What does it mean if a dog refuses to drink water

Unfortunately, pets cannot inform their owners about their poor health. However, if you are attentive to your pet, by characteristic signs there is every opportunity to determine that something is wrong with the animal. As a rule, this happens by itself, in a natural way, but sometimes a pet can consciously give warning signs. That is why it is very important to know what deviations in the pet’s behavior may be, indicating that problems have begun with his health.

One of these deviations will be discussed in the article. Being the owner of a dog, a person may face such a problem as the refusal of a dog from water. Due to the fact that a four-legged friend must drink water every day, which is necessary for the normal functioning of all body systems, such behavior should alert the owner.

Insufficient fluid intake, or lack of it, causes dehydration of the body, which leads to serious health problems. If water is not supplied in sufficient volume, the animal has characteristic signs that cannot go unnoticed: firstly, appetite disappears or dies away, the dog becomes lethargic and inactive, its eyes sink. In this case, you must definitely show the pet to the veterinarian.

There are also cases when the refusal of a dog from water is not associated with deviations in its health. In this case, you do not have to worry, but be sure to take the necessary measures to eliminate the causes of the failure. To begin with, you need to ensure that the water in the bowl of the animal is always fresh, and do not allow the water to stagnate. You may have to use purified water, filtered or bottled for this.

You should also pay attention to the fact that the dog may refuse to drink water due to changing dishes. The fact is that pets tend to get used to certain things, and replacing an old, familiar bowl can cause a dog not to want to drink from a new one for some time. A possible reason may be the inconvenient position of the drinking utensils, so it makes sense, before denouncing the health of the pet, check the position of the bowl, whether it is too high or low for a particular breed of dog. In addition, if the animal’s diet includes natural products, the liquid contained in them may be quite sufficient for the pet’s body.

What can the owner do first of all, noticing that the dog has not been drinking water for a long time? First, you need to examine the oral cavity of the animal. As a rule, any inflammatory processes in the form of ulcers or inflammation of the gums interfere with normal fluid intake.

You can make approximate calculations of how much water a dog needs per day to maintain normal health: 20 and 70 mg must be multiplied by the animal’s body weight. So, for example, if a dog weighs 10 kg, it needs from 0,2 to 0,7 liters of water per day. Of course, everything is very individual, and factors such as temperature and humidity, the physical activity of the animal, and the characteristics of its body should be taken into account.

The time of year is also an important factor. In winter, as a rule, the dog consumes less water than in summer, and if there is significant physical activity in the summer, the animal can drink about two liters of water, and this will be normal. As mentioned earlier, when eating natural food (liquid cereals, soups, sour-milk products …), a dog can get by with less water, and in winter, under such nutritional conditions, it may not drink water at all, while feeling good. Accordingly, if the pet’s diet consists of dry food, water is a must.

We continue to consider the reasons for refusing water, which can be both psychological and physiological in nature. The most obvious psychological reason is the contaminated water in the bowl. Naturally, in this case it is enough to change the water. If in this case the dog does not touch the water, it may simply not like the smell of dishes, which can give off a strong smell of detergent.

Among the physiological causes, the following diseases can be considered: infectious diseases, kidney diseases, malignant neoplasms, chronic diabetes mellitus, somatic diseases, pregnancy, old age.

Before finding out the specific reasons for the refusal, you need to somehow force the animal to drink. To do this, you can use various workarounds: if the dog eats dry food, it can be soaked in water, when eating natural food, you can put a piece of some favorite pet treat in a bowl of water. If funds allow, you can buy a drinking fountain, dogs are very inquisitive, and such a cunning device can arouse the interest of the animal. If all of the above does not help, you will have to resort to using a syringe from which you will need to water your pet.

As a precautionary measure, the body temperature of the animal should be measured. An elevated temperature may indicate the presence of a viral infection. In this case, you need to contact the veterinary clinic, where the dog will be prescribed all the necessary tests, with which it will be possible to identify the disease. Next, the veterinarian will prescribe the necessary treatment. Relying on luck in this situation is not worth it, just as you should not risk the health of your beloved pet.

It happens that the tests are in order, and the dog does not drink water further. Then we advise you to follow the pet during the day. Perhaps he found for himself some other source to quench his thirst.

Please note that the water in the bowl must be changed every time the pet drank at the end of the meal. Also, once a day, the bowl must be washed, without using any dishwashing detergent.

If the dog’s diet has not changed for quite a long time, and at the same time she began to refuse water, or drink much less, it is necessary to examine the paws and muzzle of the animal for swelling in these areas. It is strictly impossible to delay a visit to the veterinarian (or calling the veterinarian at home) if the animal suffers from vomiting or diarrhea when refusing to drink water.

This is fraught with rapid dehydration of the body, and in this case, without the prompt intervention of an experienced veterinarian, the pet can be lost.

In any case, you should always understand that any atypical changes in the pet’s behavior may indicate the presence of problems with his health. If the dog refuses water, then you need to find out the reasons for this behavior, and not let things take their course, because the life of the pet depends on the actions of the owner.