bottle in the playpen while offering water from a dish occasionally. If he doesn't want to drink I will remove the dish so he won't play with water.
It was not long before I realized that Barney would not touch and drink from the bottle. Not one lick!
He got his only Water source from the kibbles which I soaked with water because he was teething then.
Now at 9 months of age where is on dry kibble twice a day and a dish of fresh water the whole time, he still doesn't drink much water!
He only drinks a dish of water (or less) a day. He isn't thirsty despite playing chased and having 2 walks a day.
I have tried putting ice cubes in his dish to encourage drinking but he would put his muzzle in, blow bubbles, take the ice out and play with it. Tossing the ice cube and pawing it. :/
I also tried cold water but he barely drinks.
I tried adding abit of honey.. Failed too.
Tried putting his dish in a different location too.
I'm currently trying to give him lactose free milk to make up for the lack of water now because we live In a humid country..
He enjoys the milk but I cant give him so much milk a day right?
I'm at my wits end. Is there any advice on this? I don't want him to dehydrate
My last resort would be to invest in a electrical drinking fountain which I feel is a waste of electricity and Barney tend to chew on wires too :(
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on
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Hi Stephanie, make water available to Barney at all times, it is hot and humid in SG, yes he will play with his water, but it is the only way he can cool down his system, make sure you turn up the AC, otherwise he may over heat. As far as drinking fluid goes, skip the milk, cows milk are meant for baby calves. One way to encourage drinking is chicken broth, most likely Barney will drink it up, make sure you gradually dilute the ratio. Good luck!
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Permalink Reply by Stephanie Raphaela Ho on
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Thanks Sam! I'm not sure If the milk is cow or goat milk but it's dominated for dogs and cats and Barney love it.
Water is always available.
I'm going to try chicken Broth too. Just wondering if there is a limit?
What if he wants chicken broth an refuses plain water in future :/
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'formulated'
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Permalink Reply by justine moeller on
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The chicken broth is a great idea - try sodium free if you can. We did this for our cat when we first had him and he refused to drink water the first few days which was worrying us. The chicken broth did the trick :) I am sure he is drinking enough if he is still alive but it is important to keep hydrated, especially when eating kibble :)
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Permalink Reply by John Wolff on
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My guess is: he's drinking enough. When thirsty, he'll drink.
We add some kibble to the raw meat food, and add quite a bit of water to hydrate the kibble and "force" them to consume the water. Hiking, I'll often throw some kibble in the snow.
So put the water in his food. The British Royal Navy used to put the lime juice in the sailors' grog to make sure they drank it.
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Permalink Reply by Jane on
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I wouldn't give him milk either. Try the chicken broth, or I've even heard of putting a bit of natural juice drink in the water just to give it a little flavor.
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Permalink Reply by Kari & Quin on
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You said he drinks a dish of water a day... how big is the dish? Maybe you just think he should be drinking more than he needs. I just measured Quins water bowl and it holds 4 cups and I fill it once a day so she most likely drinks about 3-4 cups a day, she eats dry kibble, And we walk 2 miles a day.
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Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on
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If he is still alive at 9 months old he is drinking water. I think he probably has another source, maybe a toilet or faucet that he is drinking from and you just can't see it. There is no way he would still be around if he was perpetually dehydrated fro 9 months. Just leave a bowl down for him and he will be fine since he's made it this long. He may also be waiting to see what kind of yummy drink you are going to be offering next. Chicken broth is a bad idea unless you give him sodium free, otherwise you are just going to dehydrate him because a lot of chicken broth is VERY high in sodium. I'd say just give him plain water, if you are concerned you can add water to his kibble. We have always added water to our dogs food, not let it soak and get soft, just add water and put the food down. Don't add milk, don't add chicken broth, don't add yummies and obsess and watch. This creates picky eaters and drinkers. If you are truly concerned about dehydration take him to the vet and talk to them about it and do some bloodwork to check for chronic dehydration.
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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You say: "He only drinks a dish of water (or less) a day."
What then leads you to the conclusion he's not drinking enough? Most dog water bowls are sized to be filled once a day or so (with the idea that people aren't always around to refill a bowl).
Per http://www.dogster.com/dog-food/how-much-water-should-a-dog-drink, a dog should drink between a half-ounce and one ounce of water per pound of body weight per day. For a 25 pound dog, as little as 12.5 ounces (a glass and a half) of water is therefore sufficient.
Honestly our dogs never drink more than a bowl of water a day, unless they were getting tons of training treats or playing fetch with a plush toy (I think it dries out the tongue). I do add some water to their kibble to slow them down a bit when they eat.
As far as playing in a water bowl as a puppy, that's a very common thing. Lots of puppies do that. We got Jack one of those hamster-bottle type water dispensers when he was a puppy because he'd paw out all the water and lay in it if it was hot. We left the bowl too, but the bottle as a back-up.
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Permalink Reply by Stephanie on
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I have two corgis - I rarely fill the bowl more than twice a day (they both drink from the same bowl).
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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on
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I drink very little myself, in spite of being in a dry climate and at 7200 ft. Everybody makes a big deal about how much water we should be drinking ( at least 8 glasses a day, I'm lucky if I drink one....) so, the last time I went to my doctor I told him I drink very little, I'm just not thirsty. He gave me a sheepish look and the smiled " I don't drink much either, he said" and that was the end of that! As long as your dog has fresh water available all day, he'll drink when his body tells him to. I would not even give it a second thought. As a matter of fact, by offering so many other things to drink, you may actually encourage his drinking LESS water.... The hardest part will be for YOU to stop worrying about it :-)
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1 dish = 2 cups of water On a hot summer day.
Is that enough? There was a period of time where he could drink up to 6 cups a day thats why I felt that he wasn't drinking enough :/
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