# How do you get a dehydrated chihuahua to drink?



## aimeewhat

My baby has been sick and he went from not eating to now not drinking. He has colitial enteritis. He is now dehydrated. How can I get him to drink?


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## Brodysmom

Can you get some low sodium chicken or beef broth and dilute with a little water? Maybe serve warm? You could even put in a little shredded chicken and rice and make a watery soup.

Pull up the skin on the back of his neck. Does it snap right back into place, or does it slowly go back down or 'tent'? Peel his lips back and touch his gums. Are they tacky? If so, you need to get fluids into him right away.

You can even do a children's pedialyte type solution if he will drink it. If he won't drink on his own, you'll have to get a spoon and dribble it into his mouth or syringe it in. 

Don't let this spiral into an emergency. He may need to go to the vet and get some sub-Q fluids to get over this hump and back to recovering. They can go downhill in a hurry so err on the side of caution and don't dink around if this goes on much longer.


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## widogmom

If you have a bike shop nearby, you can see if they have Endurolytes, and mix just a tiny bit in with the water as well. I use the unsalted chicken stock to get my kids to drink enough water in the winter (Pablo knows what "jugo de pollo" means LOL!) but if you're looking at actual dehydration the sodium isn't as big of an issue. Just make sure she doesn't fill up on plain water and get hyponatremia. Brodysmom is absolutely right - don't hesitate to get veterinary help with this; especially with the tiny ones, you don't have a lot of leeway to play with.


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## aimeewhat

I'm gonna call my vet today, but he has been drinking better. Like he'll drink every few hours like he used to but his skin is still going back super slow. Maybe he just needs like a few weeks to get back to normal.


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## jesuschick

Is he eating, though??


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## Lin

When my Ernie boy was sick he wouldn't eat or drink water. The vet gave me a couple syringes and I had to syringe his food and his water down him. It was a very difficult thing for me, but his life depended on my doing this.

But as the other ladies pointed out, don't mess around with de-hydration.


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## TLI

If he isn't drinking, and his skin is slow to return, you need to be syringe feeding him pedialyte (a few syringes every 2 hours). Dehydration can be fatal. I wouldn't take any chances at all. In fact, I'd take him back to the vet.


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## aimeewhat

Lin said:


> When my Ernie boy was sick he wouldn't eat or drink water. The vet gave me a couple syringes and I had to syringe his food and his water down him. It was a very difficult thing for me, but his life depended on my doing this.
> 
> But as the other ladies pointed out, don't mess around with de-hydration.


i syringed 30 mls of water down him for the past two days. his skin is snapping back finally! and he is eating better!


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## Chihuahuasloveme

Thank god he's doing better!


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## Lin

aimeewhat said:


> i syringed 30 mls of water down him for the past two days. his skin is snapping back finally! and he is eating better!


I just popped in to see how little fella is doing and I am sooooo glad he is doing better. You may want to do this as long as he's not drinking what he customarily does. Is he drinking on his own now? Has he begun eating?

Have you checked his gums? Are they nice and pink? or Washed out and grey or yellow looking. If they are anything but pink, he needs to see a vet immediately... just a thought. Pls keep us informed about your baby.


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## Hiccup

Hiccup refused to drink after he was nutuerd but a chasing a couple of ice cubes around the floor helped tremendously. Yes the floor was wet but he loved the game and he got the liquid he needed, I did this for two days and he was back to normal.


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## guccigrande

I have had to syringe down some water before too when my little girl was ill
The vet recommended me to do it because she was being stubborn and wouldn't drink
She started drinking again normally after 2 days though



Lin said:


> When my Ernie boy was sick he wouldn't eat or drink water. The vet gave me a couple syringes and I had to syringe his food and his water down him. It was a very difficult thing for me, but his life depended on my doing this.
> 
> But as the other ladies pointed out, don't mess around with de-hydration.


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