[Untypically Jia]

Okay so my basset will drink and drink and drink her water and then she'll go into the kitchen and cry at the sink until I refill her water dish.

I don't want her to think that if she cries I'll give her whatever she wants, but I'm certainly not depraving her of water . . . seriously, how much water can a 12 week old drink in one sitting?!

Also, I read somewhere that I shouldn't be giving her water after 6pm, how accurate is that information? Or is water the one thing I should always give upon (annoying) request? LOL

 

[Mikey T]

I don't want her to think that if she cries I'll give her whatever she wants

If a baby were crying for a bottle would you think the same. There is a clear difference in asking for appropriate things and asking for say the 15th piece of candy. One does not nescessarily lead to the other as long as your consistent. If you only respond to an appropriate request for water but never a request for an un earned treat the dog will only ask for water when the bowl is empty and never beg for a treat. This is much more true of dogs than humans because dogs are great disciminators and general poor generalizor just the opposite of humans. The can disect the subtle difference in situations and proceed on that basis they guick pick up beggging only works for water. Humans on the other time often streaching credibility try to conect dots that have no business being connected or only mildly at best related.

Also, I read somewhere that I shouldn't be giving her water after 6pm, how accurate is that information?

with a huge grain of salt.. Restricting access to water can create over indulgence even to the point of vomiting because the dog is unsure when it will have access again. that said restrition can make for a more manage situation at night. and having a schedual for water can make when the dog needs to go more predicable as well but it needs to be a part of a total program where everthing is schedualed from food, play and sleep. You need to do some experementing and tweeking to find what works best for you and your dog, rules have little value when they are not apporpiate to your particual and unique set of circumstances one of the biggest varriable is the uniqueness of each and every dog which must be taken into account.

 

[opus]

Personally I would never restrict water and Opus has access to it at all times. If you are concerned about excessive drinking perhaps a visit to the vet is in order.

 

[vonny01]

Personally I would never restrict water and Opus has access to it at all times. If you are concerned about excessive drinking perhaps a visit to the vet is in order.

I also would never restrict water especially for a puppy

 

[Arry]

As long as it is not hot in your home portioning out water is a good tool to help with potty training. If I would let her, my 16 week old would drink and drink until she exploded. LOL I watch how much I give her and believe me she gets enough, but I don't have it available 24 hours or I'd have to bring her out every hour when I'm sleeping instead of the every 3 hours I do now.

 

[smitte21]

It depends on the dog. We have a boy who is obsessive about water and will truly drink and drink and drink until he makes himself sick. He's got some psych issue that he feels the need for it and before any of you jump on me, yes we have had him checked for all the possibilities three times. He does not have diabetes insipidis or any of the other culprits... just an issue that comes from him being deprived as a puppy when he was deprived of food and water before we got him out of his abusive situation. So now we have to keep him from the water when we are away and remind him when he is drinking to stop when he's drank enough.

I would be leary of not giving her the water she thinks she needs as you may end up with a dog like ours. I did not create our issue but we still deal with it and he is now 8 years old and this happened before he came to us at just under 6 months old.

 

[mhvonalmen8908]

We don't restrict our dogs' water intake except to only fill it once a day. This holds true unless it's hot and they've been outside most of the day. For example, today it's almost in the 80s and so they'll probably need a couple of refills today. Virga is really bad about gulping tons of water. But she's definitely gotten better. We used to take it up at night so she wouldn't have to pee as often at night but she's able to hold it all night now so they have free access!

And Virga is a messier drinker than Doppler. Doppler picks one spot of the bowl to drink from and he'll drink from that spot until he's done. Virga, on the other hand, will move all over the water and drink from many different places. It's funny to watch.

 

[Untypically Jia]

So far she's been pretty good today. I think her body is adjusting to the new surroundings and schedule. She hasn't peed multiple times all over the carpet today and I haven't really restricted her water. I just put it down when she eats and so far, no crying.

I think my favourite is when those big floppy ears get all wet cause they hang in the dish. LOL. Cracks me up.