July is Pet Hydration Month, so I’m squeaking in at the last second with helpful information, a product review, and a giveaway!

I keep this running list of questions and ideas for possible blog posts, and one that’s been on my list for far too long was: How much water does a dog need in a day? Turns out, an ounce of water per pound! Check out this awesome infographic from PetSafe about water consumption in dogs and cats:

For a big dog like Lucas, that’s a lot of water in a day! Frankly, I don’t know that any of the herd drank enough each day, especially in the hot, muggy summer heat. One problem, I think, was that our two water dishes were side-by-side and sort of uninteresting. They aren’t in the most convenient location either. In the course of a normal day, they wouldn’t walk past them often (between the kitchen and back door so mostly when they go outside). But drinking enough water is critical for overall health, like flushing out the kidneys (SO important for cats).

We have two PetSafe fountains that they kindly sent us, so we set up one upstairs right outside my office door, which they walk past 987 times a day:

And we set up the other in the living room:

The upstairs one is pretty small, and Lucas won’t drink from it. I’m not sure why. He passes by it a bunch. He knows it’s water. The other three drink from it. He won’t. Something to consider if you’re thinking about a fountain. The downstairs one is more like a normal stainless bowl, and everyone was comfortable with it right away. It’s also nearly silent, which is great for the living room. Occasionally Newt thinks it’s super fun to poke her paw in the fountain part, then she shakes it off all horrified about having a wet foot. Goofy girl.

Do they drink more water because of the fountains? Hard to say. Supposedly moving water and the fresh oxygenation are both more appealing to pets. I think if anyone is drinking more, it’s Newt. Or it could be that the bowls are in places I see her drinking more often? Regardless, I’m glad to see her drinking water throughout the day!

The ones we have are the Avalon (the red ceramic one) and Zen (the stainless one). For a while I was tempted to buy an outdoor fountain–it seems like such a great way to provide fresh, clean outdoor water versus a bowl that sits out collecting crud–but then I realized that the dogs never want to be outside without me, so I probably wouldn’t use it. While at SuperZoo, though, I did see their new fountain, the Sedona, which is really simple and could match any decor.

That said, PetSafe has very generously offered a fountain for me to give away to one of YOU lucky pups! This is a Rafflecopter giveaway. The widget will load below (sometimes it takes a second). If you’re reading this via email or through a feed, you might have to click the link.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks, PetSafe, for offering this giveaway! What do you guys think? Would your pets drink more filtered water? Do you currently have some kind of filter or fountain system in place?