July 24, 2014

FitDog Friday: Keep the Dog Hydrated with a "Cleanbottle"

A while back I saw someone having a wee rant on Twitter about seeing lots of folks out walking/jogging carrying water bottles for themselves and not for their pups. 

Now... what made that person assume the water bottles weren't for the dogs? Sure some dogs prefer to drink from a bowl, but there's no reason a dog can't drink from a bottle. 

Angel Abby demonstrates how:
When we walk Rita, we always carry a water bottle (all our dogs have been good about drinking from one) - not just in the heat of the summer, but in the winter as well. (Okay - our winters aren't that cold. Certainly not cold enough to cut our walks short. You might not need to carry water if you live somewhere super cold and are only ducking out for a short walk.)

Rita's a big drinker, so if we don't carry water for her, she'll be trying to drink out of puddles and broken sprinkler heads. Best to bring our own source of good, clean filtered water for her.

According to pets.wedmd.com, in general, a dog "needs at least one ounce of water for each pound of body weight per day." (Note that this can vary depending on activity level, weather, etc.) For Rita, at 42lbs, that works out to about 5 1/2 cups, or 1 1/3 liters of water per day.

Since Rita's a big drinker, it's no problem to keep her hydrated, but if you suspect your dog is not drinking enough, check with your vet. You can try to see if your dog is dehydrated by gently lifting the loose skin at the back of the neck or between the shoulder blades. If the skin doesn't immediately fall back into place, the dog may be dehydrated, but really your vet is the best person to determine this. Signs of dehydration could include: lethargy, dry mouth, or loss of appetite.


Rita's BFF, Dakota, LOVES CleanBottle!
One problem we had with the original water bottles we were using was that they were hard to keep clean. They'd end up getting moldy in the bottom after a while, and I could never find the perfect tool for cleaning them. But, while watching the Tour de France (our July obsession every year) in 2010, we saw "the Clean Bottle" running alongside the riders - that was pretty much the extent of their advertising campaign when they launched in 2010. (I used to worry the Clean Bottle would fall and roll back down the hill, taking out the peloton...)


The Cleanbottle is a great invention - you can unscrew both the top AND the bottom, so you can easily clean out the bottle. It's BPA free, and the company donates 10% of profits to eco and cycling friendly charities! (You can find them for sale on the company's site, at running/cycling stores or on Amazon.)

In Other News - A Winner!
We have a winner from last week's kids books giveaway! In the interest of full disclosure, the first number randomly selected was #3, but the 3rd comment was someone who doesn't have kids and wasn't entering, so I had Random.org select another number. #4 was the winning number, or Jenna of A Ray of Sunshine & A Ladybug! Her kids are SUPER CUTE, and sweet, and Big Time Dog Lovers, so I know they'll love these books!

Thanks for hosting the FitDog Friday Blog Hop goes out to SlimDoggy and co-hosts The Writer's Dog and To Dog With Love.

30 comments:

  1. I am the opposite and very often forget my own water bottle but ALWAYS have at least one for the dogs.

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  2. We found a similar bottle that you can unscrew in the middle to get it clean and I love it! Bunny won't drink when we're out on a walk, but Flattery will suck any bottle dry if we let her. That's a really handy looking bottle!

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    1. Rita's friend Dakota loves drinking from the bottle SO much that even once we get home, she still comes to me for a drink, while Rita heads for the bowl. She's a nut!

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  3. I really like that water bottle - that moldy bottom is one of the reasons I don't use them...so this may be a solution! Thanks for joining the Hop.

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  4. A non-mold growing bottle. I had never heard of that before. Since most of our walking is done on our neighborhood university campus with outdoor fountains, I carry a bowl for drinking. People get unhinged when you lift a dog up to drink out of a fountain. Go figure.

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    1. I've heard that they come unhinged about that. There's a park near here that even has signs saying not to let your dog drink from the fountain. I don't trust drinking fountains... you never know what's gone on with them!

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  5. LOL about the bottle falling and taking out the peloton. Would have loved to have seen that.

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  6. Great idea. I am positive neither of these guys would drink from a bottle though.

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  7. So important to keep hydrated. I am glad the dogs love drinking from the really cool bottle. My dogs are always so fussy, and I have to use a bowl. - Petnet(io) Anu

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  8. Always bring water! Especially on these warmer summer days.

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  9. That is a very good idea. We get hot easily so momma always brings along the water.
    stella rose

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  10. I feel like I have water more often for Mr. N than I do for me. If I don't have water though, I'll ask restaurants or coffee shops for a cup of water and they're usually happy to provide one.

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    1. I definitely carry it more for her than for myself. Sometimes, if it's really hot and dry out, I'll unscrew the top and steal a sip of her water, but it's mostly for her - and she can drink almost the whole bottle on a long hot walk. We don't usually pass restaurants or shops since we're mostly walking in the burbs.

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  11. My dogs drink out of a water bottle, too!! They actually prefer it over a bowl when we are out and about.

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  12. Cool water bottle! Thanks for sharing!

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  13. Very Cool water bottle!
    hugs
    Mr Bailey, Hazel & Greta

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  14. Mom says if she carries water for herself, she will carry it for us, that is only fair, but we don't go out for all that long when it is hot and if we do, we are swimming or in the woods where it is cool so we don't get dehydrated really. Love that the bottle unscrews on both ends. Finally some common sense. We have to look into those.

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  15. If we bring water for us, we always have water for the dogs. Not that they will always drink it. However, for short neighborhood walks, no. They won't drink it.

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  16. I always carry water for Bentley, but I pour it in our Zippy Water bowl. I've never tried to see if he'd drink out of a bottle. I want to say that I saw that water bottle on Shark Tank years ago. It's a great idea!

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  17. Hmmm, clever idea.

    Honey prefers I pour water out of a bottle for her into a silicone bowl. There's something about the running water she really likes. I don't know if she'd use such a thing or not. Spoiled doggie.

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  18. I think I've sampled 100 different types of water bottles and bowls for dogs. I remember one that was just a bottle with a metal spout and a ball inside so the water didn't pour out and the dogs could lick the spout to drink...sort of like a hamster water bottle. I don't use it often though because they like a bowl.

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  19. Love that water bottle… your peloton comment made me laugh!!! Though I suppose it wouldn't be oh so funny. Thanks for sharing the bottle idea.

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  20. Wow....that's really great that the bottom unscrews to clean it. (and that it's BPA free) That's one of my biggest complaints with reusable bottles, is keeping them clean. Any problems with leaking?

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    1. Nope, I haven't had any problems with it leaking. It works really well. Our only problem was that I used the first one so much (like on our daily walk every day for 4 years) that it eventually cracked at the spot where you squeeze it for the water to come out. But we used it so much, I definitely got my money's worth out of it! I just ordered this new one recently.

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  21. Our dogs will drink out of water bottles. You are right though, it is hard to keep them clean. I try to find ones that I can put in the dishwasher. :) Congrats to the winner.

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  22. That's really a clever idea to have the bottom screw off!

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  23. Great idea!! I admit, I rarely carry water as most of our walks are about 20 to 25 minutes. But my dogs do drink from water bottles and I do let them drink from mine. Unless Delilah's been eating something she shouldn't. Then NO SIREEE Bob! Not happening.

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  24. Great post, thank you for sharing.

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