Does your dog have diarrhea, dehydration, or kidney disease? Don’t want to drink water? If so, then it is really a matter of anxiety. Regardless of these, there might be hundreds of reasons for inquiring about how dogs live without water.
Don’t worry! You’ll be amazed to know that dogs have longer survival ability without water compared to humans.
So, how long can dogs go without water? Verily, it depends on the dog’s nature and situation. Typically, a dog can go for up to three hours without water.
If your dog is not so sick, then it can survive until this time limits without water. But when you’re a sick dog that has gone through the surgery or something, the time is improper for it.
Whether a dog is sick or not, how long can it go without water? Below, in this article, we’ll identify the details about this. Also, we’ll try to figure out the reasons for a dog’s not taking water. Let’s get started!
How long can dogs go without water?
“How long can dogs go without having water”-people who’re having a drought in their territory asks this question. Moreover, the owner who is having a sick dog and is concerned about their pet asks this question.
However, the survival ability of a healthy and fit dog is up to 3-4 days without water. The timing can vary or rise if you feed the dog wet food but no water.
Moreover, if your dog is sick or has gone through surgery recently, it might be unwilling to take water. Here we have made a detailed discussion on this.
How long can sick dogs go without water?
The dogs usually leave to eat food and drink water on themselves when they feel sick. So, if your dog doesn’t take any type of liquid for 16 to 20 hours, then it’s absolutely okay.
Offer 1-2 tablespoon of water every 6-8 hours within that time so that it doesn’t get dehydrated. But if your dog doesn’t take water even after 20 hours, then you must consult with a vet.
Without drinking water for a long time, your dog might suffer from dehydration. It consequently may lead the dog to severe and unrecoverable disease.
How long does a dog go without water after surgery?
Has your dog recently gone through surgery? If so, then you mustn’t allow him to drink water for at least 24 hours after surgery.
Apart from water, avoid offering food to the dog after his critical surgery. Drinking water and eating food can worsen the condition of the surgery.
What are the causes of a dog’s dehydration?
Dehydration is one of the serious diseases that the dog suffers from due to avoiding the drinking water. But why does a dog avoid drinking water? Well, there are endless reasons for a dog’s avoiding water. Let’s have a glimpse of some of those reasons.
Sore of mouth
Due to any reason, if your dog’s mouth gets injured, it avoids eating and drinking. For example, when your dog is playing outside, a small wood stuck in his tongue. It will cause severe injury to his mouth, and because of the sore, he cannot eat or drink anything.
Sickness
The sickness of the dog causes vomiting, which consequently makes his body dehydrated. That’s because vomiting loses lots of water from your dog’s body.
Regardless of vomiting, diarrhea is another reason for a dog’s getting dehydrated. Similar to the vomiting, this disease also depletes fluids from the dog’s stool.
Out of reach
If you’re living in the drought-prone territory, then it’s difficult for a dog to reach the water. And the lack of water makes your dog dehydrate soon.
Check Best Dehydration dog food
What are the consequences of dehydration in a dog’s body?
If a dog loses water more than he takes, it causes dehydration in his body. Needless to say, dehydration has a negative impact on a dog’s body. It loses his appetite.
Regardless of this, dehydration creates several types of disease in his body. Here we have conversed in detail about the negative impact of dehydration on a dog’s body.
Lack of appetite
Water plays an important role in digesting the food into the dog’s body. But dehydration makes the digestive system of dogs too difficult.
Whether it is soft or hard food, the dog cannot digest. Even though it tries to swallow the food forcefully, it causes vomiting again and again. As a result, the dog loses its appetite and gets apathetic about eating food.
Loses the energy
Dehydration creates an interruption in the blood circulation inside the dog’s body. The lack of water lowers the blood circulation in your dog. Consequently, your dog loses energy from the muscles and which makes the puppy tired and exhausted.
Sunken eyes
There are many diseases caused because of the dehydration inside the dog’s body. One of those diseases is sunken eyes, which is absent in a healthy dog’s body. But if your dog doesn’t take proper water, soon you’ll find the dog’s eyes have been sunken.
Immediately consult with a veterinary professor when your dog’s eyes become sunken.
Dry mouth, nose, and gums
The nose and gums of a healthy dog always remain wet and moisturized. But the dehydration makes the nose and gums of the dog dry. With a dry nose and gums, a dog gets cracked easily.
Skin disease
Likewise, the human body dehydration causes skin disease to the dog. Low skin elasticity is one of those diseases.
Usually, when you pull the skin of a healthy dog, it comes back immediately in place. But it doesn’t happen for the dog who has the skin elasticity problem. When you pull a dehydrated dog’s skin, you’ll find it remains still in the same position. Learn Vets guide
How to prevent dehydration in dogs?
Do you want to prevent dehydration from your dog? Then you mustn’t let your dog stay without water, even for a single day. Although, you know the fact that a dog can survive for three days without water.
Here’re some tips that you can use to prevent dehydration in your dog.
Feed the wet and hydrated food
If your dog doesn’t drink the liquid, then avoid feeding him the strong dog food. Without drinking the water, it cannot digest or shallow the food you give to him. Instead, provide him the wet and hydrated food to protect the dog from being dehydrated.
Avoid salty food
The salty food enhances the thirst of the dog. And if your dog doesn’t remove the thirst by drinking water, it causes dehydration in the dog’s body. So, don’t allow the salty snacks like crisps, biscuits, popcorn to your pet dog.
Make the water available.
When there is too much heat in your territory, take your dog frequently to the water after some time. The excess heat makes the dog’s body dehydrated, which can be reduced by drinking water.
So, make sure the water is always available in front of your dog. Place a bowl of freshwater where your dog stays most of the time.
Check best dog water dispenser
Get a right-sized water bowl.
Due to the lack of a right-sized water bowl, the dog cannot reach the water. If you have a small dog, then a big-sized water bowl will be inappropriate for it.
Conversely, when you have a large size dog, a small bowl may resist him reaching the water. Therefore, manage the water bowl’s right size and make sure your dog can reach the water.
Avoid the excess heat.
We must know that the excessive heat absorbs the liquid from the body. If your dog avoids drinking water, then the excess will lead him to the dehydration.
Sometimes, this excess heat may be the cause of your pet’s death. So, avoid taking your dog outside of the home when it is too hot.
The sum up!
There is no cut and clear answer about the survival abilities of the dogs. But it’s clear that a dog should drink at least 1 ounce of water for each pound of weight. And it becomes a problematic matter if your dog doesn’t drink sufficient water.
So how long can dogs go without water? Typically, a dog can survive for 3 to 4 days without water when it’s not suffering from dehydration. Nevertheless, if your dog has any sickness, don’t let it remain without water for such a long time.
