New Studies From The Farmer’s Dog Reveal Hydration Advantages in Fresh, Human-Grade Dog Food

In this article:

• Why does hydration from dog food matter?
• The Farmer’s Dog is clinically shown to help dogs stay more hydrated than traditional dry food
• The Farmer’s Dog may benefit urinary health in dogs

For humans and dogs, water’s importance can’t be overstated. And drinking isn’t the only way for dogs to get water—a fresh diet can also provide significant hydration. 

And new peer-reviewed research published on November 6 in the journal Frontiers in Veterinary Research demonstrates that dogs eating fresh, human-grade food take in more water than those eating dry kibble, even when kibble-fed dogs lap up water all day long. The study is among the first to directly measure dogs’ water intake from fresh food.

Why does hydration from dog food matter?

To advance scientific understanding of how diet contributes to dogs’ overall hydration, The Farmer’s Dog conducted a series of studies, each involving 10 healthy dogs. One study compared total water intake in dogs who ate a fresh-food diet to those who ate dry food, while another assessed how the same fresh food impacted the potential for urinary stone formation.

The Farmer’s Dog is clinically shown to hydrate more than dry food

The results: Dogs who ate fresh food consumed more water overall than those who ate kibble. The dogs who ate fresh food consumed 20% more total water than dogs in the kibble group despite drinking less from their bowls. 

“These are the first ever datasets we have that quantify the total water intake from fresh food—which is important research to better understand fresh feeding and its implications on urinary tract health and well being,” said Dr. Joseph Wakshlag, DVM, Ph.D., Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Nutrition), ACVSMR, one of the Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionists^Ⓡ who was involved in the study. “The average dog in the common household is a reactive drinker rather than a proactive drinker—meaning they must reach a mild level of dehydration before they have a thirst response. This research shows that feeding a fresh is a moisture-rich, proactive way to support hydration.”

The Farmer’s Dog may benefit urinary health in dogs

As supporting data, researchers also published the results from an existing study of urinary relative supersaturation (RSS) in dogs fed one of The Farmer’s Dog’s recipes. RSS studies are often done to help evaluate the risk of urinary stone formation in healthy dogs, by analyzing if the values fall into desired, targeted zones. The study showed RSS values consistent with the targeted undersaturated zone for struvite stones. Calcium oxalate stone formation was in the lower end of the targeted metastable zone. 

The research shows that feeding fresh, human-grade food—compared to feeding kibble—increases total water intake, supports hydration, and may benefit urinary health in dogs. Taken together, the studies offer scientific support for a notion that many veterinarians consider common sense. “The results confirm what many of us in the veterinary community have long suspected: Moisture in food directly impacts overall daily hydration in dogs,” Dr. Wakshlag said.

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