My very sick dog is dehydrated and won't drink. How can I help?

Add water to her food, this will get fluid into her. You can also syringe water into her cheek pocket. If you cannot get her to drink or eat the moistened food she will need fluids given under the skin or into the vein by your veterinarian.

Hello. I would not be too concerned. Just continue to add water, or low sodium broth to his food. You can also offer him broth or stock ( either beef or chicken ) as a source of liquids. He might find this very appealing. If his appetite is great, he will probably start drinking soon. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

You can give diluted pedialyte or I would recommend giving a veterinary product such as NaturVet Pet Electrolytes Concentrate Dog & Cat Liquid Supplement, 16-oz bottle. This can be found at your local Petco or online. I would hold off on giving any electrolytes though as what you are describing does not sound like dehydration is the problem. I would wait and speak with the veterinarian in person and discuss what treatments are needed first. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns!

It can often help to offer pedialyte, a quarter teaspoon of cod liver oil on top of a bowl of water or the broth from boiled chicken alongside his water until he learns to take fluids voluntarily. Offer fresh water at all times also

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. There are many causes of dehydration and given her symptoms, I would recommend having her blood tested to rule out kidney disease or any other systemic diseases / infections. She will likely need a course of subcutaneous fluids, which is when fluid is administered under the skin and absorbed by the body. This is an effective way to hydrate an animal and is well tolerated. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any further questions or concerns that you may have.

She is going to drink less on that bland diet because those foods hold a lot of moisture. She is getting liquid and water through the food so her intake is less. You can add chicken broth or extra water to the food to encourage her to get more if she is eating well.

I would try feeding her boiled chicken, hamburger, or turkey and rice. You can also try feeding her things like scrambled eggs, low-fat cottage cheese, or chicken baby food. The other thing I would try is buying some canned puppy food for her and adding warm water to it to make it into a soup for her. Anything you can add some water to will help to keep her somewhat hydrated. You can also offer her low-sodium chicken broth for some fluids.