How to stop dog water bowl slime & how much water for a 16lb dog?

Chewing rocks and other strange objects is common in puppies. It is part of their oral exploration of their environment as they develop. It is also common while they are teething. Try not prevent the behaviour if you can by replacing the rocks with more appropriate chew toys. Most dogs need about an ounce of fluids per pound of body weight per day, so a 10-pound dog needs a bit over a cup of clean water daily. I would advise measuring this amount out in fresh water every morning. Then monitor if the bowl is empty by th end of the day. It is normal for a dog to spread out his drinking throughout the day. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and please post any further questions you may have.

It is concerning that it appears that Nicco isn't drinking water, and it sounds like you are keeping an eye on the levels. I would recommend measuring out the water in the morning into the bowl, and then the next morning measuring the remaining water to get an exact amount of how much he is drinking. Normally a dog should drink between 8.5-17 ounces of water per 10 pounds. Nicco should be drinking around 17-34 ounces daily if we round his weight up to 20 pounds. Check to see if he is drinking this amount, and if he is, then he is getting enough water. To ensure he is getting enough water, you can try mixing in canned food with his dry food. Canned food has a higher moisture content, and that will get extra water into his food. You can soak his dry food in warm water, or occasionally add in some low sodium beef or chicken broth. Finally, you can get Nicco a pet water fountain. These provide a continual source of fresh water for him, and dogs love drinking from them. I have one, and my pets love it. Good luck, I hope this helps!

Dogs should drink about 25-50 mililiter per kilogram of body weight per day. They can also get extra water from eating wet food or adding extra water into the food he is already eating to make sure he is consuming enough water. If he is not drinking as much water maybe try and see if there are other places like his food that you can add water to.

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Especially in bulldogs, it is not uncommon for them to exhibit regurgitation of their water or food. This is due to their conformation, as brachycephalic dogs. I recommend contacting your regular veterinarian to let them know that Thor is having these clinical signs. There are medications that can be used to help treat regurgitation, such as metoclopramide, which functions to keep the GI tract moving food and water in the right direction. I hope this is helpful!

About an ounce per pound per day is the upper limit of normal. If she is drinking more than this then I would recommend that she be seen by your veterinarian for blood work and urinalysis to help define the problem such as diabetes, kidney disease, and cancer among others. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

If you are feeding drying food, she may need more water to help digest it. Also, that breed is very energetic. Some dogs only seem to drink with owners present and drink very little in the day when alone. If it seems excessive (you are always filling up the bowl) give her 8 oz at a time and see how long it takes her to drink that and keep up with how much she consumes over a 24 hour period. You can then take that to your vet for them to check and do a urine sample or blood test to make sure there is no infection or diabetes.

Hello and thank you very much for your question. Changing the food to a canned diet is a good idea if you are concerned with in adequate water consumption. You can add a lot of water to the canned food to make it a gruel based diet. I do have a few suggestions on what may help her consume more water. First, you may want to invest in a waterfall or water movement type of water bowl. These types of watering devices can help mimic a running faucet and studies have shown that animals will drink more from this type of device. Second, you could perhaps change the water you are giving. So for instance, if you are giving your pet well water, you would switch to city water or filtered water. Or if you are giving city water, you may want to switch to filtered water for just a while to see if that helps drink more. I hope I have been of some help. Have a great day.