Water Intake

[Guest tsmith1]

I'm a newly minted greyhound owner and suspect that my grey isn't drinking enough water. He has been with me for about 1 1/2 weeks and his urine is very bright yellow. I have been giving him about 3/4 of a cup of water in his morning and evening kibble, but he doesn't seem to drink much more than a 1/2 cup through the day.

 

He is 75 lbs and his stool is mostly firm. I know each dog has some differences but is there a ballpark estimate as to how much he should drink/day?

 

 

[Guest rennina]

Mine won't drink more than 1 cup. Her urine is always yellow... I tried adding flavor to her water but it didn't work. I asked the vet and the trainer. They told me not to worry if I don't see signs of dehydration or infection. I start to think maybe Greyhounds drink less water than the average dogs? (They pant less so they need less water?) I don't have good advice except keeping adding water in his kibbles and increasing his exercise. He will drink more in the warmer seasons.

Edited February 19, 2013 by rennina

[Guest GreytBengalMom]

We've had Eddie for a month now, and he drinks quite a bit of water. I fill his bowl twice a day (probably about 4-5 cups), and I put water in his food as well. I'd guess he's probably drinking about 8 cups of water a day. He's two and pretty active.

[Guest Eyeblaura]

I don't know how to get him to drink more but I would suspect he should. My hound is 85 lbs and I too fill his water bowl at least twice a day. I would guess he also drinks about 8 cups a day.

 

I don't wet his food at all.

Edited February 19, 2013 by Eyeblaura

[a_daerr]

My guys have a three-gallon gravity waterer that I usually end up filling about twice a week. So doing some rough math, that works out to 6-7 cups of water per day per dog.

[Batmom]

If he isn't dehydrated and he has water available, don't worry about it. My angel Zema rarely took much of a drink as a young dog (2-6 or so).

[RedHead]

Teague has always had very yellow pee...much darker than any of my other dogs. I wouldn't worry about how much they drink unless they are showing obvious signs of dehydration. You can add some non salt broth to the water if you think he really needs to drink more, but most likely, he is probably just fine.

[GeorgeofNE]

Agree, don't worry about it.

 

I had to measure my dog's intake for a while, and I was shocked how little he drinks.

[Guest BlingDogs]

Dory drinks like a horse, at least 2 cups a day. Her urine is always very yellow though. If I add some crushed ice to it she'll gulp even more down. Also, her water bowl is on an old detergent bucket, and I make sure her walking collar is off because the tags clinking against the bowl really bothers her. So maybe try elevating it differently or removing any phobias?

[JJNg]

Yup, if he's healthy, don't worry about it. You can continue adding water to his food if that makes you feel better, but don't make a big deal out of trying to get him to drink. That can cause stress associated with the water bowl and make him even less likely to drink.

[Guest tsmith1]

Thank you all for your wisdom and experience. I think I will try and increase the amount of water I add to his kibble by 1/2 cup and see if he still drinks through the day.

 

He isn't dehydrated so perhaps that's just his normal intake.

 

Thanks again.

[sobesmom]

I agree not to worry - but definately make sure a big bowl of fresh water is always available. Change it out completely at least once per day.

 

My grey does "the big drink" once or twice per day. She does't sip throughout the day. She goes to her bowl once or twice per day and drinks a decent amount all at once. Sorry, I can't tell you how much becuase it's a big bowl. I DO think it's less overall than my friends' non-greys drink in a day, but that's just an opinion.

 

I also add water to my dog's kibble - but if I add too much, she won't eat it. I add the water for then anti-gag reason, not to increase her water intake.

 

A good question though!

[Guest lucylei]

Missy drinks lots of water though sometimes I do have to encourage her when I notice her mouth is particularly dry or she's panting a lot. However, her pee is very yellow. I researched it a bit and I think it's exactly as was said earlier - if there are no signs of dehydration or infection, then it's normal.