# Help...not drinking water and what soft treats?



## munchkn8835 (May 23, 2010)

Ollie hasn't been drinking water for a couple days now. I boiled some chicken up and froze the broth. Took one cube out and put in his water....still hasn't touched it. Thinking another cube is in order. On Wed. he has obedience class so he gets lots of treats. I tried using his food for snack and....well...that went over like a lead balloon!! I got the "surely you don't think I'm that dumb?!!" :smilie_tischkante: I'm using gooberlish peanut butter treats and apple/banana treats as low and hot dogs (all beef with no nitrates) as high. He hasn't really acted like himself since he got up Thursday morning. One week I tried the tube food that doesn't come from the fridge. Ended up throwing it away. I have thought about using canned food that comes in chunks. Need some suggestions....please!


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## LJSquishy (Feb 27, 2008)

I would definitely start by giving him an eyedropper full of water every 30 min or so to start with. Sometimes after they get a little fluid in them they will start to drink on their own by the end of the day. Two days without water is a really long time -- perhaps the treats or hot dogs (or a combination of the two) gave him an upset tummy. When I took London & Preston to obedience class, I ended up using chicken breast for their treats cut up into tiny, tiny pieces because it is easy on the stomach. London kept getting a stomach ache from other treats because we had to use so many (even broken into smaller pieces).

If you can't get him to drink today, he will definitely need to go in to the vet...a third day without any water is really dangerous. Please keep us updated.


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## poochie2 (Jan 14, 2010)

Canned food !!!
If he is not drinking then canned food has lots of moisture. Get yourself some canned food and add some extra water/chicken broth to that food.
I do this every single day cause my malt barely drinks any water. She gobbles up the canned food with the extra fluid every time.


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## Bailey&Me (Mar 8, 2010)

Donna, I think the canned food idea is a good one to try...just to get some water in him. Especially if he's not acting like himself today, it might be that he is dehydrated. You could get some pedialyte and use an eye dropper or syringe it in to his mouth every hour or so. 


As far as training treats, maybe you could try some boiled chicken breast or small pieces of cheese. I would be careful about the hotdogs though...I've heard they can cause pancreatitis.

Hope he starts feeling all better soon!!


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## munchkn8835 (May 23, 2010)

I'll be going in the morning to pick up his dry food and will get a couple of cans as well. Will get the dropper out and start right now. He just lays around and doesn't even want to play fetch. Maybe I'll take him later this after (after the grandbaby goes home) for fluids. I can't stand to see him this way. No more hotdogs for this little man!


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## Bibu (Jun 3, 2010)

Two days is definitely a long time without fluids. They are so small that it really takes nothing to get them dehydrated. I would definitely start giving him water right away and if he doesn't seem to want it, maybe a visit to the vet might be the best thing. Keep us posted!


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## munchkn8835 (May 23, 2010)

Boomer (his Boxer cousin) came over and Ollie drank some water b/c he did. Still going to get some canned food tomorrow. I tried the dropper and he was less than agreeable.


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## Katkoota (Feb 18, 2006)

munchkn8835 said:


> Boomer (his Boxer cousin) came over and *Ollie drank some water b/c he did. * Still going to get some canned food tomorrow. I tried the dropper and he was less than agreeable.


good to read this. Precious Ollie, please drink your water


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## PreciousPrince (Feb 27, 2006)

I use the Wellness pure delights soft cat treats in the plain turkey flavor (they have it for dogs too, same thing but bigger package) and Whole Life or Dr. Harvey's (DH has a smaller bag for cats too) freeze dried treats. Whole Life has different flavors and their are other companies that make these too, Halo comes to mind. I like these 2 things bc it's simple, just the meat. You can cut the jerky into small pieces and the freeze dried breaks easily and just disintegrates in their mouth so they can eat it easily on the run. I've also seen that Evangers has an organic soft chicken jerky that looks good.
But there are lots of soft treats out there - more from Wellness, and Solid Gold, Zukes, Cloud Star, Newman's Own are some that come to mind.


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## aprilb (Jul 9, 2010)

I don't have any advice, but hope Ollie is better, soon.:wub:


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## munchkn8835 (May 23, 2010)

Yesterday I went to Paws at the Corner (wonderful doggie store with great things) to pick up his Acana. While there I ask Lisa about a can of food to help with his not drinking water. She suggested Weruva(sp?) so I bought one can. My goodness, I think I would eat it if hungry!! I've put one spoonful on his food last night and this morning and he couldn't eat it fast enough. At least he is getting some liquid. Will take him to the dog park this afternoon for a little bit and I think he'll drink some water over there after running around!


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## Bailey&Me (Mar 8, 2010)

Donna, I was wondering how Ollie was doing. Is he back to his normal self? I also wanted to add that Weruva is a really high quality canned food and yes, it looks delicious, doesnt it??? I have given Bailey a full can of Weruva for his meal often....he loves it. If Ollie isn't drinking as much as he should, I would just take some of the Weruva and mix in a good amount of water...kind of like a soup...and see if he'll eat that. I have done that with Bailey in the past to get him to drink water. Just one teaspoon of Weruva, mixed in with kibble won't be enough moisture for him if he isnt drinking water. Maybe you could mix water in to his kibble/Weruva at meal times?? With higher protein kibble like Acana, its generally a good idea to mix in some water anyways to ensure their bodies are getting enough water to handle high protein. 

Hope Ollie is feeling all better now!!


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## uniquelovdolce (Mar 10, 2010)

how is ollie , hope he is better !


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## munchkn8835 (May 23, 2010)

Ollie seems to be better. I am finding that for a day or two after his training, he isn't very hungry. I think he fills up on his treats and his tummy gets a little icky. Drinking somewhat. Am going to take remaining Weruva and give it to him for dinner with some water in it as suggested by Aunti Nida.


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## Bailey&Me (Mar 8, 2010)

How'd it go, Donna?


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## munchkn8835 (May 23, 2010)

Loved it!! Now we have got to get back to just his regular food. His Daddy keeps sneaking crushed up treats in his food when I'm not looking!


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