Any way to make your dog drink water?

[Dawnflight1984]

As the saying goes, we can lead a horse to the water but we can't make it drink. Thing is, Ms O my dog gave me yet another scare today with bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea again. Worse still, her vet is not in town till Thursday, so I'm on my own until then.

Apart from a teeny little wee this morning, and lots of diarrhoea and two rounds of vomiting since yesterday, she has neither touched her water bowl, eaten anything nor passed any urine. She's straining to pass more wet stool, but there's nothing much. I am concerned that she's getting rather dehydrated with all the fluid loss and no intake. Her skin is not tenting, but she's definitely not feeling herself.

Going to see another vet is not really part of the solution now, because we did, with a senior vet, more senior and experienced than Oreo's usual vet, and I was told, to my horror, to give her 3 activated charcoal tablets twice a day, when she couldn't even stomach ½ (she threw it up). I did rub a drop of diluted peppermint essential oil on her tummy and diffuse a blend of tarragon, ginger, peppermint, juniper, fennel, lemongrass, anise and patchouli, as well as give her a dose of antacid when her stomach continued to sound horrid. I feel so sorry for her seeing her all hunched up, lethargic and lying around all the time.

Any suggestions?

[Nettle]

What I do is make a broth out of a real chicken boiled up with a very little salt, and then add some honey. If the dog will not lap this, I use a plastic syringe (every home should have one) and syringe a very little in to the dog's mouth, let it lick and swallow, and do the same a little later at intervals unless the dog says No More.

[gwd]

my trick has always been a plastic squirt bottle.



we always teach our show dogs to drink out of the squirt bottle as it's a way to get them a little water without getting their muzzles or ears wet. .......they always LOVE spray bottle drinks because it's fun I think..........just like some dogs can't resist drinking out of a hose.

the last time I had a dog that I was wanting to keep hydrated, I just filled the plastic bottle and every so often i'd give her a couple of squirts........in short order i'd emptied the bottle. ........

[Dawnflight1984]

Thanks everyone! I'll try them!