Dog Community

water bowl problems

Posted : 4/22/2006 11:16:07 AM

Anyone ever heard of a dog just deciding not to drink water from her bowl?? She stands at it....looks like she want to drink......and then walks away. We had her at the vet and there is no problem with her mouth/teeth/ears/etc....we're syringing water into her until we can figure it out. Any suggestions or help would sure be appreciated. Thanks

marlania

Posted : 4/22/2006 1:14:32 PM

What kind of dog do you have and how old is she?

Have you tried changing her bowl? Maybe she has a "bowl thing."

I remember reading a similar post recently, and someone suggested adding broth to the water to make it more appealing (then eventually adding less and less broth until the dog drinks just water.)

sandra_slayton

Posted : 4/22/2006 1:21:36 PM

Believe it or not, on Emergency Vets one time a lady brought her afghan hound in with this very problem. There was nothing wrong with the dog, physically. I wish i could remember what they did to get her to drink. I only remember it because at the end of the show they were showing her eat and drink and she had this "thing" on her head that kept her ears out of feed and water and I had never seen such a thing. would be like a hair net for woman.

Judy Bell

Posted : 4/22/2006 2:16:40 PM

My dog is a 14 yr old toy poodle. She has had a few health issues in the last few weeks before all this "bowl" thing started. She developed an absess on her head and was successfully treated with antibiotics. In the meantime, one of her heart meds effected her kidney function. She's temporarily off the Lasix until the water drinking problem had been fixed.

calliecritturs

Posted : 4/22/2006 5:24:24 PM

Try a Solo cup -- and see if she just is spooked by the bowl itself (tags clanging can really spook them).

Tap water or bottled? if tap water has too much chlorine they can refuse it.

Try a different bowl - different size shape or height

calliecritturs

Posted : 4/22/2006 5:25:24 PM

And -- at 14 the eyes may be playing tricks and the dog may not be able to sense WHERE the water is. OR the neck might be sore -- too sore to bow the head down that far -- try elevating the water bowl.

Judy Bell

Posted : 4/23/2006 6:20:39 PM

Hi Everyone.....thanks for responding to my post. We're going to the vet first thing in the morning.......theres something very odd going on with her tongue. The end of it is discolored and schriveled looking. ???? Anyone ever seen that??

spiritdogs

Posted : 4/23/2006 6:35:29 PM

Perhaps she injured it, but it sounds like that might have something to do with her lack of desire to drink. Hope everything goes all right for her at the vet.

P Currier

Posted : 4/26/2006 11:06:06 PM

Our dog would rarely drink out of her bowl. Perhaps she would drink 1/4 of the bowl over the course of a day. I never drank the tap water, only bottled. One day I tasted the tap water and it was horrible. I switched the dog to distilled water and she devoured it. It was not the bowl, but the water that she did not like!