Right after Gigi's spaying/teeth extractions, (last Sept) she refused to drink anything for 3 months. I think it was because she may have had a seizure either during or after surgery and it did something to her brain. I say that, because a week after her surgery she did started to have seizures, which now are under control and hasn't had any for several months.
The only way to prevent dehydration, was to soak her dry food with warm water and let it sit for 10 minutes so that it was soft. Plus I usually added a little bit of canned dog food. Canned dog food is loaded with water, but not a weight gainer. It is also a good way to feed them when their teeth are bothering them. They get a good diet and it is soft enough for them to swallow. I used a 10ml syringe and gave her 4 ml of water at a time, 4x per day and then again just before I went to bed. Just squeeze in a couple of drops at a time and rub their neck downward makes them automatically take a gulp and swallow it. You can tell if they are getting enough fluids if they pee at least twice a day, preferably they should pee 3x per day. You can use Pedialyte too, but I wouldn't give her too much per day, since it does contain a high sugar content, plus she is on Nutra-Cal so you needn t worry about her electrolytes. There's nothing like plain fresh water to clean out the kidneys. When she was sick I also gave her small bits of boiled chicken with cooked white rice which she loved. Low salt -Cottage cheese, 1/2 slice of american cheese are also good. I did try low-salt chicken broth, but she refused any type of liquid. She didn't like the baby jar foods either. It's okay to give a dog baby-foods, but not a lot as it does contain a high salt level. You never did mention how much Pia weighs. Gigi weighs 6 1/2 pounds and she regularly eats 1/3 cup of dry food per day, and that is split into two meals per day. She also gets one small milk bone biscuit per day which again that is broken in half and given twice a day. I will give her a little bit of people food here and there, but because of her history of seizures I have to keep her on a strict, low protein diet. She has done very well with this diet and in the past whenever I would try to give her even a small piece of different type of doggie treat, she would have a seizure, so I stick to her diet all the time and she seems to now be doing just fine and acting more like a normal dog. -------Original Message------- From: freddyscribbles Date: 5/5/2011 11:24:33 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [Chihuahuas] Help! Not drinking/eating Pia seems to be eating okay - not great. She'll eat it if she's fed. Ergo, I've found myself spoon feeding just to make sure she gets nutrition until she perks up and is eating on her own. I've been giving her a couple of beads of nutra-cal as well. But she's not really eating on her own, and because I've mostly been giving her prepared food, I can't leave it out for her as it's perishable and we have rodents around. The bigger issue, and this is one the vet noted, she's dehydrated. She received subcutaneous fluids yesterday. I've seen her drink a little bit. But I don't think she's drinking enough. I've tried putting a little chicken stock in her water. I'm going to try warming a little beef brother in a bit. But I'm really concerned that she's not getting enough fluid. And I know that no one really wants to eat or drink when they're ill. But she's not going to get any better until I can get some weight back on her and make sure she's getting the right nutrition and enough liquids. Help or advice would be welcome.
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