I cant get my yorkie to drink!

[missdesis]

I just purchased my second yorkie today. Since I have experience with my other one (which was 2), I thought I could handle this with no problem. I brought him home and he just didnt want to eat or drink. After handling him he almost feels malnurished. He started showing signs of hypoglycemia. I fed him some soft food and he tore that up. And he finally drank some water. But that was 8 hours after his first feeding! Later in the evening I tried getting him to eat a mixture of soft and hard and he had a hard time eating the hard food. He almost looked miserable. So I am giving him soft only for now. The breeder was feeding him Adult Pedigree, so I am going to ween him from that to Iams for puppies. But in the mean time I am concerned with his health. I am scared to put him in the crate to go to sleep. If he has a hypoglycemia attack at night I wont know. He still has yet to drink water since 2pm this afternoon and it is now almost midnight! What do I do?? I cant get him into the vet until next week. Are there any thoughts? Do I need to get him to an emergency vet? Or is this normal for a first day at the new home? Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

[LaurenThig]

Do you have straws? If you do, dip the end in water (about an inch-worth), put your finger over the other end to hold the water in there, and put it in the puppy's mouth. Repeat a few times. This would also work with an eye dropper if you have one.

[YorkieChick1]

Did he drink yet?? Hope he is ok, you have been through enough.

[LittleMansMomma]

I'm pretty much in the same boat as you, except Tawny now is drinking on her own very little but she is doing it. I do still help her and here's what I've been doing is...

I use a dropper and put it on the side of her mouth towards the back and slowly let the water in her mouth so she has to drink it. Then once she starts fighting me with that method.

I change to this...I cup my hand and put some water in it and put her mouth up to my hand with the water in it and she lick my hand and I slowly move the water closer to her mouth.

Sometimes I can put my fingers in her water bowl and wiggle them to make the water splash a little and she will get curious and come up and take a drink.

I've even put water in her food but not mix it in that way she will get the water whether she wants it or not.

Those are just some ideas for you to try. Also you can try putting some nutri cal or karo syrup in his water.

I hope this helps you in getting your baby to drink. Keep us posted on how he's doing.

[Reita]

What is this hypoglycemia I keep reading about??

[Taramyorkie]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What is this hypoglycemia I keep reading about??




It's a low blood sugar level, dog can go uncountious and die. It's common with people who suffer from diabetes as well. The first aid is to give some sweet liquid or food to prevent falling to coma. Puppies can be especially prone as they eat very little and are still developing. Best is to feed 4 times a day until they are about 6 months old then you can switch to two times or one time a day once fully grown. I feed once a day, now that Tara is 9 months old with ocassional treat. So she is doing pretty well foodwise.

[Sandbudd]

If I think one of our dogs needs a drink, even the chow-chow, I lead them to the bowl of water, dip my fingers in the water and wet their noses with the water. They then will lick their noses, and figure out that it's water...mmmm, good, water...and I think 9 times out of 10, they'll stand there and take drinks of their own after that. (This trick seems to work well on car trips, too, when they are out of their element...in fact, that's when I noticed that this seemed to work.) Remember, they don't have to drink a bunch of water, but enough to keep hydrated!! Good Luck!!!

[missdesis]

Thank you so much for all of the suggestions. I will try them and hope that he comes around soon.
Thanks again and I GREATLY appreciate the support.

[BamaFan121s]

First off, congrats on the new addition! How old is your little one? You have been given some great suggestions here. I would suspect that he is just a little stressed trying to adjust to his home. Normally, I would suggest watching for signs of hypoglaucemia, but you are already on top of that!

[chachi]

If he is eating wet food he is getting some water from that

[missdesis]

Just an update. I ended up getting my little baby into the vet today. I guess I am just an over protective mom... He will get enough moisture from the soft food to keep him from being dehydrated, I just need to change his brand of soft food that he currently has. The breeder sent me with Adult Pedigree. He needs the puppy food, which I planned on getting anyway. It was good news to know he wasnt dehydrated. The vet also feels that he will come around the next couple of days, he is just getting used to us and his new home. We are TOTALLY different than his other home. He has some weight to gain, but all in all he is healthy. The posts have been more than helpful with the situation, like a new mom I was a bit panicky. Thanks to everyone.

[cnjarosz]

I talked to my vet about this and she said to put a tablespoon of gatorade in the water to intice him... also she said to put ice cubes in the water (this worked for my sisters dog but not really for Roo)

[missdesis]

He is finally doing better. He drinks water now and eats so much better. But I have found, if we are somewhere new or different he will not eat or drink. He doesnt do well with change. Now that he is adjusting he is doing better.

Thanks again for all the help!!!