Dog treats are great, but they also need water

The reasons that you want to provide regular clean water to your dog should be obvious. All animals including dogs need good food and clean water to function with optimal health. Like humans Dogs are made up of around 70% water, and it is vital to every body system they have.

The dog brain

Water keeps nutrients flowing in the brain, besides lack of water, not allowing proper blood flow, it also means that the brain will operate at a slower speed, and either have the dog make dangerous decisions (crossing roads etc) or can shut down parts of the brain that will begin to die.

A poorly hydrated dog will also have the equivalent of a learning disability, meaning that you are likely to get more frustrated when trying to teach it discipline or tricks.

Dog’s regulation of heat and water

In winter a dog is often kept outside or on walks can play substantially and get thirsty. People often forget about providing water in winter because they assume that the dog won’t get thirsty, but with a dog regularly marketing territory, and running hard, it can lose a lot of water (mainly through its mouth) Come summer water regulates heat in a dog’s body.

This is more vital for dogs than humans or many species, because most dogs can only release heat in large volumes via moisture in their breath and their feet pads (they can’t sweat). That is why locking dogs in cars on hot days with the windows up can quickly kill dogs.

Dog Digestion and water

Dogs can get constipation any number of ways, but one of the main ways is dehydration. The reason that this becomes critical for a dog is that severe dehydration can block the intestine permanently and kill it. Dogs are meat eaters, and so they have a high acid stomach and short intestine to digest nutrients fast and expel waste fast. If you allow your dog to get dehydrated, undigested meat can rot in their intestine and cause many costly medical emergencies.

Dog’s cell membranes

Water allows all cells in the body (and dog’s bodies) to have their cell membranes functioning properly. This allows the right amount of chemicals either stay on the right side of the barrier or pass through. Dehydration can lead to catastrophic cell membrane failure and irreversible damage to your dog.

How to provide water at HOME

A happy dog, is a dog that can drink water anywhere they want. Most people keep their yards water free to stop stagnant water breeding up insects like mosquitoes, but that means that if your dog cant access clean water in its bowl, it won’t be able to get it from the yard either.

This is why I always recommend that people keep several large steel bowls of water (out of the sun) around the house, and at least one big bucket filled with water in the yard at all times. Ideally you should change the water every day or second day. Stagnant water, that your dog drops food or other debris in can soon become water that they don’t want to drink.