How to Train Your Dog to Drink from a Bottle

Your dog lives to play ball. He is never happier than when chasing after a ball, fetching it, and dropping the ball at your feet to start over again. However, in hot weather, he pants heavily. On this particular day, you realize the dog badly needs to drink when you pick up the ball and it's coated in thick, sticky saliva and the ball feels physically warm.

A responsible pet parent should always take water along on a hot day. But for some dogs, this also means packing a container or bowl for the dog to drink from. How much more convenient would it be if the dog could drink directly from the bottle?

This isn't so much a command as a life skill. Like a child learning to eat food with a knife and fork, for a dog, learning to drink from a bottle makes life so much easier. For the majority of people this is about keeping their dog hydrated while on the move, but for some owners, it's about keeping their pets clean.

Pet water drinking bottles can be a good solution for some breeds that are messy drinkers. Not only does using the tube from a pet water bottle keep their fur drier, but the water itself stays cleaner and fresher...since it doesn't get contaminated by slobber, dirt, or general detritus.

To teach your dog to drink from a bottle just takes a little time and patience. Most dogs will get the hang of it more quickly than others, and be sure they have an alternative source of water while learning. The basics you need to get started include:

• A water bottle, either a sports bottle or a wide-necked bottle
  
• An adaptor or specialized water bottle (should you choose this method)
  
• Peanut butter
  
• Low salt chicken broth
  

It's perfectly possible to train a dog to drink directly from the bottle. But this works best for small dogs with small tongues that will fit inside the bottle. If your dog is larger, then choose a water bottle with a wider diameter top.

It can be helpful to introduce the bottle while on a walk when you know the dog is thirsty. However, take extreme care not to deprive the dog of fluids, especially on a hot day when heatstroke could be a factor.