Chicarlyn German Shepherd Dogs

22/09/2026

18/09/2026

18/09/2026

🥩 FRESH FOOD FEEDING FOR DOGS: LET’S BUST SOME MYTHS 🥩

Fresh food has become increasingly popular among dog owners, yet there is still plenty of confusion about whether dogs can be fed well without relying on commercial processed foods.

So let’s separate some of the myths from the reality. 🐾

🥩 MYTH: “Fresh food can’t be complete and balanced.”

The phrase “complete and balanced” is commonly used in relation to commercial pet foods, but the underlying concept is not exclusive to kibble.

A dog still has nutritional requirements whether those nutrients come from a bag, a tin or fresh ingredients.

The difference is that when we prepare a fresh diet ourselves, we have to take responsibility for providing those nutrients rather than assuming a commercial product has done it for us.

And this is where I think fresh feeding sometimes gets unfairly characterised.

A thoughtfully formulated fresh diet is not simply “throw some meat in a bowl”.

It requires appropriate variety, consideration of nutrient sources and an understanding of how the different ingredients work together over time.

🥩 MYTH: “Dogs need every meal to be perfectly balanced.”

Neither dogs nor humans eat an identical nutritional composition at every meal.

What matters is the nutritional adequacy of the overall diet over time.

That does not mean that deficiencies or excesses don't matter. They absolutely do, particularly when feeding growing puppies, breeding dogs or dogs with specific nutritional needs.

It means we need to distinguish between a nutritionally appropriate diet and the idea that every individual meal must contain precisely the same proportion of every nutrient.

🥩 MYTH: “Fresh food is nutritionally inferior because it doesn't contain added vitamins and minerals.”

Not necessarily.

Nutrients can come from whole foods as well as from purified or supplemented sources.

A fresh diet can obtain protein, fat, minerals, vitamins and other nutrients from a wide range of animal and plant foods.

That doesn't make supplements inherently bad, nor does it make whole foods automatically superior. What matters is the nutritional composition and bioavailability of the diet as a whole.

🥩 MYTH: “Kibble is automatically safer because it is processed.”

Processing can reduce some microbiological risks, but it doesn't make commercial food immune from contamination or nutritional errors.

There have been recalls involving commercial pet foods for pathogens, foreign material and excessive or insufficient nutrients. The well-publicised 2018 vitamin D recalls are one example of a nutritional problem affecting commercial dog food.

The lesson isn't that kibble is dangerous.

The lesson is that no feeding system is completely free from risk.

🥩 WHAT ABOUT SALMONELLA?

This is one area where we need to be particularly sensible.

Raw meat can carry pathogens, including Salmonella, Campylobacter and certain strains of E. coli. Dogs may be less susceptible to some foodborne pathogens than humans, but they are not immune, and they can also shed pathogens in their faeces.

That means raw feeding requires responsible food hygiene, particularly in households with young children, elderly people, pregnant people or anyone who is immunocompromised.

Safe handling matters:

• Keep raw food refrigerated and appropriately stored.

• Thaw food in the refrigerator where possible.

• Wash hands thoroughly after handling raw food.

• Clean preparation surfaces, utensils and bowls properly.

• Prevent raw food from contaminating human food and food-preparation areas.

• Store raw meat where it cannot contaminate other foods.

🥩 AND WHAT ABOUT BONES?

Bones aren't simply “good” or “bad”.

The type, size, hardness and shape of a bone matter, as does the individual dog.

Very hard bones can fracture teeth, while inappropriate bones can create choking, obstruction or gastrointestinal risks.

I favour appropriately sized edible bones rather than very hard, weight-bearing bones, and I don't feed cooked bones.

🥩 WHAT ABOUT CARBOHYDRATES?

This is another area where the conversation often becomes unnecessarily polarised.

Dogs can digest and utilise carbohydrates, particularly when starches are appropriately cooked.

That doesn't mean a diet needs to be high in rice, pasta or other carbohydrate-rich foods.

For me, the question isn't “carbs: good or bad?”

It is:

What does this individual dog actually need, and what role does this ingredient play in the overall diet?

🥩 THE BIGGEST MISTAKE WITH FRESH FEEDING

Ironically, the biggest problem isn't fresh food itself.

It is assuming that because an ingredient is natural, it must automatically provide everything a dog needs.

It doesn't.

A diet made entirely from muscle meat, for example, is not nutritionally adequate.

Dogs need a range of nutrients, and those nutrients need to come from an appropriate combination of foods.

This is particularly important for puppies, where nutritional mistakes during growth can have significant consequences.

🥩 SO, WHY DO I FEED FRESH?

Because I value variety.

I like knowing what goes into my dogs' bowls. I like being able to use different animal proteins and fresh ingredients rather than feeding the same processed formulation day after day. And I like my dogs to enjoy their meals.

But fresh feeding isn't magic.

It isn't automatically healthier simply because it is fresh.

And it isn't automatically dangerous simply because some of the ingredients are raw.

The quality of the diet depends on how it is put together, how it is handled and whether it actually meets the needs of the individual dog.

That is the part of fresh feeding I think deserves more attention.

Not “kibble versus raw”.

Not “processed versus natural”.

But good nutrition, appropriate ingredients, food safety and feeding the individual dog in front of you.

Donna Williams,
Emerald Park Border Collies.
www.emeraldparkbc.com

🐾 My mission is to make life better for at least one dog today!

18/09/2026

🐾 FEEDING ORGAN & MUSCLE MEATS: WHY VARIETY MATTERS 🐾

If you feed a fresh or raw diet, you have probably heard that organ meats are important.

But there is a reason I don't think of them simply as a collection of individual “superfoods”.

Different tissues have different nutrient profiles. Including a variety of animal tissues helps broaden the range of nutrients available in the overall diet.

And there is an important distinction between secreting organs and muscle meats.

🥩 SECRETING ORGANS: SMALL AMOUNTS, BIG NUTRIENT DENSITY

The major secreting organs, particularly liver, kidney and spleen, are exceptionally nutrient-dense. They therefore don't need to make up a large proportion of the diet.

🫀 LIVER

Liver is particularly rich in preformed vitamin A, copper, iron and several B vitamins. It is one of the most nutrient-dense foods you can include in a fresh diet.

Because it is so rich in certain nutrients, however, more isn't necessarily better.

🫘 KIDNEY

Kidney provides high-quality protein along with nutrients including selenium, B vitamins and vitamin B12.

Like other organs, it contributes something different to the nutritional profile of muscle meat.

🩸 SPLEEN

Spleen is particularly rich in iron and also provides protein and other micronutrients.

It can be a useful component of an appropriately varied fresh diet.

🧠 BRAIN

Brain is extremely rich in fat and contains substantial amounts of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, including DHA.

It can therefore add a very different nutritional profile to lean skeletal muscle meat.

🫁 PANCREAS

Pancreas contains protein, fat and a range of nutrients, but I wouldn't describe it as a necessary source of digestive enzymes.

The digestive enzymes produced by the pancreas are secreted into the digestive tract by the living pancreas. Eating pancreatic tissue does not mean those enzymes will simply continue functioning as digestive enzymes inside another animal.

🐾 OTHER ANIMAL TISSUES

There are many other tissues that can add variety to a fresh diet.

❤️ HEART

Heart is technically muscle tissue, not a secreting organ.

It is an excellent source of protein and provides nutrients including taurine, B vitamins, iron and zinc.

It can certainly be part of the muscle-meat component of a diet, but it shouldn't be treated as a substitute for secreting organs.

🐔 GIZZARD

Gizzards are specialised muscular organs of the digestive tract and provide protein, connective tissue and other nutrients.

They can be a useful addition to a varied diet.

👅 TONGUE

Tongue is muscle tissue but tends to be relatively fatty compared with many other cuts of skeletal muscle.

It can therefore contribute both protein and energy to the diet.

🫁 LUNG

Lung is relatively low in fat and provides protein and connective tissue. It can add variety without contributing as much energy as fattier tissues.

🥩 GREEN TRIPE

Unwashed or minimally processed green tripe contains partially digested plant material and naturally occurring microorganisms.

It can be an interesting food, but I wouldn't rely on claims that it is a “probiotic” or that its enzymes provide specific digestive benefits. Its real value is that it is simply another nutrient source that can contribute to dietary variety.

🐾 WHAT ABOUT TESTICLES AND OTHER ORGANS?

Reproductive organs such as testicles can also be fed as part of a varied diet.

They provide protein, fat and various micronutrients, but there is no good reason to assume that eating testicular tissue provides a dog with a meaningful hormonal or reproductive-health benefit.

Again, variety is the point ..... not assigning a magical property to every organ.

🥩 SO HOW MUCH ORGAN MEAT?

One practical framework commonly used in raw feeding is around 10% secreting organs, with approximately half of that coming from liver and the remainder from other secreting organs.

I use this as a feeding framework, not because there is a magical nutritional line at exactly 10%.

The appropriate composition of a diet depends on the rest of the ingredients, the individual dog and whether we are feeding an adult, puppy, pregnant or lactating bitch, or a dog with particular nutritional requirements.

And this is where variety becomes important.

Most of the meat component of a fresh diet should not consist of liver, kidney and spleen.

The bulk is muscle meat and other appropriate animal tissues, with organs contributing their own distinctive nutrient profiles.

🥩 VARIETY OVER TIME

Chicken. Beef. Mutton. Lamb. Kangaroo. Venison. Pork. Fish.

Heart. Gizzard. Tongue. Tripe.

Liver. Kidney. Spleen. And other organs when available.

I don't believe dogs need a different “superfood” every day.

I believe in feeding a broad range of fresh foods and allowing the nutritional strengths of those foods to complement one another over time.

There is also no need for every individual meal to contain every possible nutrient.

The important question is whether the overall diet provides what the individual dog needs.

And that becomes particularly important when feeding puppies and breeding dogs, where nutritional requirements are not the same as those of a healthy adult maintenance dog.

🐾 A varied diet isn't about collecting a list of fashionable ingredients.

It is about understanding what the foods you feed actually contribute and putting them together thoughtfully.

That's the difference between simply feeding “raw” and feeding a well-considered fresh diet.

Donna Williams,
Emerald Park Border Collies.
www.emeraldparkbc.com

💚 My mission is to make life better for at least one dog today!

17/09/2026

🐾 PREPARING YOUR HOME FOR A NEW PUPPY: SET THEM UP FOR SUCCESS 🐾

Bringing home a puppy is an exciting time. There is so much to organise and so much anticipation as you prepare for this new little member of the family. But while choosing the right food, bed, toys and collar is important, one of the most valuable things you can prepare is the environment your puppy is going to live in. A puppy is not a small adult dog with the same ability to understand consequences and control impulses. Their brain, nervous system and behavioural skills are still developing, and much of what we consider “naughty behaviour” is actually normal exploration by a young animal learning about its environment.

The most important thing to remember is that you are the responsible adult. Your puppy isn't. Puppies are curious, impulsive and remarkably inventive. They explore with their mouths, investigate movement, dig, chew, climb, carry objects and experiment with cause and effect. They have no idea that an electrical cord can be dangerous, that your favourite shoes are expensive, or that the toilet paper was not placed there specifically for their entertainment. Expecting a very young puppy to consistently make sensible choices is asking more of them than their developmental stage allows. Good puppy raising therefore begins with good environmental management.

PUPPY-PROOFING IS ABOUT PREVENTION

Before your puppy arrives, look around your home from the perspective of a curious puppy. Electrical cords, medications, cleaning products, chemicals, small objects, sharp items, breakable objects and anything that could be swallowed need to be secured. Shoes, clothing, children's toys, remote controls and other tempting household objects should not be left where a puppy can practise chewing or carrying them. It is much easier to prevent a puppy from developing a habit than to repeatedly give them access to something, wait for them to make the wrong choice and then try to correct it.

This is particularly important because behaviour is influenced by what happens after it occurs. If a puppy discovers that stealing a sock results in an exciting game of chase, that behaviour can become very rewarding. If chewing the corner of a wooden table provides interesting sensory feedback, the puppy may continue doing it. Preventing access to inappropriate objects while providing appropriate alternatives is therefore not simply about protecting your possessions. It is an important part of behaviour development because it reduces opportunities for unwanted behaviours to be rehearsed.

MANAGEMENT IS NOT FAILURE

Baby gates, puppy pens, closed doors and carefully controlled access to different parts of the house are extremely useful tools when raising a puppy. There is sometimes a misconception that a well-trained puppy should immediately be given unrestricted freedom, but freedom and training do not have to be opposites. In fact, sensible management allows you to give a puppy freedom in an environment where they are more likely to succeed.

A puppy does not need access to the entire house simply because they live there. Their access can gradually expand as their maturity, toilet training, chewing behaviour, recall, ability to settle and general reliability develop. Some puppies will be ready for more freedom sooner than others, and that is perfectly normal. There is no developmental prize for giving a puppy unrestricted access to every room at eight weeks of age.

CREATE A SAFE PLACE TO REST

A puppy also needs somewhere that is safe, comfortable and predictable. This might be an appropriately sized crate in an indoor puppy pen or another carefully managed area of the home. The purpose is not to isolate the puppy or use confinement as punishment. It is to provide a place where the puppy can sleep, relax and have some separation from the constant stimulation of household life.

Sleep is particularly important during puppyhood. Young puppies require substantial amounts of sleep, and an overtired puppy can become more excitable, mouthy, restless and apparently “naughty”. Sometimes what looks like a training problem is actually a puppy who has been awake for too long and has lost the ability to regulate their behaviour effectively. Helping a puppy recognise that there are times for exploration and interaction and times for rest is an important part of developing emotional regulation.

GIVE YOUR PUPPY APPROPRIATE OUTLETS

Puppies are going to chew. Chewing is a normal behaviour, particularly during the developmental period when exploration and teething are prominent. The objective should not be to stop chewing altogether but to provide appropriate things for the puppy to chew and to make those choices rewarding.

Have suitable toys and chews readily available and calmly redirect your puppy when they become interested in something inappropriate. If your puppy picks up a shoe, for example, turning the situation into an exciting chase around the house can accidentally make stealing shoes extremely rewarding. A calm exchange for an appropriate chew teaches a much more useful lesson: there are things that are available for chewing and carrying, and there are things that are not.

THE YARD NEEDS PUPPY-PROOFING TOO

The same principle applies outside. Check fencing carefully for gaps, particularly around gates and underneath fences. Puppies can fit through spaces that seem impossibly small, and a Border Collie puppy can become an accomplished escape artist surprisingly quickly. Make sure chemicals, fertilisers, pesticides and other potentially hazardous substances are inaccessible, and inspect the garden for plants or other objects that could cause harm if chewed or swallowed.

It is also worth remembering that puppies investigate their environment with their mouths. A garden that appears perfectly safe to an adult may contain all sorts of opportunities for a curious puppy to chew, dig, swallow or climb. Ponds, pools, retaining walls, compost bins, garden tools and water containers may all need consideration depending on the individual home.

SUPERVISION IS MORE THAN BEING IN THE SAME ROOM

Young puppies require active supervision when they have access to areas containing potential hazards. Simply being physically present is not necessarily enough. If you are cooking, working, showering, answering the phone or concentrating on something else, your puppy can find an enormous amount of trouble in a remarkably short period of time.

This is why management and supervision work together. When you can actively supervise, your puppy can explore, learn and practice appropriate behaviours. When you cannot supervise, their environment should be arranged so that they remain safe. As the puppy matures and demonstrates that they can make better choices, their freedom can gradually increase.

ROUTINE PROVIDES PREDICTABILITY

Puppies also benefit from a reasonably predictable daily rhythm. Regular opportunities for eating sleeping, toileting, play, exploration and interaction help them learn what to expect from their environment. Predictability can reduce unnecessary stress and makes it easier for you to anticipate when your puppy is likely to need food, sleep, toileting or an appropriate outlet for activity.

However, a routine should not become so rigid that the puppy cannot cope when life changes. Real life is unpredictable. People come and go, appliances make noises, visitors arrive, furniture moves, meals are occasionally late and routines change. A puppy needs both predictability and appropriate exposure to normal variation. The objective is to create a secure environment in which the puppy can gradually learn that change does not automatically mean something is wrong.

DON'T EXPECT ADULT BEHAVIOUR FROM A BABY

Perhaps one of the most important mindset changes for a new puppy owner is understanding that mistakes are part of development. A puppy who has an accident inside has not deliberately disobeyed you. A puppy who steals something has not decided to challenge your authority. A puppy who chews the furniture has not developed a moral failing. These behaviours are opportunities to teach, manage and modify the environment.

Good puppy raising is therefore less about constantly correcting mistakes and more about creating an environment in which appropriate behaviour is easy and inappropriate behaviour is difficult. Prevent access to dangerous things, provide appropriate alternatives, reinforce good choices and gradually increase freedom as the puppy develops the skills necessary to cope with it.

YOUR HOME IS PART OF YOUR PUPPY'S EDUCATION

Every day your puppy is learning about the world around them. They are learning what is safe, what is rewarding, what is interesting, how to interact with people, how to settle, how to explore and what behaviours produce particular outcomes. The environment you provide therefore becomes part of their education.

Puppy-proofing is not simply about protecting your furniture or preventing accidents. It is about recognising that you have brought a developmentally immature animal into your home and taking responsibility for creating the conditions in which that animal can learn successfully.

Don't set a puppy up to fail and then punish them for failing.

If something is dangerous, remove access to it. If something is tempting, manage it. If your puppy needs to chew, provide something appropriate. If they are tired, help them sleep. If they make a mistake, calmly teach them what you would prefer them to do. If they are not ready for unrestricted freedom, don't give it to them yet.

With good preparation, management becomes progressively less necessary as the puppy develops maturity and self-control. You are not trying to control your puppy forever. You are providing the structure they need while their ability to regulate their own behaviour develops.

A little preparation before your puppy arrives can prevent a great deal of frustration afterwards. More importantly, it gives your puppy the opportunity to spend those precious early weeks learning that home is a safe, predictable place where they can explore, rest, make mistakes, learn and succeed.

Your puppy isn't responsible for creating the environment they grow up in.

You are.

And that is one of the most important responsibilities that comes with bringing a puppy home. ❤️🐾

Donna Williams,
Emerald Park Border Collies.
www.emeraldparkbc.com

Raising puppies with purpose.

15/09/2026

🐾 “HE CAN EAT IT SOMETIMES, BUT NOT OTHER TIMES”

This is something I hear surprisingly often when talking to dog owners about food.

“He can eat chicken most of the time, but occasionally it gives him diarrhoea.”

“He was fine with beef last week, but vomited after it yesterday.”

“He has eaten eggs for years, but suddenly they don't agree with him.”

So what's going on?

The obvious conclusion is often:

“He must be intolerant to that food.”

But sometimes the food itself isn't the whole story.

The response to something a dog eats can be influenced by the circumstances surrounding that meal. Quantity, frequency, what else was eaten, the amount of food already in the gastrointestinal tract, changes in the diet, illness, stress and physical activity can all potentially affect what happens afterwards.

Think about quantity.

A dog might happily tolerate a small amount of a particular food but develop loose stools after consuming a much larger quantity. That doesn't necessarily mean the ingredient suddenly became “bad” for the dog. The dose can matter.

Then there is the rest of the meal.

A food eaten alongside a relatively simple meal may produce no obvious problem, while the same food consumed as part of a much larger or richer meal may be followed by gastrointestinal upset.

And what is happening with the dog at the time can matter too.

Stress can influence gastrointestinal function through the gut-brain axis. Exercise can alter gastrointestinal motility and blood flow. Acute illness can temporarily change digestion and appetite. Even a dog who normally has an extremely robust digestive system may have a very different response to food when they aren't feeling well.

There is also the question of previous dietary exposure.

A food that is completely familiar to a dog isn't necessarily processed under exactly the same physiological circumstances every time it is eaten. Likewise, a sudden increase in a particular ingredient or a rapid dietary change can produce gastrointestinal symptoms without necessarily indicating a true food allergy.

This is why I am cautious about the phrase:

“X food doesn't agree with my dog.”

Sometimes it is absolutely correct.

A reproducible reaction to a particular food, especially when it occurs repeatedly under similar circumstances, is meaningful information.

But if the reaction happens only occasionally, it is worth looking at the bigger picture before automatically blaming the last ingredient that went into the bowl.

What else did the dog eat that day?

How much did they eat?

Was the meal unusually rich?

Had anything else changed?

Had they been exercising more than usual?

Were they stressed?

Were they already showing signs of illness?

Had there been a recent dietary change?

Was the dog eating normally beforehand?

These details can be much more informative than simply keeping a list of “foods that caused a reaction”.

And there is another important point.

Not every gastrointestinal episode is a food reaction.

Dogs vomit and develop diarrhoea for many reasons, including infections, parasites, dietary indiscretion, stress, medications and gastrointestinal disease. Sometimes a food is blamed simply because it happened to be the most memorable thing the dog ate beforehand.

This doesn't mean we should dismiss food reactions.

Quite the opposite.

It means we should observe them properly.

A single episode tells us something happened.

A consistent pattern tells us considerably more.

And a pattern that changes depending on quantity, circumstances or what else is happening with the dog deserves a little more thought before we label a particular ingredient as the culprit.

One of the reasons I love feeding dogs a varied fresh-food diet is that it gives me the opportunity to observe how an individual dog responds to different foods over time.

Not every loose poo means an intolerance.

Not every vomit means an allergy.

And not every reaction can be explained by the last thing that went into the bowl.

Sometimes the most useful question isn't:

“What food caused this?”

It's:

“What was different this time?”

🐾

Donna Williams,
Emerald Park Border Collies.
www.emeraldparkbc.com

“My mission is to make life better for at least one dog today!”

15/09/2026

💧 HYDRATION & CELLULAR FUNCTION: WATER IS MUCH MORE THAN A DRINK 🐾

When we think about hydration, we often think about whether a dog has had enough to drink.

But biologically, hydration is far more complicated than simply putting water into the body.

Water is one of the fundamental components of life. It provides the environment in which almost every biochemical reaction in the body occurs, allows nutrients and waste products to move between tissues, helps regulate temperature, maintains blood volume and enables cells to maintain the precise chemical conditions they need to function.

In other words, hydration isn't simply about preventing thirst.

It is about maintaining the environment in which the body can operate.

EVERY CELL NEEDS THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF WATER

The body of a dog is made up largely of water, but that water is not distributed randomly.

It is divided between different fluid compartments, primarily intracellular fluid, which is the water inside cells, and extracellular fluid, which includes the fluid surrounding cells and the plasma component of blood.

The distinction is critically important because cells cannot simply absorb unlimited amounts of water.

Their volume is tightly regulated.

Cell membranes separate the intracellular environment from the extracellular environment, and the movement of water across those membranes is strongly influenced by differences in the concentration of dissolved particles on either side.

This is osmosis.

Water moves across selectively permeable membranes in response to differences in effective solute concentration, helping the body maintain an appropriate balance between intracellular and extracellular fluid.

That means hydration is not simply a matter of how much water enters the body.

It is also about where that water goes and whether the concentrations of electrolytes and other solutes remain appropriate.

ELECTROLYTES ARE PART OF THE STORY

This is why we cannot discuss hydration properly without talking about electrolytes.

Sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, magnesium and phosphate all have important physiological functions.

Sodium is particularly important in regulating extracellular fluid volume and osmotic balance. Potassium is the major intracellular cation and is essential for maintaining the electrical properties of cells. Calcium participates in muscle contraction, neurotransmission and many intracellular signaling pathways.

These aren't simply “minerals” that happen to be present in the diet.

They are electrically charged ions involved in the fundamental physiology of living cells.

The nervous system depends upon electrochemical gradients.

Muscles depend upon ion gradients to contract.

The heart depends upon precisely controlled electrical activity.

Cells use electrochemical gradients to transport substances across membranes.

So maintaining fluid and electrolyte balance is fundamental to normal physiology.

WATER IS PART OF HOW CELLS COMMUNICATE

The movement of ions across cell membranes creates electrical gradients that allow neurons to generate and transmit signals.

When a nerve cell is stimulated, carefully regulated changes in membrane permeability allow ions such as sodium and potassium to move across the membrane, producing an action potential.

Muscle cells use similar electrochemical principles to generate contraction.

This means that hydration is indirectly connected to processes as fundamental as movement, coordination, heart function and nervous-system activity.

The water itself isn't “powering” the nerve impulse.

Rather, an appropriately hydrated body provides the fluid and ionic environment required for these systems to function normally.

HYDRATION ALSO SUPPORTS BLOOD FLOW

Water is also essential to maintaining circulating blood volume.

Blood is not simply a transport system for oxygen.

It carries nutrients, hormones, electrolytes, metabolic waste products, immune components and heat.

When significant dehydration occurs, plasma volume can decrease. This can affect cardiovascular function and tissue perfusion, particularly when the body is simultaneously dealing with heat stress or substantial fluid losses.

This is one reason dehydration can become serious well before an animal simply looks thirsty.

The body has sophisticated mechanisms for defending circulating volume and osmolality, including thirst, hormonal responses and changes in kidney function.

THE KIDNEYS ARE HYDRATION CONTROL CENTRES

Your dog's kidneys are doing an extraordinary amount of work to maintain fluid balance.

They continually filter blood and then selectively reabsorb water and solutes according to the body's needs.

Antidiuretic hormone, also called vasopressin, plays a major role in regulating water conservation. When the body needs to conserve water, increased vasopressin signaling causes the kidneys to increase water reabsorption, producing a smaller volume of more concentrated urine.

When water is plentiful, the opposite occurs.

The kidneys can therefore adjust urine concentration and volume to help maintain the body's internal environment.

This is one reason urine concentration can provide useful information about hydration and kidney function, although urine colour or concentration alone should never be treated as a complete measure of hydration status.

HYDRATION AND BODY TEMPERATURE

Water is also fundamental to thermoregulation.

Dogs do not cool themselves in exactly the same way humans do.

They have relatively few functional sweat glands compared with humans, and panting is an important mechanism for increasing evaporative heat loss.

During panting, air moves rapidly across moist surfaces of the respiratory tract. Evaporation removes heat from those surfaces, helping dissipate body heat.

But evaporation involves water.

That means thermoregulation and hydration are closely connected.

A dog exercising in hot weather is therefore dealing with several physiological demands simultaneously: increased metabolic heat production, increased respiratory activity, cardiovascular demands and water loss.

This is particularly important in Australia's climate.

A dog can become dangerously overheated without necessarily having had the opportunity to demonstrate obvious thirst first.

HYDRATION IS NOT JUST ABOUT HOT WEATHER

Heat is an obvious reason to think about hydration, but water balance matters every day.

Dogs lose water through urine, faeces and respiration, and losses can increase substantially with exercise, heat, panting, vomiting or diarrhoea.

A dog eating a moisture-rich fresh diet will obtain a considerable amount of water from food, whereas a dog eating dry food obtains much less water from the meal itself.

That does not mean one feeding method automatically guarantees better hydration. Dogs compensate for differences in dietary moisture by adjusting their voluntary water intake and renal water conservation.

But dietary water is still water.

This is one reason I find it useful to think about total water intake rather than looking only at the water bowl.

THIRST IS NOT A PERFECT HYDRATION METER

A healthy dog has sophisticated physiological mechanisms for regulating water balance, and thirst is an important part of that system.

But thirst is not necessarily a perfect early-warning system for every situation.

During significant exercise or heat exposure, fluid losses can occur alongside increased physiological demands. Very young puppies, elderly dogs and dogs affected by illness may also have different abilities to regulate fluid balance.

And if a dog is losing fluid through repeated vomiting or diarrhoea, simply providing a bowl of water may not fully address the underlying problem.

The composition and rate of fluid loss matter.

THIS IS WHERE “ELECTROLYTE WATER” CAN BECOME MISLEADING

There is a tendency to assume that more electrolytes must automatically mean better hydration.

It doesn't.

The body maintains electrolytes within relatively narrow physiological ranges, and adding concentrated electrolyte products to a dog's diet without a reason can be unnecessary or, depending on the product and circumstances, inappropriate.

A healthy dog that has access to fresh water and an appropriate diet generally does not need a human-style sports drink after an ordinary walk.

Dogs with substantial fluid or electrolyte losses are a different situation.

Vomiting, severe diarrhoea, prolonged strenuous exercise, heat illness and certain diseases can significantly alter fluid and electrolyte balance. Those situations require an understanding of what has actually been lost and, when clinically significant, veterinary management rather than simply adding an electrolyte supplement.

THE GOAL IS HOMEOSTASIS

One of my favourite concepts in biology is homeostasis.

The body is constantly adjusting itself to maintain an internal environment compatible with life.

Temperature.

Blood pressure.

Blood glucose.

Electrolytes.

Acid-base balance.

Fluid volume.

Osmolality.

None of these remain perfectly static.

Instead, the body continually detects change and makes adjustments.

Hydration is part of this enormous regulatory system.

The hypothalamus detects changes in plasma osmolality and contributes to thirst and hormonal regulation. The kidneys adjust water and electrolyte excretion. Hormones such as vasopressin and the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system participate in maintaining fluid and circulatory balance.

Your dog therefore isn't simply “drinking because they are thirsty”.

Their entire body is continuously regulating water and electrolytes.

AND THIS IS WHY HYDRATION MATTERS AT CELLULAR LEVEL

At the cellular level, life depends upon maintaining a very carefully controlled chemical environment.

Water provides the medium in which biochemical reactions occur.

It helps transport molecules.

It allows nutrients and waste products to move through body fluids.

It contributes to blood volume.

It participates directly in chemical reactions.

It allows cells to maintain their volume.

It supports the electrochemical gradients required for nerve and muscle function.

It enables the kidneys to regulate the composition of the internal environment.

And it allows the body to lose heat through evaporation.

So when I put fresh water down for my dogs, I am not simply satisfying thirst.

I am providing one of the fundamental requirements for every physiological system in their bodies.

HYDRATION IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT FOR PUPPIES

Puppies deserve particular attention because they have developing bodies and relatively small reserves.

They can also lose fluid quickly with vomiting or diarrhoea.

A puppy that is bright, eating, drinking and behaving normally is very different from a puppy that is lethargic, repeatedly vomiting, experiencing significant diarrhoea or showing other signs of illness.

In the latter situation, hydration becomes part of a much bigger clinical picture and veterinary assessment may be necessary.

Likewise, during hot weather, exercise needs to be adjusted rather than assuming that simply providing water makes the activity safe.

Water cannot compensate for excessive heat exposure.

THE SIMPLEST THING IS OFTEN THE MOST IMPORTANT

For a healthy dog, one of the most important things I can provide is remarkably uncomplicated:

Fresh, clean water available whenever they need it.

I don't need to make hydration complicated.

I don't need to turn every drink into a supplement.

I don't need to measure every millilitre a healthy dog consumes.

I do need to pay attention to changes.

A sudden increase or decrease in drinking, markedly increased urination, persistent vomiting or diarrhoea, lethargy, weakness, excessive panting or changes in behaviour can all warrant investigation, particularly when they represent a change from that individual dog's normal pattern.

Because the body is extraordinarily good at maintaining homeostasis.

Until it isn't.

And when fluid balance is significantly disrupted, the consequences extend far beyond being thirsty.

They reach right down to the level of the cell.

Water is not simply something a dog drinks.

It is part of the environment in which life happens.

Every heartbeat, every nerve impulse, every muscle contraction, every biochemical reaction and every breath occurs within a body that is constantly regulating water and electrolytes.

That is why hydration matters.

Not just because your dog needs something to drink.

But because every cell needs the right environment in which to function. 💧🐾

Donna Williams,
Emerald Park Border Collies.
www.emeraldparkbc.com

“My mission is to make life better for at least one dog today!”