Water Consumption

[Woof]

I think we would all agree that water consumption by our pets is very important, especially in lite of the fact that for most of us dry kibble makes up the majority of our pets diet.

There is a product out, Drinkwell, which circulates water. The idea is that our pets will respond to the sound of flowing water by drinking more of it. If this is true then I think its a good idea.

I know that my labs will get up and drink any time I refresh their bowl even though they showed no sign of wanting water before hand, and they love to drink straight from the hose. Does any body else have similar experiences which would support the theory above, or is it just gimmick?

Thanks

[nesta21har]

i used to have one of those things for my cats... they seemed to dig it... so i think dogs would prolly like it just the same...

[Nancy]

I've tried it. My golden loved it & emptied it in 1 drink. The others ignored it until I moved it next to their food bowls. They now have 3 bowls of water, and it's just a matter of their location when & where they drink.

I have to rinse it out a lot because bits of food get caught in the base. I think it made me feel better that it was filtered water, but since I don't think the filter works that well, I'm not sure that it's that beneficial.

Might work better for cats since they like moving water.

[StarfishSaving]

I have one for the cats that I got after Sowen's PU surgery... don't want to go through that again! They really seem to like it and honestly, three of my cats ONLY drink from it, and prefer to drink from the water flow.

My dogs love fresh water and would probably love to drink from a fountain. I keep the cats' fountain up on a table to keep the dogs out of it, though- it doesn't hold enough to stand up to their drinking. As is, my cats empty it every two days!!

[Nancy]

Maybe my dogs are using it to clean their teeth...:D

I cleaned it yesterday am, and today it has food in the bottom again. I changed the filter less than 3 weeks ago!

I may just move it for the cats use.

[StarfishSaving]

No, from working at a boarding kennel I suspect the dogs just HAVE to be gargling and spitting their water back out. :D That is another reason our dogs don't get the fountain- they would gunk it up.

[Nancy]

Actually, they're probably just dropping a couple of pieces of dry dog food in it, and saying "watch this..."

[Puddles]

I had a table top fountain once that my cats kept gulping that up. Not to mention the poor Christmas tree gets dehydrated as well. :eek: As far as gunking water up with food, LMAO, my horse dips his hay first!!!

[DiggityDogs]

There's probably a little instinct there that drives dogs to drink running water. In the wild, running water is freshest, puddles and ponds could be stagnant or could be fouled by other animals. Running water like a river or stream is clearest and most likely cleanest.
My dogs tend to like running water as well, whether it be the trickle from the faucet when I turn on the hose, or from the toilet, if it's running, it might as well be beef gravy- they love it!

[StarfishSaving]

Actually, they're probably just dropping a couple of pieces of dry dog food in it, and saying "watch this..."

Could be! I have a cat who used to put all his cat toys in the water bowls, and sometimes he'd raid the trash and put garbage in them, too. He doesn't do that so much anymore but we never could figure out his fascination with it...

Diggity, I'm sure you're right about the running water and instinct. I mean, wouldn't we all choose fresher, more aerated water than stale stuff?

[Woof]

Diggity:

The explanation you gave is the same one I received from a rep. who is unrelated to the company that makes that product but encourages it because he feels water consumption is so important to kidney health.

Thanks to the rest of you as well for your feedback. I am considering retailing these at my store.

Woof

[Nancy]

my shih tzu prefers running water. Her favorite is from a running faucet. She also will drink any time I change the water in the bowls. She can't reach the toilet, but she does jump into the shower when water is draining. (of course we don't let her if there is soap, cleaning products, etc.) I tend to think it's better for them that's why I purchased it.

[StarfishSaving]

I forgot to mention before... We also have an "AutoWata" outside- a bowl that hooks up to the garden hose and refills itself. We use this in the summer when the dogs are out a lot. Toby, and some of the fosters we have had here, discovered that if you PAW all the water out first, it fills back up with running, clean water for you to drink. So that's how it gets used.

[pitlover]

I think my dog would love this, but do they get used to it? Lili will drink running water until I shut it off... and then usually throw up a minute later. She doesn't seem to understand that she can't drink so much water at once! I'd worry she would just drink and drink and drink until it was gone!

[StarfishSaving]

Pitlover, I'm sure that once she realizes that running water is there all the time, Lily would leave it alone.