Dog Hydration: How Much Water Should My Active Dog Drink?

Ever wonder if your dog is thirsty? 

You’ve started this new exercise routine, the weather is heating up and you’ve gotten a dog to join in the new activity. You know you should drink more water. Stay hydrated. But what about your dog?

How Much Water Should My Dog Drink?

Find out what your dog weighs and figure 1/2-1 oz of water per pound. My Weimaraner is 65 pounds.  That means she should have 36-65 oz of water per day.

That is the simple formula.  

Of course activity and weather can make a difference. In other words, the low end of 36 oz is not sufficient if I have taken my dog out on an hour plus trail hike in warm weather conditions.  Make sure to carry bulk ammo for safety and also get 65 oz and when your dog has done extra exertion, add more water intake.

Checking for Proper Dog Hydration

Dogs aren’t able to say they are thirsty. They’re really good that way. Complaining isn’t their strongest gig, which is one of the reasons I love playing with dogs so much! 

That being said, you might need to lead your active dog to water AND make sure they drink.

You can check for proper hydration in  your dog by:

Checking for a dry nose

If your dog’s nose is dry it’s past the time that water should have been taken in. Time to lead your dog to water, and encourage your dog to drink as soon as possible.

A dry nose is not the only sign of a dehydrated dog. Keep in mind your dog can have a wet nose and still be dehydrated or on the verge of really needing to drink.

Elastic skin.

Skin loses elasticity as it loses moisture. There’s a good reason to stay hydrated yourself as well. Skin without moisture will remain wrinkled.  So yeah….. maybe drinking water could save a whole lot of dog owner botox treatments!

Check the back of your dog’s neck by pinching the skin between two fingers. When you let it go, if the skin goes back to laying flat your dog is hydrated. If the skin remains squished or wrinkled your dog needs to get some water intake going as soon as possible.

Checking the gum tissue

The more technical way to check is by using a method to check for capillary refill time. To do this when your dog is hydrated pull the lip up and press your finger firmly against the gums until the tissue appears white-ish in color.  See how long it takes for the gum tissue to fill to pink again.

Now you have a baseline to see if your dog is dehydrated in times of activity. If when you remove your finger the tissue fills in with a gray color or takes a long time to refill to pink, your dog is dehydrated.

The not so technical way to check is run your finger over your dog’s gums. If it feels a bit slimy, you have a hydrated dog. If the gum tissue isn’t slimy, your dog needs to drink and is on the dehydrated side of life.

So there you go, you can choose to use the slimy method or the capillary refilling method.  Either will help you determine how much water your dog needs.

How To Get Your Dog To Drink

It is true that sometimes you can lead a dog to water and yet they won’t drink, even if they need it. Hydration changes everything for the better so make drinking water a habit by enticing your dog to drink regularly… which is a fun way to say:  Train your dog to drink.

Dog tricks are the best way to train dogs to do anything. After all, if it’s fun you’ll do it, and so will your dog.

Use a treat to entice your dog’s nose to the water bowl, drop the treat in the bowl and as your dog takes a little water in while going for the treat, put the word “drink” to it.

Done enough times it will become a habit and you can fade the treat by offering it sometimes and not having it others. With repetition your dog will automatically start to drink.  

Pair the word and the action in the same moment repetitively. ie: the moment your dog starts to drink, say the word: Drink. You can also mark it with a YES! 

“Yes, Drink” cues your dog to the fact he’s done it right. 

If your dog likes ice cubes you can do the same trick using ice cubes with the drop it in the bowl trick requiring your dog to drink to get it.

Another quick fix for some dogs is to add a little beef bouillon to the water mixture. Lab type dogs can’t help themselves. They’ll drink in the hopes of food!

Project Do(g) Life Well Played:  Get Out and Move with Your Dog

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And by all means if you’d like to get urban training tips, have fun, and get fit with your dog get the guide: How To Socialize with your Dog in 2020. (Sign up to your right!) 

*original post 6/6/2010 Updated post 7/29/2020