How to make my dog drink more water when he barely touches it?

It is concerning that it appears that Nicco isn't drinking water, and it sounds like you are keeping an eye on the levels. I would recommend measuring out the water in the morning into the bowl, and then the next morning measuring the remaining water to get an exact amount of how much he is drinking. Normally a dog should drink between 8.5-17 ounces of water per 10 pounds. Nicco should be drinking around 17-34 ounces daily if we round his weight up to 20 pounds. Check to see if he is drinking this amount, and if he is, then he is getting enough water. To ensure he is getting enough water, you can try mixing in canned food with his dry food. Canned food has a higher moisture content, and that will get extra water into his food. You can soak his dry food in warm water, or occasionally add in some low sodium beef or chicken broth. Finally, you can get Nicco a pet water fountain. These provide a continual source of fresh water for him, and dogs love drinking from them. I have one, and my pets love it. Good luck, I hope this helps!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Vito is adorable!! As long as Vito is eating, urinating and acting normal I am sure he is getting enough water from drinking or his food. He looks like he is a healthy guy! If you are still worried try adding extra water to his food. I hope this helps and have a great day!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I find that dogs will drink what they need. If you feed him canned food that has more water and moisture in it thus they drink less water. In warmer weather and with exercise I bet that Toby will drink more to compensate. Always having fresh waster available will allow him to drink when he is ready and needs to. You can add water gradually to his dry food to trick him in to taking in more water. If you find that this doesn't work and he doesn't drink when hot and over heats then I would have your Vet do an exam. Here are a few other tips! You can try different types of bowels and have multiple down, raise the water bowl up since he is a big dog, make sure the bowls are clean, add ice cubes to the water, purchase a water fountain, add low sodium chicken broth or bone broth to the water. Have a great day!

Hello and thank you very much for your question. Changing the food to a canned diet is a good idea if you are concerned with in adequate water consumption. You can add a lot of water to the canned food to make it a gruel based diet. I do have a few suggestions on what may help her consume more water. First, you may want to invest in a waterfall or water movement type of water bowl. These types of watering devices can help mimic a running faucet and studies have shown that animals will drink more from this type of device. Second, you could perhaps change the water you are giving. So for instance, if you are giving your pet well water, you would switch to city water or filtered water. Or if you are giving city water, you may want to switch to filtered water for just a while to see if that helps drink more. I hope I have been of some help. Have a great day.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This depends on a lot of factors including if she is otherwise exhibiting any symptoms of sickness, if she is eating canned food which already has water in it, how much water she is actually having, among other things. If she is not drinking anything especially if having other symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite and/or lethargy, she should be evaluated as soon as possible to prevent dehydration and to investigate the cause. If she is otherwise doing well and is eating canned food, it would be ok to monitor her for another 12-24 hours and if not improved to have her evaluated by a veterinarian then. Hopefully she returns to normal and there is no need for a veterinary visit. Have a great day!

Hello, thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I agree, that is some very dark urine which indicates he must not be drinking enough. You need to increase his water intake. The best way to do that is to add some chicken or beef broth to his food; use the low sodium kind. The added salt (even in the low sodium variety) should encourage him to drink more. If this dark urine continues for more than a few days you should take him to your vet for an exam and urine test.

This is very strange indeed. There really isn't a good explanation for this odd behavior that Chicharito is displaying. Due to this, I would recommend having him examined by your vet to ensure there is no underlying medical reason why he is not drinking his water. Also keep in mind that if he is still urinating at a normal frequency every day, then he is getting proper water intake from somewhere. Also if you are feeding him wet food, then this will naturally cause him to drink less water. Thanks for visiting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Take care. : )