| Abstrakt: |
Water intake and urine measures were evaluated in dogs offered tap water (TW) or a nutrient-enriched water (NW) supplement while fed dry food with ad libitum TW in a bucket. Baseline (day-7) urine specific gravity (U SG ) was analyzed from healthy, adult small breed dogs ( n = 21; 2-11 years). Dogs ( N = 16) were selected with ≥1.015 U SG , then equally divided into 2 groups balanced for U SG . Groups received either TW or NW in a bowl for 56 days. Dose for each dog was 0.5:1 water-to-calorie ratio (mL:kcal ME/d) from days 1-49 to evaluate sustained intake of a moderate volume, or 2:1 water-to-calorie ratio from days 50-56 to evaluate short-term intake of a large volume, based on baseline food calorie intake. Daily food calorie and total liquid intake (TLI; g/d; sum of NW or TW in a bowl and bucket water) was used to calculate weekly intake. U SG was measured on days -7, 14, 42, 56. Calorie intake was not different ( P > 0.49). A significant ( P < 0.001) time-by-treatment interaction resulted for TLI with baseline similar between groups and no difference between weeks for the TW group. Following baseline, NW group had increased ( P < 0.05) TLI every week, except for week 2 ( P = 0.07). A significant ( P < 0.002) time-by-treatment interaction resulted for U SG , with baseline similar between groups and no difference between sampling days for the TW group (varied by ≤ 0.006 g/mL), whereas NW group was lower ( P < 0.01) on days 42 (1.018 g/mL) and 56 (1.014 g/mL) vs. baseline (1.026 g/mL). This study indicates that all dogs offered the NW supplement increased their TLI and produced a more dilute urine, which suggests an improvement in indices associated with chronic hydration. |
