How to Measure Your Dog's Water Intake: A Key Indicator of Health

Hello, pet enthusiasts! It's Matt Young from Companion Animal Veterinary Hospital, and today in our Ask The Vet series, we're discussing a crucial aspect of your dog's health – their water intake. Understanding how much water your dog drinks can be vital in diagnosing and monitoring various health conditions.

Why Monitor Water Intake?

Many chronic diseases in dogs, such as kidney disease, diabetes, Cushing's disease, and psychogenic polydipsia, lead to an increase in thirst and water consumption. By measuring your dog's water intake, we can improve our ability to diagnose these conditions and monitor the effectiveness of treatments.

Factors Affecting Water Consumption

A dog's water intake can vary due to several factors, including exercise, diet, and weather conditions. For instance, dogs tend to drink more on hot and dry days.

Challenges in Measurement

Accurately determining your dog's water intake can be tricky. They may drink from multiple sources, or you might have several pets sharing the same water bowl. To get a precise measurement, it's essential to control these variables as much as possible.

How to Measure Water Intake

Here's a step-by-step guide to measure your dog's water consumption over a 24-hour period:

1. Limit Water Access: Ensure your dog has access to only one water source.
2. Prepare the Water Bowl: Empty the bowl and mark a line on the inside surface with a permanent marker. Fill the bowl to this line with water.
3. Measure and Record: Whenever you refill the bowl, use a measuring jug to determine how much water was consumed. Refill to the marked line and jot down the amount. Continue this for three days and calculate the average daily intake.
4. Dealing with Multiple Dogs: If separating your dogs isn't possible, assume that the other dogs are consuming a normal amount of water. You can use the formula provided in the video description to estimate this.

What is Normal Water Intake?

Normal water drinking for a typical, inactive dog can be calculated using this formula: 140 x (body weight in kg) ^ 0.75, giving the result in milliliters per day. If your dog is drinking more than 90 ml per kg per day, it's a sign that something might be wrong, and a vet visit is advisable.

Cheat Sheet for Easy Calculation

To make this process easier, I've created a cheat sheet to help you record and calculate your dog's water consumption. 

Conclusion

Monitoring your dog's water intake is a simple yet effective way to keep an eye on their health. It's a proactive step that can help in early detection of health issues and in managing ongoing conditions.