This Is How Dogs Drink Water

You've surely seen your dog drink water from its bowl more than once — it brings its muzzle close to the water and uses its tongue to scoop up the water it wants to bring to its mouth.

What you may not have noticed is that its tongue curls into a spoon shape that helps it scoop up more water — something it does very quickly, which we rarely get to appreciate. We'll show you in slow motion how they do it — it's really impressive.

The Most Curious Way to Drink Water

Humans barely use our tongue when drinking water, but dogs couldn't drink at all without a tongue, since they use it as a tool to bring water from the bowl into their mouth.

When they lower their tongue, it hits the water while curling slightly inward, taking on a distinctive spoon shape that lifts the water up. Since only a small amount can be lifted each time, they need to repeat the motion several times to quench their thirst.

Once a decent amount of water has built up in their mouth, that's when they raise their head and swallow. You can see this in slow motion in the following video of a dog drinking water.

My Dog Splashes Water Everywhere When It Drinks

Your dog is probably one of those that leaves the whole floor covered in droplets when it drinks, even leaving more water on the floor than it actually managed to drink.

You'll be surprised to know not every dog does this — some drink water without spilling a single drop, while others seem to have splashed water all over the floor... something that can make us slip if we're not careful.

Generally, larger dogs are the ones most likely to leave everything soaked, while small and medium-sized dogs tend to be a bit more careful and barely make a mess.

This comes down to one simple factor: mouth size. Small dogs have a small muzzle and tend to swallow more often to drink more water. Larger dogs, however, having a bigger, wider muzzle, tend to drink and drink until they feel satisfied.

That's when they lift their muzzle to swallow, and water starts falling everywhere, splashing the floor and walls. This is something they do completely naturally, and we should never discourage it — if we scold our dog for it, it might think we're scolding it for drinking water at all.

How Much Water Does a Dog Drink?

This question isn't easy to answer, since every dog is different — some barely get any physical activity throughout the day, while others never stop. That's why there's no ideal amount of water that applies to every dog — each one has its own needs.

Besides physical exercise, diet also plays a big role in daily water intake. Dogs fed kibble (prefabricated pellets) drink much more water than dogs fed fresh food, like the BARF diet for dogs.

We should simply leave fresh, clean water available to our dog throughout the day, so it can decide when and how much to drink. That said, if you notice your dog drinking a lot of water, excessively, it's a good idea to check with a vet.

Since some illnesses precisely show excessive water intake as a symptom.