It’s a heatwave: your guide to hydrating your pet

It’s a heatwave: your guide to hydrating your pet

Britain has seen some of the highest temperatures in its history. The Met Office has given its first ever extreme heat warning, sharing that potentially we will be hotter than some of our top European holiday destinations, including Greece and the Canary Islands. This month is dedicated to raising awareness for pet hydration and it’s needed now more than ever. In this post we’re going to detail how to hydrate your pet quickly and effectively.

Understanding hydration

There’s a huge difference between trying to help an animal who hasn’t had food to one that hasn’t had water. An animal neglected without food can go on for days struggling and when given nutrients can come back with few, if any, health problems. An animal that is suffering from dehydration needs to be treated carefully to ensure that they don’t end up having any further health complications. Dehydration is incredibly dangerous and can cause severe problems for any animal or human, so it’s of course best to ensure no one reaches dehydration and if they do, they are rehydrated properly.

Top ways to keep pets hydrated

Constant access
 

Leave bowls everywhere! Getting larger bowls is a great option too but having them around the house and outside will keep reminding your pet to keep drinking. Our bamboo bowls come in lots of sizes: Bamboo Bowl

Soaking dried food
 

Adding extra water content to food is a great way to give them more hydration. Also considering splitting their daily intake of food in intervals throughout the day to encourage them to drink more water afterwards.

Get creative
 

Frozen treats are great for cooling down your pet. There's a huge variety of ‘pet popsicles’ online but you can also easily make your own at home that are safe too!

Foresee the journey
 

Think about where you're going and take extra water. If you're taking them in the car, do you have enough water if you accidentally break down when it’s hot?

Sometimes you’ll notice water bowls around shops and public areas for your pet when you're exploring local and new areas. These are great in a pinch but they can harbour germs. Taking your own water is great, but also an extra bowl just in case you happen to see someone else in need could save someone else!

Extra sanitising
 

Some pets will only drink out of the murkiest puddles, others won’t drink out of a bowl if it’s been around for a few hours. Keeping the water bowls extra clean will make sure they aren’t deterred by any scents and the water is truly fresh. Check out Hownds most sanitary water bowl: Hero Dog Bowl

We recommend having a read of our article on How to protect our pets from heatstroke for understanding the signs of heatstroke too.

Dehydration is avoidable as is heatstroke. By being vigilant and proactive about how much your pet drinks when it’s hot and how much water they excrete, you can make sure that neither of these things happen.

Check out our Hownd Hero Bowl here to help keep your pets hydrated this summer!