A pet owner has shared his own personal hack for getting his dog to drink water in hot weather and it's proving popular online.

It's important for canines to stay hydrated, especially during the warm summer months when temperatures can often soar to sweltering levels.

Dr. Anna Foreman, the in-house vet at pet insurance firm Everypaw, told The Mirror that "dogs should drink between 15-45ml/kg/day on average." She said: "In the hot weather, a dog will drink more water much like humans, however, rather than sweating they lose water to cool off through panting and so will drink more to replenish themselves."

Despite this, some pet owners often find their canine companions are hesitant to drink water. It's not necessarily a sign of dehydration but it's likely to leave dog owners feeling a little concerned for their canine.

Help could be at hand though after one dog owner, posting as magda_gsd, took to TikTok to share his own unique hack for getting his dog to drink plenty of water. The video, which has been viewed 1.5 million times, can be watched here.

Hor weather Dog hack. Thanks to Georgie at WT. #gsd #dogsoftiktok

In the video, he shows how his dog Magda, who is a German shepherd, is often reluctant to drink from her metal water bowl, despite the sweltering heat. "Magda is not a big drinker," an onscreen caption explains with the video showing the canine sniffing around the bowl without taking a gulp.

At one point, Magda even opts to lick the outside of the bowl rather than drink the refreshing fluid inside. Thankfully, the dog's human companion has a nifty trick to get the pet pooch drinking again.

Pouring a tiny drop of milk into a bottle cap, the pet owner adds the dab of dairy to the water bowl, giving the contents a cloudy appearance in the process.

It's enough to get Magda drinking, with the dog shown happily lapping up the bowl of water, much to the delight of their human friend. That joy was shared by many of those watching along on social media, some of whom claimed to have tried out the method with similarly positive results.

"It works. My dog NEVER drinks," LilMissMuffins wrote. "She's loving it! Needed that for this heat."

MaxSmiles2020, meanwhile, commented: "Just tried this and my dog drank half his water and belched so loud and now fast asleep. Thank you! He ain't slept normally because of the heat."

Willowmaywood_xo said: "it's really hot and dangerous for dogs at the moment, this is a really good tip," while Sue Licence added: "Thanks for this, my fluff is now drinking. Omg, makes me so happy."

Some were already switched on to the trick. Jaspersbiccies_ireland, for example, said: "do this with my dog....he's obsessed with milk."

Others, meanwhile, had their own tricks for keeping their canine's hydrated. Mmmm20 said they used "ice cubes with frozen berries in them to motivate them to eat it all," while Nathsma commented: "I use a Calpol syringe she thinks it's a game when really she's just hydrating."

Dr. Jerry Klein, American Kennel Club chief veterinary officer, has previously highlighted a simple test to determine if a dog is dehydrated by testing the elasticity of their skin. Klein says a loss of skin elasticity is the quickest and easiest way of testing it. Simply hold some of the dog's skin around the shoulder blades. Raise it up, then let it go.

If your dog is well hydrated, it should go instantly back into place. If it takes longer, they may be dehydrated. "It's a good idea to first test your dog's skin when you are sure he's well hydrated, so that you have a base for what normal skin elasticity feels like," Klein said.

Newsweek has contacted magda_gsd for comment.

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