Smile…We Go Camping!
Hey there!
It's still summer, right? The "dog days" actually. How about we talk Hydration, Hydration & Hydration!
Room-temperature water is boring. There is nothing more boring than plain room-temperature water. Well said, Chelsea Handler. I couldn’t agree more. I am a water snob. One whiff and I think "This water smells slimy. It tastes like rusted metal. It has an aftertaste like a neglected mothball, etc." Yet, I can pick up a piece of cold stale bread off of my kitchen floor and eat it like it’s freshly baked. No jokes. One of my talents.
So I find myself getting dehydrated very often. I know why and how to fix it. And yet I fail to improve my habit time and time again.
The question here is do you know when your dog is dehydrated?
Here are a few visual cues.
1. SMILES - Normally, the gum should be glossy and shiny. When you pull your dog’s lip back and see a dry mouth, that indicates your dog could be dehydrated.
2. TENTING - Gently lift a bit of skin at the back of your dog’s neck. If the skin snaps back right away and drops back down into place, you're doing a great job of keeping your dog hydrated. If you see a “tent” (when the skin stays tented or stuck together) on the back of your dog’s neck and it takes a second or two to drop back, he or she is dehydrated.
If your dog is a bit snobby about water like me, try these tips:
Leave clean filtered water in a glass, stoneware, or stainless-steel bowl in several locations around the house to encourage more drinking.
Add some bone broth to his or her food to increase water intake.
Simply remember this about the first sign of dehydration:
Smile (pull back lip)
We're going camping (tenting skin)
Want to learn more? Read about pet dehydration HERE.
As the most interesting dog parent in the world should say, "Stay hydrated my friends!"
