Dehydrated Dog

[munty king 0]

My dog is dehydrated, I have been giving him some glucose/water and a bit of milk, he is not drinking much water, I have put some electrolytes in his drinking water, he is eating ok and seems well in himself, he is just very dehydrated. I have not worked him for last 10 days.

 

Any advice/thoughts?

[skycat 6,174]

Not being funny: but what makes you think he is dehydrated? And what sort of dog is it? Some dogs don't drink very much at all and if the dog is being fed on wet (as in raw meat etc) food they will drink a lot less than if fed on a complete dry food.

 

The usual test for dehydration is to pinch a fold of skin on top of the dog's head: just for a few seconds: if the skin returns to its normal postion quickly the dog is NOT dehyrated. If the fold stays how you pinched it even after you let go then the dog is probably dehydrated.

 

Also: is there any possibility the dog is drinking water from elsewhere without you knowing: like out of a toilet if it is a house dog?

[Guest buster321c]

If i thought my bitch was , as you say , `very dehydrated`she would have been to the vets .

[Pignut 4]

Agree with the above.

 

I would go to the vets if you have diagnosed dehydration using the symptoms described before.

 

If he is not obviously drinking, does he have a wet food diet or dried? Is he out and about alot and getting water from puddles? Are his faeces dry and crumbly or wet, formed and solid? Does he find it difficult to defaecate and is it daily? When he urinates, is it very smelly, very dark or cloudy? Has he got a cold wet nose?

 

A few things to think about but if you are convinced, then really only a vet can do the tests.