Tips To Manage Dehydration In Dogs

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Dehydration is a frequent, but serious condition in dogs. Dehydration occurs in dogs when their body gets depleted of water. Your dog can get dehydrated faster if he/she is suffering from vomiting or diarrhoea along with failure in replacing the lost fluids orally.

When the body is depleted of water, the cells will get dehydrated resulting in cell death. Dehydration will result in the loss of elasticity of the skin. In advanced condition, dehydration can make the dog collapse due to shock. You may identify dehydration in your dog by pulling back the skin behind the dog's shoulders. If the skin doesn't flatten out immediately after releasing it, your dog is probably dehydrated.

Here are some important points to be remembered to manage dehydration in your dog.

Identify the cause: Your dog may get dehydrated due to various reasons. It is important to rule out the exact reason for the condition. Dehydration in your dog can be due to vomiting, diarrhoea, illness, fever, heat stroke and a deficiency in fluid intake. Identifying and treating the root cause of dehydration should be started at the earliest for a faster recovery of your dog.

Manage water intake: Too much intake of water by a dehydrated dog may make the situation worse. At the same time, it is very important to keep your dog hydrated. You have to provide enough water at proper time intervals to manage any grade of dehydration in your dogs.

Food with water content: In addition to water, you should provide enough food that has high water content. This is more important if your dog refuse to take water. Fruits, vegetables and cottage cheese can be given to your dog as it is rich in water. Onion-free turkey or beef broth is also a good option to feed your dehydrated dog.

Electrolytic solution: Electrolytic solutions are important in managing dehydration in dogs. Administering an electrolytic solution at a rate of 1 to 2 ml per kilogram of the dog's body weight per hour will help in the recovery of your dog.

Intravenous fluid: If your dog is suffering from severe dehydration, consider intravenous fluid administration. This will help to speed up the recovery of your dog from dehydration. Administration of intravenous fluid will help in passing up the further loss of fluids and in replacing the present loss.

Seek medical advice: If your dog is suffering from severe dehydration, you should consider consulting a specialist without delay. Medical assistance will help your dog recover from dehydration. It will prevent collapse of your dog from the dehydration shock.