Why does my dog forget to drink water?
Dogs often fail to seek out water on their own because they get distracted and literally forget it exists. This lack of consistent hydration leaves owners constantly trying to force or trick their pets into drinking throughout the day.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1mixing treats, kibble, or broth into water bowls
- 2giving ice cubes as treats
- 3using freezer topple bowls or slow feeders
- 4Buying multiple duplicates of favorite items or backup glassware
- 5Leaving glasses of water around the house that humans have sipped from
- 6Visiting multiple stores or ordering items from overseas to find exact replacements
- 7mixing lickable treats directly into a bowl of water
- 8dunking a spoon with puree into a bowl of water to layer water over the treat
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“For the past week Toasty has been hiding, refusing meals, and only licking the moisture out of his wet food.”source ↗
“Spent so much at the vet for them to tell me nothing is wrong with him, but he is dropping significant weight.”source ↗
“My cat did this… $2300 vet bill later to find out he was picky about water.”source ↗
“Plus, he is very adhd and forgets to drink water even when I shove it in his face.”source ↗
“My dog also forgets water exists lol.”source ↗
“I was looking for tips to get my cat to drink more water.”source ↗
“I tried the water-churu method where you just mix a bowl of water with churu to entice your cat to drink, but my cat completely turned his nose up because it was like a new substance to him”source ↗
“We just discovered a similar hack for our pup that drinks very little.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 10Why does my cat only drink fresh water from the bowl?
- 5Why are pet water fountains such a pain to clean?
- 2How do you provide drinking water in a remote portable classroom?
- 4Why does my dog keep licking her paws?
- 6Do I refill engine oil based on what I drained or the manual?
- 8How to give gabapentin to a cat that refuses everything