Have you ever noticed how a dog drinks out of its bowl when it is thirsty, after exercise or playtime?It might look very messy to you, as water is being splashed all around the place, but if you look closely, you’ll see the fascinating way dogs drink water. If you watch your thirsty pet drinking water from a bowl closely, you will see that its tongue curls forward so that the water can be scooped out and into its mouth.A dog’s tongue curls and bends to act as a scoop so that it can drink water. They lap up water with their tongues to drink it. Keep reading to learn more about this fascinating mechanism!If you enjoy this article, why not also read about how to calm a hyper dog and how to crate train an older dog here on Kidadl?Why are dogs so messy with water?You might be wondering why, if the way dogs drink water is so genius, then why do they make a mess while drinking from their bowl? You might be surprised to know that dogs make a mess on purpose. While they create their water columns, they try to make the biggest ones. Doing so involves smashing their tongues in their water bowl as much as they can, resulting in a mess.Cats, on the other hand, swallow water quite gently. They are cleaner than dogs and do not like it when water splashes on them. Dogs do not worry about water splashing on them. They just want to create big water columns. If you want to keep the mess low and avoid reaching for a mop every time your dog drinks water, you can opt for dog mats that have the ability to catch water and no-spill bowls.How Lapping Water WorksIt seems very simple when we see the method used when dogs drink water. However, it is not as simple as it seems to be.Dogs drink water by lapping it up with the help of their tongues. It is impossible for people to drink water this way with their tongues. Dogs do not suck water in the way humans do. Instead, they move their tongue from inside to outside again and again. In doing so, they create a water column which they bite so as to drink water. A water column is simply the water that splashes up when water is repeatedly hit with force. The water shoots up and down. The dog bites on this water column to drink water.This method of lapping water wasn’t easy for scientists to figure out. It was a long wait for them to figure out that dogs curled their tongues backward, similarly to a ladle, to drink water. It was discovered using an X-ray of a dog’s mouth that the water adhered to the tongue’s front sides (the opposite side of the ladle shape). The water that was hitting the front of the tongue was the water that was swallowed by the dog. The water that was present inside the ladle went back into the bowl. The reason why dogs make the shape of a ladle is not that they want to scoop. The size of a water column is dependent upon the amount of area that comes into contact with water. The tongue curling backward ensures that more area comes into contact with the tongue’s front. This mechanism shows how genius dogs are.What about cats? Do they drink the same way? The answer is no. Cats are quite different from dogs in terms of the way they drink water. Cats do not drink by curling their tongue backward. They use momentum and force instead. Cats barely touch the surface of the water and are known to only skim it.How much water should a dog drink?The amount of water your dog should be drinking depends upon its size. A healthy dog’s water requirement is 0.5-1 oz (14.7-29.5 ml) every day per 1 lb (453.5 g) of its weight.However, you do not need to measure water exactly every day. The level of hydration also depends upon the diet of your pet, the weather, and their activity level. You can expect your dog to drink much more water on a sunny day than on a chilly or rainy day. There must be fresh water available for your dog to drink at all times.If you have a water bowl accessible to your dog at all times, it may get difficult for you to estimate how much water your dog drinks out of it every day. It may get tough to estimate if your dog is drinking too little or too much. Drinking too much as well as too little can be alarming. If you think that your pooch has been gulping down too much water, you must try to figure out the reason behind it drinking too much water, whether it is dry food, hot water, or exercise. If it isn’t something like that, your dog may be suffering from something more serious, such as diabetes mellitus, Cushing’s disease, or kidney disease. Dogs with kidney failure may drink too much for many days or even weeks, but will eventually stop drinking as their condition advances. The dog must be rushed to a veterinarian for a check-up so that the veterinarian can identify any health problems. Many dogs are known to throw up any extra amount that they consume, but they must be kept away from drinking more than necessary. A dog drinking less water can also hint at a health issue. You must first examine the exercise level of your dog and if the weather is cold. If it isn’t something like that, your dog may be suffering from an illness.Human Vs Dog Water Consumption HabitsThere is a huge difference between the way humans drink water and the way dogs drink water. Can you guess why? It’s because dogs do not have cheeks as humans do.A study was conducted on the way that cats and dogs drink water to learn the mechanism they deploy. It was discovered that dogs cannot drink water the way we drink water because they have incomplete cheeks.Incomplete cheeks are a characteristic that has been observed in most carnivores. The mouth opening of carnivorous animals, including dogs, is spread up to the cheeks. This large opening of their mouth allows them to open up their mouth wide. This large opening also lets them kill prey faster and even increases their biting force. However, the drawback of these cheeks is that these animals cannot suck water the way people can. Even if they try to suck in water, their mouths will let out air from the sides. The cheeks are unable to create suction as they can’t be sealed effectively. This is why dogs developed a way to drink water through their tongues, known as lapping.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for ‘How do dogs drink water?’ then why not take a look at ‘How tight should a dog collar be?’, or ‘Boxer dog facts’?
Have you ever noticed how a dog drinks out of its bowl when it is thirsty, after exercise or playtime?
