Husky water consumption?

(Wasn't sure to ask this in Breed, Behavior, or Health.)

Koli seems for the most part healthy.

I want to know though if for being a husky her water consumption is normal?

She's about 50lbs. and only drinks about 1/2 gallon of water every two days.

I've never known a dog to drink so very little for their weight. Every dog I've ever known likes to get a long healthy drink before moving on. She likes to get a sip or two every now and then. Even as much as she loves snow she only gets a mouthful or two at a time. I've only known one other husky and it was the middle of summer and she was a stray whom we were trying to find the owners of (we did.) The internet hasn't been much help.

I just want to know if this is normal. For my own data bank and before sending her on to her forever home.

I was thinking this might have to do with being a northern breed. I'd expect dogs that live at the dumps in Mexico wouldn't have to drink much water either. (Part of survival of the fittest.)

If you feed raw, they will drink less water as they get it from the food.
I will say- my dogs until we put in a new water treatment in the house, only drank bottled water- anything else was totally unwilling. ..
1/2 gallon sounds like alot of water to me, but would not be for shepherds- so I am taking your word for this- that is not much water. Have you tried adding a little bit of plain pedialyte if you are worried about this? Also one more thing- two of my dogs will only drink cool water- below room temp.. but none of them will touch warm water or too cold..
And to relieve your mind a little- most serious medical problems the sign is "excessive drinking" - not drinking what you perceive is too little..

I don't know how much water my Sierra (76 lb GSD) drinks.. but I do know that my Buddy (93 lb GSD) drinks at LEAST 3 times a much as she does! Sierra does the same thing your talking about... little sips here and there.
I've never worried about it, I figured it was just her thing! :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by pitc9

I don't know how much water my Sierra (76 lb GSD) drinks.. but I do know that my Buddy (93 lb GSD) drinks at LEAST 3 times a much as she does! Sierra does the same thing your talking about... little sips here and there.
I've never worried about it, I figured it was just her thing! :rolleyes:

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I agree- compared to shepherds, these guys drink very little. As long as urinary habits are normal and no constipation, I would not worry about it..

In general, huskies have very efficient metabolisms, and don't require as much food as other breeds. If you want to get her to drink more, you can make "baited water" - just mix some food, maybe some fish, into warm water to make a watery gruel. Mushers do this for sled dogs who often don't drink enough to stay hydrated during runs. I recall Glacier posting about this, too.

They all seem to have their own method. Sherman drinks after every meal and slurps it up. Star sips off & on but usually drinks a good long drink at the dogpark. I think she likes the cold spring water there.

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Originally Posted by cyber-sibes

In general, huskies have very efficient metabolisms, and don't require as much food as other breeds. If you want to get her to drink more, you can make "baited water" - just mix some food, maybe some fish, into warm water to make a watery gruel. Mushers do this for sled dogs who often don't drink enough to stay hydrated during runs. I recall Glacier posting about this, too.

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This is what I do during the winter. Water outside freezes too fast for them to get enough to stay hydrated. A dehydrated dog can't safely work!

I vary what I put in as the bait. Currently I'm using cheap dry cat food. They love that! I also use meat, ground chicken, dry dog food...whatever I have around that is tasty to them. About four cups of dry food in five gallons water, twice a day and immediately after a run.

I don't think water consumption is breed specific. I have nothing but huskies basically and they all have different water drinking patterns. Anvik would drink gallons a day, Raven drinks next to nothing.

As long as your dog isn't dehydrated, I wouldn't worry. To check for dehydration, you can pinch a small bit of skin on his back. When you let go, it should immediately fall back into place. Or push on his gums, the resulting white spot should turn back to a healthy pink very quickly. If it stays white, the dog is dehydrated.

Glacier, is that 4 cups & 5 gals per dog ? My Maggie would be in heaven. :) Never saw a dog who LOVES to eat like she does.

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Originally Posted by lizbud

Glacier, is that 4 cups & 5 gals per dog ? My Maggie would be in heaven. :) Never saw a dog who LOVES to eat like she does.

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LOL, nope, not per dog, although Anvik would love that! I take a five gallon pail around to 8-9 dogs twice a day. The others have constant access to water. The two pens in the back yard have a modified horse trough for their water. It has a floating heater in it so the water never freezes. The dogs in the main yard just get plain water(unless I think someone isn't drinking enough). I change the bowl frequently so they have unfrozen stuff available.

I only do baited water in the fall and winter. The rest of the year, every dog has access to a recycled bath tub, full of water. I just change the water frequently.

Koli definitely isn't showing signs of dehydration.

I already knew to be worried if she was drinking excessive amounts of water. (Had to read up a lot on senior health when i had King.)

Since I've been worried I've been putting water in with her eveing meal.

She loves fruit juice so when i pour myself a cup she gets a bit in her food bowl. (Every now and then she is lucky and gets a whole water bowl of juice... It's watered down, but she don't care.)

King was the type that slurped down tons of water after eating. About the only other time he drank was in the middle of the night. (Never heard of another dog doing this until cyber-sibes just mentioned it.)

My rat terrier was what i see most dogs do. Take a nice long drink several times a day randomly.

And unfortunately no, we don't feed raw. (Not as much as i'd like to anyhow.)

*whew* glad to know she's probably OK, just ...different.

I wouldn't worry too much unless the dog is showing other signs of illness.

My two border collies are the same size and about the same weight, jess might be slightly heavier than Mist but not much. Mist is smoother coated, not totally smooth like a lab though and it's still very dense and thick and Jess is rougher coated but Mist never drank as much as what Jess seemed to drink.
They were both fed the same diet. Dry food but it was soaked, they didn't generally eat it dry. They basically live together and have the same lifestyle, amount of exercise, everything.

I'd notice when I walked them and they came to a puddle that Jess often drank a lot longer than Mist and sometimes Mist wouldn't bother at all. The other dogs of my dads tended to drink more than Mist too and Mist panted less than the others as well even though the cold didn't affect her anymore than the others. Being a border collie from the Scottish highlands and being born and bred outdoors where working sheepdogs are generally kept, she was a tough and hardy dog.

Now that she is older, she does drink a bit more but not excessive amounts. I think it's because she wears out easier and so pants more and this can cause thirst because a lot of moisture is lost through the tongue.

I think it is just a natural variation. As a human, I don't drink that much really. Nowhere near the amount they say you should. I have tried but it makes me feel really full, bloated and I have to go pee every 10 minutes which isn't practical in everyday life. I can drink very little and my urine is still very pale yellow so I'm sure these variations exist in dogs too.

If she shows other signs of being ill, then have her checked but I really don't think you need to worry otherwise.