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help with fluid intake of large dog

Shezbug

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Does anyone know how much water a 55 kg dog should drink in a 24 hr period? I realize temperature and activity levels change the amount needed. I am just after an average amount if possible.

My daughters dog crashed this morning and we do not know why.
She got up early (as usual) and started vomiting then just collapsed and would not (could not) get up. She urinated while laying down which is not something she would normally do no matter how sick she has ever been before and she could not move at all. I tried to see if she would react to a bit of pain by squishing her toes and there was no response from her at all. About an hour after collapsing she finally managed to get up with some help and we took her outside for the loo......she had severe diarrhea. We can not find anything she may have got into and her food has not changed nor has anything else in her environment. We finally managed to get her in the car to take her to the vet who is not sure what was wrong. The vet gave her a shot to stop the nausea and vomiting but as she was not dehydrated and everything seemed ok with the rest of the health check (other than her being a little off with her mood and energy level) we decided to bring her home for the day to see how things go. The vet is thinking it could possibly be epilepsy given the description of the dogs behavior and vagueness but she did not want to do a heap of costly tests if it is a once off incident. We have her mobile number if the dog gets worse overnight but as she is out on an emergency farm call at the moment and will not be available for hours due to the distance she has gone she will also be out of mobile range for part of that time so it is no use calling her at the moment. We were told to not let her drink a heap of water at once but to offer her small amounts of water very often, we were told this because she is a camel and will prefer to not drink for most of the day then drink half a bucket of water at once.
My concern is that she is refusing water from a bowl, cup, hands, floor and ice cubes and the only way I got her to have some was to force some down her throat with a syringe which I do not want to do to her if I do not have to (she is heavier than me and it is a struggle as she is really not wanting the water). Normally she will accept an ice cube if she has been refusing water (she does this every time she has been unwell) but no luck today. I really do not want her to end up dehydrated on top of being a bit unwell as that will only complicate things for her. Would 100 or 200 mls of water be too much to give her every two or so hours?
 

finchly

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Maybe try 100 ml and also try an electrolyte drink? They should drink about 1 oz per pound of their body weight, total per day.

I’m surprised the vet did not inject fluid under the skin. Mine always does that.

I’m sorry the dog is so ill.
 

Shezbug

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Thank you for your answer.
The vet rang me about an hour ago to see how everything was and tell me what I could do for her, what to look out for and when to call....the vet will also call in the morning to see how she is otherwise.
We decided not to give fluiid as Suzie was not dehydrated so she didn’t need it. I gave her about 20ml of the water that I steamed the chicken with and mixed it in about a cup of fresh water, she was more than happy to drink that.
She is doing better now and has held down some food and water. I have only given her what the vet recommended. When I say better I mean she will get up and she is not vomiting but she is still a bit off and not right so we will watch her closely for tonight. Lots of sleeping but she is happy now, this morning she looked miserable and confused.
She will bounce back, she always seems to go down hard when something is not right, the other dog who is older and a big sook will get the same things wrong and not crash anywhere near as hard. It is weird.
 

finchly

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Oh dear that is very strange. I’m glad you got the vet’s advice. Is she doing any better?
 

aooratrix

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Diabetic? Toxin? Could your dog have been bitten by a venomous animal? Good luck and sorry to see you're going through this. :(
 

Birbs&Poodles

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one way I increase my dogs' water intake is to put water over their dry dog food. You can also put a little bit of juice from a can of tuna fish in their water to make it more flavorful, just don't put too much in because of the salt content.
 

Shezbug

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Update= She is doing well today but still does not want plain water. She will drink the water if I drop a bit of cooked chicken in it (spoiled or just milking it for all she can get maybe?) so that is what I have been doing. The vet rang this morning to see how she was and was happy with her progress so she told me to give Suzie a big feed of steamed chicken with rice and to pour some water on it. She said I could keep giving the chicken water all day if needed and to let her drink and eat as much as she wants of the steamed chicken and rice.....no dry food or dog food yet. The vet will also call again tonight and again on Sunday morning to see how she is.

We are thinking either a spider bite or epilepsy, if she has another event the same then we will have all the tests done to find out what it is. It was all rather odd as by the time the vet examined her, her temp was fine, HR was fine, BP was fine, gut exam was fine and she was comfortable but very lethargic and really spaced out.

Thank you all very much for your input and well wishes for her, I really appreciate it :)
 

Fergus Mom

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I hope she is better today as well, and back to drinking normally. With my Charlie Dog (huge Lab), he would drink water if I put some Gatorade in it. It does sound like she might have eaten something poisonous, or possibly a venomous creature. Hopefully a one time thing, regardless. Hugs to that sweet girl.
 

Shezbug

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Thank you @Fergus Mom.
She is doing much better but still does not want plain water. She is alert and full of energy this afternoon, has eaten well and kept it down with no issues but is still not wanting to drink so we are still giving her water with chicken in it and then she will drink the water to get to the chicken. I think she has just worked out if she refuses plain water she will get some with chicken in it, lol.

We do have poisonous snakes, scorpions, white tails, wolf spiders, red backs, toads and many other dangerous critters around so I can only assume maybe there is a chance she ate one or got bitten by one. She is renowned for playing with spiders, lizards and basically anything that she finds that will move so she could have come across something we did not see. We could not find any lumps or puncture wounds on her yesterday but that is not to say there wasn't any.....she is a big wrinkly beast :heart: She will love another big hug, thank you for that :)
 

Fergus Mom

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Ha ha @Shezbug - she may well have figured out turning down that old nasty plain water will get her some chicken broth! So glad to hear she is doing better, nevertheless. Earlier today I read about a duck that ingested lead bb's, and got really sick. We just never know what our furry or feathered ones will eat sometimes! Hope she continues to get better.
 

faislaq

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So glad she's feeling better. :loveshower: I had no input to help so I didn't post, but I was worried for her just the same. I'd thought it was poison, too.
 
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