Hi Joan Thanks for the advice. I've added some of the grape CVS brand pedialyte to her water. I've also shoved about 6ml down her throat which she wasn't too happy about. Which is probably why she hasn't been drinking - it seems to trigger coughing fits. I may try a little warmed beef broth with honey later on today. It's still fluids. And the honey should help sooth her throat a little bit.
As long as I'm home, I can keep food out for her. But as we have rodent issues up in the mountains, this isn't always going to be feasible. I've bought a couple of containers of Beneful wet food - yes, it's not great, but it's very strong smelling, and I'm hoping that will help entice her to eat. I've mixed with a little warm water (more fluids!) and some of the Innova dry food. Thankfully, she sleeps most of the day, and the coughing seems to be a lot more manageable. It also sounds like she's breathing much easier as well. Day two of meds. We'll see. The key is getting some nutrition/liquids in her. She will take a couple of beads of Nutra-Cal from my fingers. I hope this is a temporary thing. Can't be having with a spoiled girl who won't eat unless spoon fed. Fingers still crossed this round of meds plus a much better, calmer environment and some good food does the trick and nips this cough in the bud. -Autumn --- In [email protected], Joan Croft <joan_croft@...> wrote: > > What I have done in that situation is use Pedialyte. > > I put Pedialyte in Dolly & Desi's water bowls (about 15% Pedialyte) in the > warmer months. > > The first time that I used the Pedialyte, Dolly was probably 12 or 13 months > old and was dehydrated. I was using a syringe to get fluids into her and > then I thought about Pedialyte. My vet said it is OK, and it is also a good > idea to add some to the water in the summer > > You can buy a bottle - even the generic kind - and if you don't have a > syringe get one at your local pharmacy. Then put as much as you can in the > syringe. If you insert the syringe on the side of her mouth there are no > teeth on the bottom, so you can fit it in and slowly push the fluid into her > mouth. Dolly & Desi love the grape flavor and the fruit flavor that I get > in Walgreens. > > Dolly is a free feeder and always has been. Buy some kibble and leave that > for her to be able to eat in between her other meals. It may be as simple > as that - that she is a free feeder and you really can't change that. She > may be very thin, but that might just be because she doesn't really eat very > much. > > Good luck and keep us posted. > > Joan > > > > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On > Behalf Of freddyscribbles > Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2011 8:24 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. > ------------------------------------ We are now on Facebook! Join today! http://www.facebook.com/groups/chihuahuasclubYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Chihuahuas/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Chihuahuas/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
