Why Water Fountains Are The Best Way To Hydrate Dogs

Water fountains keep your dog's water cleaner and cooler than a bowl does, and that is the main reason they're good for dogs. A bowl left on the floor warms up through the day, and bacteria build up in it within a week, even when it's made of steel.

We've run both side by side with our own dogs. By mid-afternoon the fountain filled at breakfast is still getting visits, while the bowl filled at the same time gets walked past.

A fountain won't turn every dog into a big drinker, though. This guide covers what it really changes for your dog and how to measure whether yours drinks more after the switch. It also matters which fountain you buy. Plenty are made for cats and don't suit the way dogs drink.

Cool and Clean Water All Day Is What a Fountain Gives Your Dog

Dogs Pick Cool Water Over Warm

Offer a dog the choice between a tepid bowl and fresh cold water, and in our experience the cold one wins nearly every time. Over a summer day that means a lot of trips to the sink. We've caught ourselves refilling the same bowl three or four times before dinner.

A fountain cuts out most of those trips, because the water stays fresh-tasting between refills. For cooler water, shade and an ice cube or two do more than the pump.

Keep the fountain out of direct sun and away from radiators or oven heat. On the hottest afternoons, drop a couple of ice cubes into the bowl. If you're still on a plain bowl in hot weather, tip out what's left and refill it, because a warm half-inch at the bottom isn't fresh water.

You may have heard that cold water causes bloat in a hot dog. It doesn't on its own. The risk comes from a dog gulping a large amount very fast, so after a walk let your dog sip and offer more a minute or two later.

A Still Bowl Grows Bacteria Within a Week

Bacteria build up in a still water bowl quickly, whatever it's made of.

In a study at Hartpury University, researchers sampled dogs' water bowls over two weeks and found bacterial counts rose significantly by day seven in plastic, ceramic and stainless steel bowls. That's why we wash even a steel bowl every day or two, long before it looks dirty.

That slippery layer you feel on the inside of an unwashed bowl is a biofilm, and a quick rinse under the tap rarely shifts it. Saliva and food particles feed it every time your dog drinks.

A fountain still needs a weekly wash. Moving, filtered water slows that film between washes, though it doesn't stop it.

Inside a fountain the pump keeps drawing water through a carbon filter that traps hair and debris between washes.

Moving Water Wins Over Some Dogs More Than Others

How strongly a dog responds to moving water depends on the dog. Some treat a garden hose as a game and bite at the stream until they're soaked, and those dogs often take to a fountain the first afternoon. Others keep the same drinking habits they always had, just with fresher water in front of them.

Much of the running-water reputation comes from cats, which are famous for drinking from a dripping faucet, and dogs are more varied. What you can count on from a fountain is the state of the water.

That makes water fountains good for dogs even when they drink no more than before. Plenty of dogs do drink a little more, and the next section shows how to check yours.

Measure a Day's Water Before and After the Switch

Measuring is how you'll know whether a fountain changed how much your dog drinks. Those numbers also tell you when a change in thirst is a question for your vet.

1. Pick three ordinary days for the old bowl, not a heatwave or a long hike, and make it the only water your dog can reach.

2. Mark a line, keep it topped up to that line, and note how much you pour back in with a measuring cup.

3. Repeat on three ordinary days once the fountain has been in use for a week, then compare the two averages.

We put a towel under the bowl while we measure. A dog that splashes can lose a surprising amount over the side, and that water was never drunk.

For a normal day, the Companion Animal Veterinary Hospital works from your dog's weight in kilograms, raised to 0.75 and multiplied by 140, in milliliters a day. It treats more than 90 ml per kg a day as a reason to see a vet.

For a 20 kg (44 lb) dog, we'd read 1,320 ml (45 oz) as a normal day and 1,800 ml (61 oz) as the line to watch. A modest rise after the switch is what you'd hope to see. A dog that suddenly drinks far more, or far less, needs a check with your veterinarian. Don't assume the fountain explains it. For a big rise in thirst, a vet will want to rule out these common causes:

• diabetes

• kidney disease

• Cushing's disease

• pyometra, a uterine infection in unspayed females that needs a vet the same day

What to Look for in a Fountain Made for Dogs

Many water fountains are good for cats and awkward for dogs. A cat sips from a thin stream, while a dog shovels water up with its tongue and leaves a fair share of it on the floor. Four details decide whether a fountain copes with that.

Stainless Steel Holds Up Better Than Plastic

Choose stainless steel. It's the most hygienic material for a dog's water because it resists the scratches that plastic picks up from teeth, collar tags and scrubbing.

Those scratches are where slime takes hold. Steel cleans back to bare metal, and dishwasher safe steel parts make the weekly wash quick.

Steel resists biofilm without blocking it entirely, and the weekly wash still matters. Ceramic is a fair second choice until it chips, and plastic is the one we'd skip.

A Wide Bowl for the Way Dogs Drink

Dogs are messy drinkers by design. In a study where Virginia Tech engineers filmed 19 dogs lapping, a dog plunged its tongue into the water and curled the tip down toward its lower jaw. It then accelerated the tongue upward to pull a column of water into its mouth and bit down to catch it. Some of the water flew out to either side.

That's why a fountain built for a cat often disappoints a dog. A dog needs a wide, open bowl with room for a muzzle and somewhere for the splash to land. A narrow spout over a small dish leaves the floor wet and the dog half satisfied. Look for a bowl set high enough that your dog can drink without craning its neck.

A Quiet Pump and a Slow Start for a Nervous Dog

Pump noise is a common reason a fearful dog stays away from a new fountain. Check the noise rating before you buy, and look for a model with more than one flow setting so you can turn the stream down to suit your dog's drinking habits. Then start slowly, in three steps.

1. Put the fountain next to the old water bowl with the pump switched off for a day, so the first thing your dog meets is still water.
2. Switch it on at the lowest flow while you're home to watch.
3. Raise the flow over the next few days, and leave the old bowl beside it until your dog chooses the fountain.

In our experience most dogs settle within a day or two. Keep a backup bowl filled anyway, in case the pump stops or a cordless model's battery runs flat.

Fountain Filters Cost From About $65 a Year

Most of what a fountain costs after you buy it goes on filters. Taking our own filter packs as the example, at one fresh set every two weeks, this is what a year costs on each pack. Our fountain also ships with two months of filters.

A fountain does ask more of you than a bowl in other ways too: a pump to keep clear and, on cordless models, a charge every few weeks. The weekly clean takes four steps.

1. Empty the bowl and take the fountain apart.

2. Wash the steel bowl and filter housing in hot soapy water or the dishwasher. Keep the pump and any battery unit out of the dishwasher.

3. Rinse the pump and pull any hair out of its intake.

4. Fit a fresh filter if one is due, refill and switch it back on.

That weekly routine is still less than a bowl needs, since a water bowl should be washed every day or two. In an NC State survey of 417 dog owners, only about 12% washed their dog's bowl daily. That research also found hot water or a dishwasher cycle cut bacteria further than a cold rinse.

A Fountain Built Around the Way Dogs Drink

A fountain does the most good where your dog rests, and that's rarely next to a wall socket. We built the DoggySpout™ for that. It's the first fountain designed specifically for dogs by the team behind KittySpout, our cat fountain brand. Its rechargeable battery is rated for 30 days per charge, with the exact figure set by the flow mode.

With no cord to route, it can sit right beside your dog's bed, however far that is from the nearest socket. Its 304 stainless steel bowl is wide and open at a comfortable drinking height, so dogs don't strain their necks, and the steel parts go straight in the dishwasher.

Your dog gets fresh water within reach all day, and one less bowl for you to scrub. Shop our stainless steel dog fountain and set it beside the old bowl tonight.