If your pet travels with you, like my little miniature Peke-a-Poo does, and especially if you live in the South, here is a tip that could possibly save your pet's life in the summer. I bought some of the little Gladware containers with the blue snap on lids that are about the size of a pudding cup. By filling them with water and freezing them, I have the perfect way to keep my dog hydrated without a mess.
If you have a larger dog, you could fill several, freeze them, and add them to your cooler. They will cool what is in the cooler and be a replacement whenever one is empty. But please, hydrated or not, NEVER leave your pet in the car!
By Gloria Hayes from Darien, GA
Getting dog to drink water when they are dehydrated.
Tatum
You should have your dog checked by the vet. If he is dehydrated, he should want to drink water. He may be ill. Also, make sure his water and bowl are clean and free of any foul odors, and is away from any pests that may be sharing his water bowl.
No healthy dog ever gets dehydrated. Not only get him to a vet, but possibly an emergency vet.
Put a dash of milk in the water. Even though it is still water, just white in colour, your dog will think it is a milky treat and lap it all up!
make sure it is physically possible for you pooch to drink. Check his tongue for lesions, spots, burns and cuts. Make sure it looks healthy. If a dog cannot use his tongue to lap he cannot drink, they can't sip like humans and horses.
I had a dog once with Cushing's disease which basically turned her tongue into a piece of shoe leather and made it impossible for her to drink, we had to poor it down her throat. It also effected her brain and the rest of her, and eventually killed her.
I'm not suggesting your dog has cushing's obviously, it's a rare disease. Just know some disease can effect the tongue like that.
Also, make sure the dog's gums are a healthy dark pink, and not pale. If the dog feels cool to the touch, especially the gums, he could be anemic and needs to go to the vet immediately.
I don't have a dog but cats that, when ill, become dehydrated. When they return from a stay at the vet (and usually an I.V.), I make sure they get extra water by mixing their canned food with about 50% water.
try a sqeeze type water bottle and squeeze into the back of his/her mouth and blow gently in his/ her face it's natural for them to swallow. I saved a dog with parvo this way.
Soak the dry food in the water. A friend did this and it helped.
My 12 week old puppy is not drank water lately. I checked his nose and it is dry. We squirted water in his mouth like someone said. He had 2 squirts. His heart is also beating quickly.
"No healthy dog gets dehydrated" is right most of the time. But if you have a dog that has been in an accident, or is sick, they may not want to drink water and, believe me, the vet doesn't share that with you. They just keep asking if they are drinking. Sometimes you are so upset with things you don't think to ask that. So the question of how to get a dehydrated dog to drink can be a very important question.
Adding water to their food has worked the best for me. My dog was severely injured in an accident when i was out of town. The Vet hooked her up to fluids once but most of the time I have had to find other ways to get her to have fluids. she is drinking now but I still have to add fluids to her food cause she doesn't seem to want to drink enough. Some of the other ideas I saw on this page sound like good ideas that I need to try them. Good Luck to everyone that has a problem! with their baby dog!
Thank you so much to the person who suggested mixing her wet food with water! It totally worked! It was really soupy and I had to show her there was food in it but once she realized she sopped it all up!
My vet suggested using pedialyte or sugared water. It worked we had to use a medicine dropper, of course.
My dog has had diarrhea for the past couple of days and hasn't seemed to want to drink water so I've been worried she is dehydrated. Putting a little bit of food in a bowl of water really worked! It's amazing!
Hi-
My dog is a chihuahua/italian greyhound mix, 8.5 lbs, and 15 months old. He's really well taken care of, RARELY gets anything to eat other than organic food and treats (and when we do feed him anything else, it's a tiny piece of cheddar cheese or a bit of peanut butter-also organic). Anyway, he got really sick the other night...vomiting and diarrhea at least 7 times within 3 hours. We took him to the emergency vet and they gave a shot to settle his stomach as well as sub-cutaneous fluids so he would not dehydrate. They also advised us not to feed him anything for 12-24 hours to rest his GI tract and after the rest, feed him only boiled chicken with white rice.
My dog has been sick for 8 days! He started throwing up and diarrhea for 6 days now for 2 days he's not throwing up but he's dehydrated. I'm giving him water in his wet food and through a syringe every few hours because he will not drink! The vet doesn't know what's is wrong but he still is not feeling well. What do I do?
Not only will my puppy not eat or drink, he sleeps all day and dry heaves. I took him to vet and they gave him amoxicillan and it doesn't seem to be working. I'm very nervous and scared he's only 2 pounds, teacup yorkie if anyone knows what is wrong with him please help! I will try the milk in water tonight, I try to give him puppy meat and he barely eats that.
Editor's Note Give him dropperfuls of pedialyte or gatorade and keep him hydrated.
My dog eats something he shouldn't have at least twice a year and it costs us a ton. Dehydration is always one of the immediate symptons along with diarrea. Good tips on this site that work. Mixing water with his food and adding a splash of skim milk to his water bowl both worked great.
Good luck.
I have a blind dog who is very old and he got to where he would not drink water. I started adding crushed ice to his water and he would drink it. I think that he liked being able drink but not end up putting his mouth/nose too far in he water since he could not see it. Otherwise, I am not really sure why the crushed ice worked.
My 9 month old puppy has been sick. she keep throwing up and everything. we took her to the vet and they gave her antibiotics and a needle to get rid of nausea. I'm only 16 and she's very precious to me. It takes 6 seconds for her skin on her neck to go back to normal when you pinch it so she's rather dehydrated. She isn't aloud to eat so how do I get her to drink water?
How can I get my 6 yr old Shih Tzu to drink? I have tried chicken broth, mixed broth with her food, tried some milk in the water, and tried coaxing her with peanut butter. She won't touch it. I have had her to the vet 4-5 times this month. I am waiting for her second blood tests to come back. The 1st test looked like it might be kidney failure. She just threw up, and she will not drink anything. Not anything!
By Jacob's G.
To remove the hay or straw debris from the alpaca's drinking pail, use a slotted spaghetti lifter/pasta server. No need to freeze your fingers in the winter!
I have a 6 month old puppy who was recently hit by a car. I rushed him to the nearest vet and they prescribed medication for him after making sure he was okay internally. He is eating, but I cannot get him to drink enough water. I tried to give him water with a syringe and he drank a little, but then he stopped.
I put his medication in his food and at first, he wouldn't eat it, but then he ate little by little. If I give him his food without the medication, he eats the food with no hesitation. Can someone please help? I'm worried about my boy.If your dog is dehydrated and vet tells to make sure she drinks, but your dog has no interest, how do you get water into her? The vet put her on an antibiotic. She also has diarrhea and she was vomiting.
My 12 week puppy recently got really dehydrated and very weak. We immediately took him to the vet and they gave him a IV for about 5 hours and steroids for a fever and upset stomach. The problem is is keeping him hydrated.
We have been giving him water by syringe and giving him little bits of rice and chicken if he is in the mood, but he is unwillingly going to his food bowl and water. And he is still very weak.
