This is a puzzling situation when your dog is not drinking water but, eats his food.
If these days you have observed that your dog doesn’t drink water but still eats food that means he is going through some sought of health issue. The most common reason could be a bladder infection, but there is also be a wide range of problems associated with this.
The dog’s body is made up of 80% water and water carries essential nutrients and oxygen to cells. With the loss of water, it can build many other issues too!
It is important to understand the problem. In this article, you will go through various reasons why your dog is not drinking water, but it’s eating and how to deal with it!
Reasons Why Your Dog Is Eating But Not Drinking Water
Here are the 6 most probable reasons for your question, “my dog won’t drink water but will eat”.
1. Unhygienic Water Dishes
Usually, dogs don’t mind dirty drinking water but a well-trained and groomed dog probably won’t drink that. They are picky drinkers and eaters.
If their water bowl has some dust he will not drink the water until you clean and replace it with fresh water.
To deal with must give clean water in the clean water dish. You can clean his dish simply with a few drops of cleanser and hot water.
2. Have You Changed His Water
Our canine is way smarter than you have thought of. If you have recently switched his water he can easily figure out that there is something different either in the taste or/and smell of the tap water.
We all know that dogs have super-strong smelling powers. They can smell somewhere between ten thousand to a hundred thousand times more acute than ours because of the number of scent receptors.
So due to this superpower, they can easily check the change in their water and if they find the change they will not drink their water but though will eat their food.
If you want to switch his water try to mix old water with new water and later increase the amount of new water. From this, he can easily adapt and switch to new water.
3. Bladder Infection
Your pooch will not complain to you if it burns to urinate. Bladder infections are painful and fairly common in dogs. It can be difficult to understand and figure out what is happening with your best friend.
When your dog is affected by this he will face the issue to urinate it will horribly hurt him while urinating. This traumatizing experience will cause losing the desire to consume more fluids.
This will not completely make him stop drinking water, but it will affect the amount of water he used to consume earlier. It will be reduced by a large amount.
You must take him to the vet when he faces this issue a proper treatment and care will fix this issue.
4. Stress Can Be a Mess
Nervousness and anxiety can also affect your dog’s thirst level. As dogs can sense emotions they can sense a change in the surroundings or lifestyle. Even if any one member of your family is missing it can cause a huge amount of stress to him.
A dog can understand easily whether you are sad or happy. If you feel sad he will become sad too! They are sensitive and thus can tend to drink less water.
This is common, and he has a proclivity to decrease his thirst every then and now due to feelings of separation and sadness.
5. Fear Association
Dog’s cannot think as rationally as we can, isn’t it? When something in the surroundings happens which can cause fear or make him that he may be in danger either we will fight against it or just stay away from it. It is possible that your pooch may have a flight system.
If he has any negative or fearful feeling associated with his water bowl or the area where he usually drinks his water. He may not like to drink the water.
This can be due to any reason as simple as a loud noise that scares him when he drinks water or a particular smell in that vicinity that reminds him about something which scares him off!
How to deal with this situation?
You can fix this stress and fear issue in your dog firstly, figuring out what is causing the stress. If there is something that you won’t be able to resolve quickly then try to keep them calm by slowly petting them and by talking to him gently.
6. Strange Smell and Place
Change in the environment of your dog can affect them. A few dogs are adjustable and can quickly accept the change. But, the majority of the dogs will not be able to settle down. They might become nervous. Initially, they will be unhappy in the new surrounding just like we take to accept the change in our environment dogs goes through the same.
Normally, they take time to settle down and might drink water in a few days.
So many dogs avoid drinking water in strange places or unknown places due to the water smells different from what they used to drink at home. See dogs are intelligent animals they have a nice memory to recognize everything. As these animals have a strong sense of smell, even the slightest change can affect their drinking habit.
FAQs
The most common answer to this problem is because of bladder disease or urinary tract infection it reduces to quench his thirst. The other reason could be due to stress, change in the taste of water, hygiene issue, or negative association.
The cause of not drinking in the dogs can lead to dehydration. This will likely happen to those dogs who don’t consume enough water. When he doesn’t intake enough fluids then the dehydration will begin to break down. It can lead to kidney failure, loss of sensation, and in some serious situations, it can also lead to death!
The standard rule says that the healthy dog should ideally be drinking between 1/2 and 1 ounce of water per his body weight.
To deal with dehydration dog all you can do is follow rehydrating methods. This can be done by placing many water bowls in the room where he spends most of his time. You can give wet dog food, give him water in his favorite dish.
Summing It All Up!
It is an overwhelming concern for pet parents when their dog is not drinking water but will eat the food given to them. This can affect his health, and he is likely to suffer from dehydration as a result.
Most of us struggle to figure out the real issue. We hope that you have got your all answer through this article, and it helped you!
Don’t need to panic keep monitoring your dog’s water intake regularly and check for the symptoms. Little efforts from your side will be needed, but you will be able to fix this issue.
Water is essential for you and for him. So drink water regularly.
Stay Hydrated! Keep Your Pooch Hydrated!
References:
- Miranda, G. D. (2022, February 21). My Dog Ate Plastic, What Do I Do? Veterinary Emergency Group. Retrieved August 25, 2022, from https://veterinaryemergencygroup.com/blog/dog-wont-drink-water/
- Debi@RescueDogs101. (2022, May 12). 11 Easy ways to get your dog to drink more water. Rescue Dogs 101. Retrieved August 25, 2022, from https://www.rescuedogs101.com/get-dog-drink-water/
- Reisen, J. (2021, June 30). Warning Signs of Dehydration in Dogs. American Kennel Club. Retrieved August 25, 2022, from https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/warning-signs-dehydration-dogs/
Dwana is our best team member when it comes to taking care of pets on daily basis. This is because she used to be a full-time pet sitter before joining DogLovesBest. Besides contributing her precious knowledge on dog care tips and everyday-use pet products, she still does dog walking as part of her hobby in her free time.