When is it OK to remove access to water?
While there are plenty of risks associated with restricting water intake, there are also ways to safely set up your potty training program so that you reduce the risk of accidents without putting your puppy’s health at risk.
In general, your puppy should have unrestricted access to water during the day. As your puppy is playing and exploring, or even resting in their kennel while you’re away, it’s important that they have the opportunity to drink when they are thirsty.
Rather than restricting your puppy’s access to water during the day, you should instead pay attention to when they need to urinate and when they drink water.
For example, if you both just had a tiring play session and your puppy gulped water before napping, it’s reasonable to expect they will have to urinate immediately when they wake up.
It’s also beneficial to set a timer to ensure you take your puppy outside frequently enough that they have the opportunity to go to the bathroom in an appropriate location.
For young, small puppies, this often means starting with at least every 30 minutes when your puppy is awake.
While it’s generally agreed upon that controlling your puppy’s water intake during the day is too risky, taking away water before bedtime is usually an OK practice.
If you decide to take away your puppy’s water before bedtime, you should do so 2-3 hours before bedtime so they have ample opportunities to use the bathroom again before they are placed in their crate.
You might also like to read our post Is it Cruel to Crate a Dog at Night? (Yes or No)
A schedule that works for many puppies and their owners is to take away food or water around 8 or 9 at night, with a final potty break before their owner falls asleep around 11 pm.
Then, most puppies will need to be up around 5-6am in order to use the bathroom again, at which point they should again have access to water.
Choosing to take away water before bedtime assumes you have provided your puppy with unrestricted access during the day.
Since your puppy will be sleeping overnight anyways, many dogs don’t need to drink water overnight unless there are health problems making it necessary.
It’s also important that you don’t restrict access to water if it’s hot, or if your puppy has just had to exercise, regardless of the time of day.
As dogs cool off by panting, failure to drink water will lead to dehydration.
If you will only be getting home from work to play with your puppy shortly before bed, you might not have an opportunity to remove water in this situation.
As your puppy grows older, develops good house training habits, and has fewer accidents overnight, you should start leaving water available further into the night to avoid any of the risks associated with removing access to water.
Should dogs have access to water all day?
A dog needs continuous access to water to lower the risk of dehydration. Clean, fresh water must be available on demand… anytime the animal’s natural urge to drink calls for it.
How often should my dog drink water?
Most dogs should drink about 1 ounce of water for every pound that they weigh, every day. That means a 10-pound dog needs about two-thirds of a 16oz bottle of water daily. Really active pups or dogs who are pregnant or recently had puppies often need more water per pound of weight.
Let Puppy Drink Water at Night: Yes, No, How Much?
Water is a critical aspect of your dog’s health, and their access to fresh and clean water throughout the day is just as important as the quality of their food. Unfortunately, some dogs don’t always know when enough is enough. With that in mind, should you be cutting them off at night?
For most dogs, it is perfectly acceptable to limit their water supply one to two hours before bedtime. This will allow them ample time to urinate before bed, reducing the risk of accidents overnight. However, for very active dogs or extreme weather, they may need additional water during the day.
This article will explore the average dog’s water needs and when it is acceptable to limit their access to water. We will also look into some common illnesses that may be presenting as excessive thirst.