WATER – THE FORGOTTEN NUTRITION
FIND OUT HOW WATER CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR PET’S HEALTH
In memories of all immobile dogs that were not given a second chance
Water – The Forgotten Nutrient
Top vets from all over the world have talked before about the ideal complete and balance dog diet and how it can help us all learn about the importance of balanced canine nutrition derived from high quality ingredients. But look on the left food bowl. Do you see the water? We will be willing to bet that many eyes have passed right over it, immediately focusing on the protein, carbohydrate, fat, oil, vitamin, and mineral sources pictured at the side.
Water doesn’t get the respect it deserves. While not taking in the appropriate amount of almost any of the nutrients in your pet’s diet will eventually make a dog sick, not getting enough water can bring about illness in just a few hours, especially if temperatures are high or if a dog is especially active.
About 60 percent of an adult dog’s body is made of water, and the percentage is even higher in puppies, which explains why pups run into problems with dehydration more quickly than adults.
Thankfully, as long as an adult dog is healthy you don’t need to calculate the exact amount of water he needs or measure the amount he is taking in. Just keep a bowl of clean water available at all times, or offer it frequently when a dog is exercising, and he will help himself to what he needs.
Water quality is just as important as quantity. My rule of thumb is if it doesn’t look like something you’d want to drink, your dog probably shouldn’t be drinking it either. Keep water bowls clean by rinsing them out and refilling them daily. Also, make sure to scrub them out once or twice a week. Sanitize your dog’s food bowl while you’re at it too.
One reason I only use the formula presented above when a dog appears to be drinking an abnormally large or small amount of water is because dogs can meet their hydration needs from a variety of sources. The water bowl is the most obvious one, but food plays a role too. Canned food contains a lot more liquid than dry, so dogs that eat canned diets may appear to drink less because they are getting so much water from their food. Water coming from puddles, the toilet, or from anywhere else needs to be factored in as well.
Rather than calculating exactly how much your dog is drinking, follow these three general rules to keep your dog going strong:
- provide unrestricted access to fresh, clean water
- Feed an appropriate amount of a nutritionally balanced food made from high quality ingredients
- Promote sufficient amounts of exercise
That said, if you do think your dog is drinking an abnormally large or small amount of water, talk to your veterinarian. Either extreme can be a sign of illness.
WHY IS GOOD QUALITY WATER IMPORTANT
Water is perhaps the most neglected daily nutrient your dog must count on for you to provide. In fact, it’s so important and so vital that no dog could possibly survive deprived of it for long before dying a painful death.
Dogs need constant access to water. It must be served “ad libitum” — on demand — and immediately available whenever a dog’s natural urge to drink calls for it. That’s because water is continuously being lost through the urine and feces.
And since dogs can’t sweat to stay cool, they lose a lot of moisture through the cooling effect of evaporation as they breathe and pant to control body temperature. Unfortunately, many dog owners fail to provide fresh, adequate (and uncontaminated) water for their pet on a continuous basis.And they’re simply unaware they’re doing anything wrong.
NOW, this is probably something you are not aware of. “The latest WHO – World Health Organization – guideline prescribes it at 1.5 mg per litre. In Singapore, we have over the years progressively reduced our fluoridation level to its current concentration level of 0.6mg per litre in our tap water. This is well within the WHO’s prescribed safety level,” Ministry of Health had said. Water fluoridation is a highly controversial topic, with many individuals voicing massive concern over the practice. In contrast, some stick to the concept that there isn’t any association between fluoride and any real negative effects. Fluoride, however, is indeed a toxic substance, and has been tied with numerous health complications in well-established research.
In 1977, it was shown that fluoridation caused about 10,000 cancer deaths in epidemiological studies by Dr. Dean Burk, former head of the Cytochemistry Section at the National Cancer Institute and Yiamouyiannis. Despite the findings occurring in 1977, they were not reluctantly released until 1989. After analyzing the study results in rats, it was found that animals who drank fluoridated water:
- Showed an increase in tumors and cancers in oral squamous cells.
- Developed a rare form of bone cancer called osteosarcoma.
- Showed an increased in thyroid follicular cell tumors.
- Developed a rare form of liver cancer known as hepatocholangiocarcinoma.
Most Singapore pet owners debated that if the water is good enough for humans, it is good enough for dogs. That is entirely false. Pet Owners of Singapore, are you aware that dog’s receptive are significantly stronger than humans? What has little impact on you CAN have a great impact on your pet.