Water intake
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Patty, I'm not sure what you mean by a "complete feed"? You mean kibble or other dry foods?
Are there certain symptoms that B owners should look for if they're concerned about slow dehydration?
I have been observing Bowpi's minimal water intake since we got her. She does drink more after sitting out in the sun, on hotter days, or after running, so I think she self-regulates okay. I did make sure to note her kidney values when she had her blood drawn up last month for her dental work, and they were normal. But just as I think it's important for me to cycle through a lot of liquids each day, I want her to do the same. She is not very interested in plain water though, which is why I make up broth. I'm intrigued by the vegetable/milk broth you've posted, Patty, so I may try that too.
What about fruit? I've heard that some B's really enjoy fruits and vegetables, so that could be another way to increase water intake. Our B is not interested, though the Shiba is. He loves melons, which are nice and juicy and not too tart or anything, so when melons are in season, he gets to eat a lot of those with me. =)
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I know of a Basenji bitch who died because she was fed on a complete feed and wasn't given water with it. The feed instructions were that fresh water should always be available (as I believe most complete foods do) but the little bitch never drank from her bowl and became completely dehydrated. Ever since this happened I have warned any of my potential owners that if they give such foods they feed it in water. As I've previously posted, mine are given about 1/3 pt liquid made up of fresh water, vegetable water and a little milk to colour directly after their meal.
We were told by Malaika's breeder and Kwame's to soak the complete food.
I realy like your tip of feeding veg water and also literaly just colouring the drinking water with milk sometimes, it realy does encourage my two to drink.
Inccidently Kwame drinks more than Malaika but he actualy encourages her to drink as she feels she's missing out :D -
After having a couple of rescues with crystals in their urine, I always add water to the food.
Jennifer
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Curlytails - by 'complete feed' I mean the all-in-one dry feed such as Royal Cainin, Eukanuba etc. I understand kibble to mean the biscuit that you give with meat - is that correct? I call that by an old fashioned UK dog breeders name 'terrier meal' which is broken up pieces of biscuit often wholemeal.
Dehydration can be determined in any dog by just gently pinching the skin which only slowly returns to normal if the dog is dehydrated.
Like you I think water intake is essential and I also think by adding your broth to Bowpi's feed is a good way to increase liquid. I'm sure any problems would show up in her kidney tests, so don't worry.
My Basenjis all love fruit and vegetables (so I'm lucky) but not every fruit, so it's a matter of deciding what they do like. As you say it's another way to increae fluid intake.
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I am too conditioned with big dogs and bloat to add much water or soak kibble. But if I had one not drinking enough, I'd do whatever it took.
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My B Anubis hardly drinks. Every so often like after play time, meals, after chewing a bone, and being outside if it's warm he will go take a few laps of water. Other than that he doesnt drink much. It always worried me but the vet showed me how to check their skin for dehydration. And he is far from dehydrated. I see him go to the water dish maybe 3-4X a day. Not sure…think it's the breed.
My lab, Casey, on the other hand is ALWAYS at the water dish. She goes to the dish like 10X a day or more lol.
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The only comparison I have is to the 3 ****er spaniels I dogs sit frequently. I notice the B's drink far less than the ****ers but not sure if thats a breed thing or just these paticular dogs
What are these asterisks? **?
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What are these asterisks? **?
It's the board's automated censoring system. It apparently kicks in if you try to talk about ****er Spaniels. Where ****er rhymes with Crocker. Or ****atiels. One of the quirks of the board.
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should we call them rooster spaniels?
anyway, my basenjis do drink but not much and not much at all if they are in their crates. The malinois, however, seems to drink lots, but lots of water also ends up all over the floor so i'm not sure how much she actually intakes.
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my 11yr and 3yr used to drink water like there is no tomorrow. i couldnt keep up refiling their filter water unit enough. however, i just switched to strictly raw food diet a week ago and i have noticed the one fill of the units is enough for the day.
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How much water Voodoo drinks changes a lot from day to day and even more so depending on what food he has been eating;
With some dry food, he drinks way more then the other dogs, with other brands, he rarely drinks.
Can't say he drinks really more or less then other breeds. I can only say he only drinks when he is really thirsty (after long runs and after eating) -
Unless mine have an infection they hardly ever drink from their water bowl, however I do give them a flavoured drink after their meal - up to approx 5 ounces.
Mine are fed raw with biscuit.
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Only if I add it to his food, otherwise the water bowl evaporates. He eats only wet food only so there's moisture in that too. When he's running off leash with other dogs he'll drink up a good size bottle.
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My little rescue seems prone to UTI's from not drinking enough water–he's visually impaired and has trouble drinking out of the water dish without getting water up his nose! Once I started making my own dog food, though, the problem went away--I add water to the food so it's fairly moist.
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Do you have the water bowl raised? I did this for my elderly BRAT foster and it helped tremendously and have since kept it elevated since most of my Bs are older.
Jennifer
