Man's best friends, dogs are one of the animals that have been made companions throughout human history. In addition to the unique games, activities, or rest at home, there is one thing that is quite common in every one of their daily activities, and that is drinking water. Still, for instance, some dogs tend to lose focus when drinking water and can finish a bowl in seconds.
This behavior can be dangerous for a number of reasons. From moderate problems like choking to more serious problems like bloat (gastroduodenal dilation and volvulus). Being a dog parent, you might wonder how you can achieve that without endangering your dog.
In the following article, we will guide you through the aspects that ensure that we understand why dogs drink water too quickly, the health complications that they may suffer, and, most importantly, practical measures that you can use to reduce your dog's water intake. Whether your dog is a gulper or doesn't gulp with tempers, this is a guide for such instances and one needs to adjust back the water drinking pattern for the safety and healthy recovery of the dog.
Why Some Dogs Drink Water Too Fast
To fix the problem, it is important first to understand why some dogs drink too much too fast. Dogs may easily drink fast because of a variety of behaviors, which include:
- Primordial Instinct: Both in the pack and during hunger, water is important to wolves and dogs. This instinct also extends to domestic dogs, as there might be less competition.
- Excitement: Dogs are energetic animals, and so when they have played a lot or exercised a lot, they will rush to their water bowl and take in too much water too fast.
- Thirst: When water has been absent for some time, a dog might very quickly and excessively drink as it has low water levels in its body; when water comes back, this can lead to overeating.
- Anxiety/Stress: In some instances, the cause of excessive drinking may relate to anxiety or being nervous or stressed. Changes in their environment or abnormalities in their schedule could also be a cause.
- Health Problems: Polydipsia can be caused by some health problems, diabetes, for instance, kidney problems or Cushing's disease, and causes dogs to want to drink more water than necessary at a faster than normal rate.
Among the benefits of determining why your dog drags in water so quickly is that you will be able to come up with better ways to make them slow their rates down.
How Water Intake at a Fast Rate Can Affect Your Dog's Wellbeing
Although water as a substance is important to your pet's health, too much of it taken in too fast can bring about some difficulties. These are some of the risks that would result when a dog takes in water too fast.
- Choking and Coughing: So fast dogs gulp down that whenever they see water, it makes them cough due to the brisk pace at which they swallow water.
- Vomiting: If water is taken in deeply, then this excess water is likely to cause the stomach of the dog to enlarge treacherously, causing the dog to vomit or spit some water soon after.
- Bloat (Gastric Dilatation-Volvulus): Most commonly, bloat occurs when a person drinks water after most other times of drinking water too quickly. In this state, the stomach becomes distended and filled with gas while twisted in a specific position - this is a condition that is life-threatening. Going forth to get an animal to the hospital is one important task he has to do at once.
- Water Intoxication: Even though not very common, overconsumption of water leads to water intoxication. This is a state where the equilibrium of the body's electrolytes is in a mess, resulting in swelling of the brain and tissues of other organs.
Just like the head of the dog center explained to you, if the amount of water your dog drinks fast is reduced, many of these health issues will be avoided and also good water consumption will be maintained.
Signs That Your Dog Is Drinking Too Quickly
When contemplating how to make your dog drink less water, it is imperative to detect the warning signs that indicate that your dog is thirsty and incapable of pacing. Here are the common determinants:
- Guzzling water in a rush with little to no interval
- Gagging or respiratory distress while drinking
- Having vomit or bringing up liquid shortly after drinking
- Dripping water uncontrollably from the mouth surplus
- Having a persistent wish to drink despite having sufficient amounts of water within reach.
If you see this set of signs more often than not, it would help your dog if you implemented means that will help reduce water consumption.
Effective Strategies to Slow Down Your Dog's Water Intake
Fortunately, there are a number of simple and practical measures that can be taken that will slow water consumption rather than dealing with the extreme of restricting water intake. These procedures include changing the height of a water bowl to changing the way of drinking.
Use of Special Bowls:
One of the recommended approaches used in reducing excessive water drinking among dogs is purchasing a unique water bowl. In simple terms, a slow-feed bowl is a slow water feeder that is adapted with some bumps, obstacles or any divisions that are safely placed to hinder dogs from swallowing water within a short period. These bowls constrain the dogs, making it impossible to drink more than the excess amount and promote taking smaller portions.
Supervised Drinking:
Another easy way to manage how much water your dog takes in at one time is to watch and assist them during drinking. By closely watching your pet, and carefully encouraging them to stop frequently, you are able to make your pet avoid an excess amount of water too quickly. You can also remove the water bowl for some time and place it back once in a while so that your dog will take his water in a controlled manner over time.
Setting a Routine:
Training your dog to adapt to a specific drinking schedule more or less helps in controlling your dog's drinking amounts. Instead of letting water be available throughout the day, offer water at particular periods. Sometimes, your dog will become dehydrated, and so whenever you finally get them some water, they will gulp it down fast and all at once.
Controlled Water Portions:
Instead of giving your pet a large bowl of water in a way that they would drink all the water in it at once, instead, serve them smaller portions in intervals. This method helps prevent your dog from overdrinking at one time and allows for a more controlled water intake throughout the day.
Offering Ice Cubes to Dogs:
One of the other ways to ensure that your dog does not gulp down water too fast is to provide them with ice cubes. This works because as dogs lick and chew on the ice cubes, water is taken in at a lower rate. One has to make sure that the ice cubes are not too large for the dog to ingest and choke on. Ice cubes are also a wonderful source of getting water into your dog when the weather is very hot or when you have just finished a vigorous activity with your dog.
Things to Remember When Dealing with Water Drinking Duration
Just like there are a number of strategies to help slow down your dog's drinking of water, there are also measures that should not be taken:
- Denial of Water for Too Long: Do not keep water away from your dog for too long in order to train him on how to control his drinking behavior. Water is vital for health, and if it is not given, it can lead to other health imbalances or dehydration.
- Scolding or Punishing: Do not yell at your dog or punish them because they are drinking the water fast. This is a very common behavior because dog owners feed them treats after every performance. This may lead to punishment, and rather than correcting the vice, it may escalate the behavior due to increased stress and anxiety.
- Providing Small or Splash Bowls: This awful practice may work in the sense of making your dog drink water in moderation. This makes them gulp more water in an effort to make that volume out of a smaller supply. In fact, there are feeding dishes available that help prevent the dog from gulping the water too fast.
When to Consult a Veterinarian
However, suppose your dog continues to gulp water very fast, even after looking into some of the remedies. In that case, you should visit a veterinary in case you also notice some other health complications in the dog like extreme thirst, excessive urination, lack of energy, or drop in weight. A veterinarian will be able to identify conditions that may be causing your canine's habit and suggest more appropriate solutions for the pet owner.
In circumstances where excessive water intake brings about regurgitation, bouts of cough, or indicia of distention, such cases must be handled without delay by a veterinarian. Especially, cases of Archibald's Disease where the distension occurs must be handled promptly as they are life threatening.
It is important to teach your dog to wait before gulping down water to help minimize any possible health complications and make sure that your furry friend remains hydrated without resorting to inefficient and dangerous means. Whether provoked by instinct, excitement, or thirst, hope remains to address cases where your dog drinks very fast. Fear not as there are numerous ways available for you. The other techniques worth effort and time include:
- The use of slow feed bowls.
- They are restricting drinking.
- Offering water in smaller amounts to your dog.
It is important to be sure to be patient and consistent as you implement these changes. If the problem does not get better or if other worrying signs appear, you should see the veterinarian. For the best effectiveness, you can help ensure that your dog stays well-hydrated and healthy for many years.