Australia has one of the highest rates of pet ownership globally. According to the RSPCA, over 60% of Aussie households have pets. Dogs are the most common, with 38% of homes owning a dog. That’s 20 dogs for every 100 people! Here are my two fur babies, Enzo and Vespa.

Ensuring our dogs remain hydrated is crucial, especially given Australia’s long, hot Summers. Summers that see millions of dogs enduring temperatures that can easily reach 40 degrees. Not surprising then that common questions dog owners ask are…

How much water does my dog need to stay hydrated?

How do I get my dog to drink more water?

A little research suggests that a good rule of thumb is that our dogs need 50ml of water per kilo of body weight every day. That’s 1 cup of water a day for a small 5kg dog, 2 cups for a 10kg dog and so on. More than many dog owners would think. Plus the need for water is heightened for dogs:

• Fed a dry kibble diet – there’s no moisture in the food itself (one of the reasons I recommend a raw food diet).
• During Summer – hot weather, especially for dogs outside, can double or triple a dog’s water needs.

Dogs, just like humans, are at risk of dehydration if they don’t drink enough. If your dog is stubbornly refusing to drink anything then first rule out illness. But if your dog is in good health but just not tempted frequently enough by his or her water bowl then bone broth could come to the rescue….

How to get your dog to drink more water

I’ve trawled through tips and tricks online and most of them don’t work for my two fussy cavoodles. Like adding their favourite liver treats to their water – in no time at all they’d cleverly learnt to extract the treats without drinking the water. Some days, no matter how much exercise they get, they’re reluctant to take more than a few sips from their water bowl, let alone reach their recommended daily allowance.

That’s why with Summer around the corner I was once again thinking about inventive ways to make water more appealing. This is where bone broth comes in. It works a treat….you can imagine my relief when I first gave Enzo and Vespa bone broth and they licked their water bowls dry!

Bone broth for dogs – the benefits

Bone broth is just that – a broth made from slow cooking bones. Ideally bones from grass-fed animals. It’s not just a great way to hydrate dogs – bone broth is also easy to digest and super nutritious for our canine companions. Bone broth for dogs promotes:

• Joint health – it’s packed with joint protecting compounds
• Gut health – it protects the gut thanks to being packed with gelatin
• Liver health – by helping their liver perform its role of detoxification

Best of all if my two are anything to go by dogs love the flavour and will happily lick their bowl of bone broth dry. If you’ve got a fussy canine who doesn’t ever seem to be thirsty enough then give bone broth a shot! Just be sure not to choose (or prepare) a bone broth with any ingredients, like onions, that don’t agree with dogs….

Bone broth made easy

I’d like to say here that my bone broth is made at home from scratch. Don’t get me wrong – bone broth is something I have dabbled in, but quiet frankly it requires a whole lot of cooking time and effort. It’s one of the few things that I happily outsource to the professionals. The broth I used is from a lovely Aussie company that’s leading the way in bone broth – Meadow & Marrow.

They kindly sent me some of their nutrient dense bone broth concentrate to experiment with. Their broth is made with only the best beef – they source only 100% Australian grass-fed (and finished) pasture raised, hormone and antibiotic free cattle from farmers they trust. All I do is mix a little with water and keep it in the fridge ready to go. Or I freeze it into ice cubes to keep them distracted on hot days. If you’re looking for a convenient and affordable bone broth solution for your dogs then I’d recommend Meadow & Marrow……you only have to look at Vespa’s ‘more please’ reaction when he realises his bowl is empty!