Urgent help needed, dog dehydrated

belongtojazz

My little Jazz is very under the weather. I have had her down with the vet tonight who was concerned as she is mildly dehydrated. I was allowed to bring her home on condition I try to get her to drink, if she doesn't she has to go back to them in the morning to go a drip.

She's not sure what's wrong with her, but she won't eat or drink and is very very quiet which is not like her at all. She was sick this morning but hasn't been sick since.

I am looking for some advice on how to encourage her to drink, I have tried dioralyte (sp) fruit juice and an isotonic drink but she isn't interested

andreac

She probably isnt going to drink much herself so you will probably have to syringe some into her mouth or get a water bottle with a squeezy top so you can squirt it into her mouth every so often.

Sigma Force

Probably best to syringe some water into her or see if she'll chew on some ice cubes. Just be careful not to syringe too much in at a time and that it doesn't go down her airways.

yolanda

Would you try putting ice cubes in the bowl for him to crunch on? I know my guy loves them though if he's that sick he might not be interested.
Your other option is just to basically syringe it into him.

belongtojazz

Thanks all, just after I posted this she walked up to the water dish and had a bit of a drink

It wasn't much but it's a start, I have a syringe her for the stuff the vet prescribed so if she doesn't drink again in the next hour or so I'll try that. She's only a little thing (6.3kg) and she's already lost .2kg, it's going to be a long night monitoring her

January

Did the vet check for a blockage in the colon? I only ask because my little man wouldn't eat or drink this time last year and it turned out he had eaten a childs soother and it got stuck. It passed on its own with some help.

belongtojazz

adrieanne__x wrote: »

Did the vet check for a blockage in the colon? I only ask because my little man wouldn't eat or drink this time last year and it turned out he had eaten a childs soother and it got stuck. It passed on its own with some help.

She had a good feel around and said she didn't feel anything and jazz didn't indicate any pain, so she's trying to treat the symptoms, if they don't clear up in the next day or so then she'll x-ray.
It is quite likely she's swallowed something as when she threw up this morning there was a button in her vomit. Little sod adores eating plastic, no matter how much I try to stop her :rolleyes:

ISDW

When we work the dogs, its really important that they are well hydrated before they run, so a lot of people bait the water. I use sardines in sunflower oil, if you put some into the water, they have to take water in whilst they are getting the sardines.

Some people use cat food, anything really thats smelly and that the dog is really going to want. You don't put too much in, just enough to get the dog interested.

Best of luck, very worrying when they're sick and its not obvious whats wrong.

January

Here's hoping if she did swallow something it comes out the natural way!

Cork24

you can force a dog to drink or eat when it does not want to, if the dog is getting dehydrated more then normal. best thing to do, so go get some ISO Energy powder, cant think of the name of one of them but they come in a white package of 12, i used them before while cycling, and work really well they will up the level of sugar & salt in the blood, which in turn will stop you from getting dehydrated...

what else you can do is that you dog could suffer from low Sugar in the Blood to help your dog with this is by mixing 1Tea Spoon of Honey into the dog meat/ Nuts, Luck my dog is Sweet tooth so he likes the the honey from the bowl and looks for more.. Also start giving your dog COD LIVER oil in their food. help their nails and hair. as for the Dehydrated dont listen to some people with give her water in a bottle etc.. the last thing you want to do is force water down the Dogs neck, dog will then see the water as pain.. and will not take water again.. Have seen this Happen...

Have 25+ years with Dogs, from house pets to Working dogs to Hunting dogs. and i always use Honey and Energy powder for dogs that are Dehydrating.. Note only give half of what it states for Human.

Cork24

belongtojazz wrote: »

She had a good feel around and said she didn't feel anything and jazz didn't indicate any pain, so she's trying to treat the symptoms, if they don't clear up in the next day or so then she'll x-ray.
It is quite likely she's swallowed something as when she threw up this morning there was a button in her vomit. Little sod adores eating plastic, no matter how much I try to stop her :rolleyes:

to stop a dog eating plastic they are 2 ways.. put plastic down on the floor with pepper. and he will stay away from plastic again..

or you could try putting plastic down on the floor when she makes a move, check her... chick the finger. it will take time doing it this way.

andreac

Putting a little bit of water into a dogs mouth wont cause pain:rolleyes:.

All you have to do is lift up their lip and put a little bit in the mouth and they will naturally lick it and swallow it, no one said anything about forcing food or water down their neck so please dont put words into our mouths.

So if you cant force it to drink water or eat something, how do you expect to get this powder into them?

belongtojazz

ISDW wrote: »

When we work the dogs, its really important that they are well hydrated before they run, so a lot of people bait the water. I use sardines in sunflower oil, if you put some into the water, they have to take water in whilst they are getting the sardines.

Some people use cat food, anything really thats smelly and that the dog is really going to want. You don't put too much in, just enough to get the dog interested.

Best of luck, very worrying when they're sick and its not obvious whats wrong.

This sounds like a brilliant idea, although the vet has advised not feeding her. I might soak a sardine in some water and then see if she drinks the water (after I take the sardine out)

I feel so sorry for her, she's just lying in front of the fire. The other dogs are really confused as she's usually the trouble maker getting the rest all playing/in trouble, they keep bringing toys up to her and she's just ignoring them.

veruca salt

Boil some chicken in water, let it cool and then let the dog drink it, use a syringe if needed. If the dog has been dehydrated for a while they may be constipated also. If you are very concerned later call the out of hours service. Hope tomorrow shows a big improvement .

Cork24

andreac wrote: »

Putting a little bit of water into a dogs mouth wont cause pain:rolleyes:.

All you have to do is lift up their lip and put a little bit in the mouth and they will naturally lick it and swallow it, no one said anything about forcing food or water down their neck so please dont put words into our mouths.

So if you cant force it to drink water or eat something, how do you expect to get this powder into them?

sometimes dogs can get anxious when force water down them,,

a dog will drink when it needs to.

dvet

Cork24 wrote: »

best thing to do, so go get some ISO Energy powder, cant think of the name of one of them but they come in a white package of 12, i used them before while cycling, and work really well they will up the level of sugar & salt in the blood, which in turn will stop you from getting dehydrated...

These are the same as the dioralyte sachets the OP already has, they are good for dehydration. Only if you can get them into the dog tho!

belongtojazz

veruca salt wrote: »

Boil some chicken in water, let it cool and then let the dog drink it, use a syringe if needed. If the dog has been dehydrated for a while they may be constipated also. If you are very concerned later call the out of hours service. Hope tomorrow shows a big improvement .

SUCCESS!!! I had already boiled some chicken and rice ready to feed her tomorrow. I took some of the juice and watered it down, took the other 3 for a walk and while we were out my Dad put the bowl down and she drank loads. She's even been out for a wee

She is still not 100% but at least I no longer feel guilty for not leaving her at the vet on a drip. Thank heavens for boards.ie

Fingers crossed this means she's on the mend now. Thank you all for the tips x

belongtojazz

Cork24 wrote: »

sometimes dogs can get anxious when force water down them,,

a dog will drink when it needs to.

I understand what you're saying but Jazz did need a drink but for whatever reason was unable to.
I would rather have her at home syringing some water into her mouth then have her in the vets on her own on a drip. Which was where we were heading pretty fast. She's only a small slim dog which means she
has little reserves in this type of situation.
Thank you for your suggestion of the sachet (which was also the advise from the vet) as was said I tried them and an isotonic drink but she wasn't interested ( the rest of the dogs loved it though )

veruca salt

veruca salt wrote: »

Boil some chicken in water, let it cool and then let the dog drink it, use a syringe if needed. If the dog has been dehydrated for a while they may be constipated also. If you are very concerned later call the out of hours service. Hope tomorrow shows a big improvement .

belongtojazz wrote: »

SUCCESS!!! I had already boiled some chicken and rice ready to feed her tomorrow. I took some of the juice and watered it down, took the other 3 for a walk and while we were out my Dad put the bowl down and she drank loads. She's even been out for a wee

She is still not 100% but at least I no longer feel guilty for not leaving her at the vet on a drip. Thank heavens for boards.ie

Fingers crossed this means she's on the mend now. Thank you all for the tips x

That's great news, the broth always works for us too, I am delighted for you

belongtojazz

well it looks like my little one is on the road to recovery! She ate a small breakfast and is currently licking herself dry after a very wet walk thanks as ever to everyone, there was some great tips here to help us x