Is 2 bowls of water a day too much for a dog

How Much Water Should A Dog Drink A Daily Water Guide

How much water your dog drinks each day will vary hugely depending upon their activity level, breed and themselves as an individual. A healthy yet sedentary pup that spends a lot of time relaxing might only half empty their water bowl by evening. An active dog in a hot climate might well drink two large bowlfuls before lunch! Its important to always have a bowl of fresh, clean water available to your pup from morning to late evening. Make a mental note of how often you are refilling it. There is only really a cause for action if their drinking behavior differs when the temperature and their energy levels have stayed the same.

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The average medium sized dog will drink around half a gallon of water a day. But this isnt a hard and fast rule. Water intake is a good indicator of overall health and gives early warning signs of certain medical conditions. It is important to know what is normal for your Labrador and what to look out for when they start drinking more or less than usual.

Monitoring Your Dogs Water Intake

You should notice if you suddenly start needing to refill it more than usual. However, our lives can get busy, and sometimes, we might not notice a change in drinking behavior. It is, therefore, a good idea to get a baseline so that youll know what is normal for your Labrador. This can be done by filling up their water bowl to the same level at the same time each day. Then, notice how much is left when you go to refill it the next day.

Developing this routine can help you stay on the ball with your dogs water needs and consumption. Checking the water level at the same time each day will give you an accurate representation of how much your dog drinks.

How Much Water Should a Dog Drink?

As a rough guideline, normal water intake for a dog is around an ounce per pound (50 mL per kg) of body weight per day. That means that a 65-pound (30 kg) Labrador would drink approximately half a gallon (1.5 liters) of water per day. But every dog is different, so its important to know what is normal for your dog rather than dogs in general.

What Makes Labradors Drink More?

There are several factors that can affect the normal water intake mentioned above, including the following.

Diet

Your Labrador always needs fresh water available no matter what their diet; however, how much they drink will depend on the type of food they eat. Dogs that eat predominantly dry food and kibbles require more water than dogs on a wet food diet. It is perfectly normal for a Labrador (or any dog) on a canned or raw diet to drink less water than one on an exclusively dry food diet.

Weather

Water helps regulate body temperature. Dogs pant to cool themselves down by exhaling and releasing water through respiration. To compensate for this release of water, your Labrador will drink more in warmer weather.

Activity Level

When we exercise, we lose water through sweating and tend to drink more to make up for it. Dogs also require rehydration after exercise since they will have panted more than normal to help themselves cool down. If your Labrador naturally has high energy and activity levels, they will require more water than a couch-potato pup.

Medications and Supplements

Many common medications and supplements have side effects that may cause changes in daily water intake. Common anti-inflammatories, heart medications, and seizure medications can all lead to increased thirst and urination. It is important to be aware of these potential side effects and ask your veterinarian what to expect.

My Labrador Is Drinking More than Normal

When a dog is drinking more than usual, the first step is to rule out any obvious external factors as mentioned above. Drinking too much water can indicate a variety of health conditions such as a bladder infection, diabetes, or Cushings disease.

While you may think that drinking lots of water is pretty harmless, too much of anything is bad, including water. If a dog ingests too much water, which is commonly known as water intoxication, they can experience dangerously low sodium levels in the blood, which is a dangerous condition known as hyponatremia.

The excess water can dilute and shift the natural electrolyte balance of the circulating blood causing blood cells to swell. Excess water consumption can have a sudden onset and can be life threatening. By monitoring your Labradors water intake regularly, you can judge subtle changes and be aware of when to contact your veterinarian.

My Labrador Is Drinking Too Much

There are several things to look for if you suspect your Labrador may be drinking too much, possibly leading to overhydration. These include loss of coordination and staggers, lethargy and nausea, bloat and vomiting, dilated pupils and pale gums, and excessive drooling.If left to develop, these signs can lead to difficulty breathing and collapse.

Be aware that drinking from their water bowl doesnt necessarily account for all the water your dog consumes. Dogs that spend a lot of time in or around water may be drinking from other sources or consuming water incidentally. If your dog plays in water, they may be consuming water while fetching items or biting at the water. Similarly, if they like to be sprayed or drink from a hose, consider that water intake when evaluating their overall consumption.

My Labrador Is Drinking Too Little

If your Labrador suddenly decreases their water consumption, they are at risk of becoming dehydrated. If your dog isnt drinking enough water this can also indicate certain conditions such as pancreatitis or parvovirus. Just like with drinking too much water, not drinking enough water will cause harmful imbalances in the body.

Water is vital for many functions, such as carrying nutrients throughout the body, aiding in digestion, and removing toxins from the system. If your Labrador gets dehydrated, the body wont have enough water for these essential functions. Dehydration ultimately causes essential organs such as the kidneys and liver to stop functioning properly. If left in this state for too long, there can be irreversible damage to these organs.

Signs of Dehydration in Dogs

There are two easy ways to keep an eye on your Labradors hydration levels at home. It is beneficial to do these tests on your healthy Labrador so that you are aware of their baseline.

Skin Tenting

Skin tenting is a test of the skins elasticity and thus associated with hydration levels. This involves gently lifting the loose skin located between your Labradors shoulder blades and assessing how long it takes for the skin to return to its normal state. In a healthy dog, after the skin is lifted it should snap back to its original position almost instantaneously. If your Labrador is dehydrated, the skin will stay in a tent for some seconds and be delayed in returning to the normal position. The longer the delay, the more dehydrated your dog is.

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Mucous Membranes

The mucous membranes include the eyes, nose and mouth. They also serve as an indicator of adequate hydration levels. A healthy Labs gums will be pink and moist to the touch. If he is dehydrated, the gums may appear pale and feel dry and tacky when touched. A dry nose and/or dry, sunken eyes are also symptoms of dehydration.

If your dog tends to not drink enough and your vet has given her a clean bill of health, here are a few ideas to encourage drinking.

• Place her water bowl in places she likes to be.
• Praise her when she drinks water.
• Add chicken or bone broth to her water, but be sure to keep it fresh.
• Consider adding wet food to her diet.
• Soak dry food with water or broth before feeding.
• Consider getting a pet drinking fountain to make it fun (be sure to keep it clean).

The Labrador Site Founder

Pippa Mattinson is the best selling author of The Happy Puppy Handbook, the Labrador Handbook, Choosing The Perfect Puppy, and Total Recall.

She is also the founder of the Gundog Trust and the Dogsnet Online Training Program

Pippa's online training courses were launched in 2019 and you can find the latest course dates on the Dogsnet website

My Dog is Drinking a Lot of Water (Polydipsia)

The simplest reason that people or animals drink is because they are thirsty. Their body is becoming low on water and they must drink to make up the losses. Since dogs dont sweat, except from their nose and foot pads, they eliminate body heat by panting. When they pant a lot, they lose water through evaporation. This water loss is physiologic and can be readily replenished by drinking. Excess water intake that goes beyond a normal amount, or that occurs without cause, may be a sign of disease. In a variety of conditions the body is not able to control water loss even at normal temperatures. This water loss must be replenished and so dogs drink a lot to find a balance.How much water intake is normal in a healthy dog?Generally, water intake will vary a little with diet. If dogs are fed wet food, they may drink less, while dogs that are fed dry food or salty treats must make up water intake and seem to drink more than expected. However, this water intake is still physiologically normal.A good general guideline is that a healthy dog should drink between 20-70ml/kg per day¹. Being aware of your dogs water intake is important because drinking too little water can lead to dehydration while drinking too much water can be an indication of organ disease. If your dog is drinking more, hell probably also be peeing more (another sign of a potential problem). In fact, increased intake is often a response to excess fluid loss in urine.If your dog is drinking excessively (polydipsia) it is possibly because he is losing excess amounts of water for any of a number of reasons. While a number of diseases result in excess water intake and urine output, the most common of these diseases include kidney failure, diabetes mellitus and Cushings disease.

An uncommon cause of dogs drinking more is called psychogenic polydipsia. It is a behavioral condition with a physical manifestation of excess thirst. Primary polydipsia is used to describe excessive water drinking that is not due to illness or psychosis: bored puppies or water loving breeds may tank up on water occasionally or consistently. Sorting these out can be a real challenge for your veterinarian.Some medications, such as cortical steroids often have increased water intake as a side effect.How should increased thirst and drinking be managed?Drinking excessive amounts of water often is associated with increased urination. While drinking a lot of water is a sign of health problems, increased urination can be a real problem for you to live with since affected dogs often urinate inappropriately. The first and most important step in addressing excessive drinking is to diagnose and confirm the underlying condition with your veterinarian. Many of the conditions associated with excess thirst are very serious and must be addressed as soon as possible:

• Kidney disease
• Diabetes mellitus
• Hypercalcemia (high blood calcium)
• Pyometra (uterine infection in unspayed females)

These are all complicated and progressive diseases. It is important that these conditions be confirmed and controlled before they result in irreversible damage.What not to do if your dog is drinking a lot

• Never restrict access to water in an effort to reduce water intake. Restricting water may well result in dehydration and fluid imbalances that will make conditions worse.
• Never ignore the problem. The conditions that cause these changes are very serious and can be fatal.

What should you do if your dog is drinking a lot of water? Schedule an appointment with your veterinarian as soon as possible. How will my veterinarian diagnose my dogs condition?Initially, your veterinarian will perform a number of blood and urine tests. Additional tests may be needed to further identify and regulate the condition. The only way to reduce water intake is to manage the underlying condition. Most of these conditions can be regulated and your dog can go on to lead a normal life of good quality.

If you have any questions or concerns, you should always visit or call your veterinarian -- they are your best resource to ensure the health and well-being of your pets.

Resources:

1. Kirks Current Veterinary Therapy XIII. WB Saunders. Philadelphia, 1999. p.831.