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Should I be restricting my dog's water intake?

Asked by ANef_is_Enuf (26839points) August 26th, 2010

I have a basset hound who is about 3 years old. She weighs 41lbs and is not diabetic. Vet says she is a healthy weight, not over or under, for her size.
She drinks so much water every day… I’m not sure if I should be allowing her to have it all. I don’t know if it can hurt her, which is why I’m asking.

The bowl for their water holds just over a gallon of liquid at a time. She easily drinks 2 gallons a day. If you don’t watch her she will drink the whole bowl in one sitting. I try to prevent that, because I know that BH can be prone to bloat, and I don’t think you’re supposed to allow them to have too much of anything at once.

She is the type of hound that will consume anything she can get her paws on, so to speak. Coprophagia has been a huge issue with her since we’ve had her… she also devours any fallen fruit in the yard. Every day is a battle to keep her from eating everything she sees.

In other words, I can’t tell if she is genuinely thirsty – or if she just has a problem with excessive consumption in general. (I’ve heard this is a common problem in hounds.)

Any thoughts?

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