Help, won't drink water...
 

Hi Everyone!! So, lately Tank hasn't been drinking ANY water...and it's really starting to worry me! I've tried adding a splash of gatorade to the water to get him to drink it and he still won't drink any...I started getting concerned about it so I've been using a medicine dropper from his old medicine and filling it with water and putting the tip of dropper in nutrical (which he LOVES) so I can squirt the water in his mouth with out him realizing, but I really need him to get him to start drinking water on his own! Has anyone had this happen with their yorkie not wanting to drink water? If so how did you fix it?!
Thanks!!:)

When I think Sheldon need water and he does not want to I put my finger in the water and let him lick it, each time I make the finger closer to the water bowl until my finger is in the water and that's how get him to drink. Good luck, I hope he drinks for you soon.
Oh! How about holding and ice cube for him to lick.

How is his nose? Is it cold and wet or dry and warm? How about his mouth? Is his mouth moist like it should be? Is he acting alright? If he is drinking no water I would be concerned and get him to a vet.

I have always encouraged Gracie to drink lots of water. Don't use a plastic dish. They hold odors and germs. I like to use a glass dish and wash it at least twice a day. The slime from their mouths get in the water and make it icky pretty fast. I give her bottled water.....either distilled or purified. Sometimes she likes to drink it as I pour it into the dish. Dogs love fresh water. The fresher the better.

I totally agree about using a bowl that does not retain "scents" and washing it with warm water and soap 2x a day.

I have the opposite problem with Romeo -- he loves to drink water, especially cold water.

Have you tried maybe giving your baby ice chips? Make sure the chips are very small to avoid choking. Romeo loves ice especially after a good run around the house and he's all heated up!

He is acting normal, just as energetic as always..mouth and nose seem fine!

I have tried letting him lick off my fingers and ice cubes and he just shows no interest at all..

I give him fresh cold purified water out of a glass dish that I clean about 3times a day lately because he hasn't been drinking...

I also take him outside and play with him every day for a while, I don't work during the winter so I am here with him playing all day long, (except for his nap times haha)....but he gets plenty of exercise and I just don't understand why he hasn't been drinking?! He eats his food just like normal, and nothing has changed in schedule or anything, I have a message in with my vet so she should be calling me back tomorrow hopefully...but all of his behaviors are completely the same other than not drinking...

Thank you all for your quick responses!

Does he eat wet food? I would call the vet and see if they think he needs to be checked out.

Yes he eats wet food, I have a message in with my vet she should call me back tomorrow am! I was just hoping I could get faster advice on here in the meantime! :)

Then he is getting some water in the food

I didn't even think of it that way, that makes me feel a little bit better at least!! Thanks so much!

I have worried that my Ben does not drink enough water but his gums are fine (moist and pink not dry or sticky) and when you press on the gums they should turn lighter color as you press and then quickly return to normal as you let go... and I check his skin -- pull up a little skin at his neck (like pinch an inch on our waist) and see if it still has enough elasticity to quickly go back to normal and not stay bunched up. That shows he is not dehydrated. (This may not work right for older, overly skinny or obese dogs.) They will drink what they need if they are well. My vet told me to not worry as long as no dehydration signs. Here are the dehydration signs to check for:

Signs of Dehydration in Dogs Include:

Lack of skin elasticity
Dry, sticky gums
Sunken eyes
Too much or too little urination
Lethargy
Delay in capillary refill time (the time it takes for your dog’s gum to return to its normal color after you press your finger against it)

So, none of these signs, then your pup is probably well-hydrated. I wonder if my Ben maybe is very quick and get some drinks that I don't see because I worried myself a lot over this but he has never shown a sign of dehydration. I think we sometimes do worry too much but they are so little and it does not take long for them to become dehydrated. So, better to worry a little than to have a crisis! The main time to worry about dehydration is when they are sick. It does not take much diarrhea or vomiting to dehydrate a dog. Then you may have to force fluids. But be sure you need to before putting them through the trauma. I have a syringe that I can force water when they need to replenish due to diarrhea but so far I've not had to use it. Some dogs even have had to get their fluid subcutaneously when they dehydrate too much. But that is something better left to the vet if you are not trained and experienced.

They do get quite a lot of water in their wet food, without us even realising it...:)

Have you tried putting a tiny splash of goats milk in the water? Or tried a different approach, like using a water bottle?

Harry didn't drink very much at all when he was tiny - I used to add water to his food...these Littlies make us quite sneaky, don't they?!! ;) :D Sally + Harry x

It sounds like he is getting water from his food, since you are washing his bowl so often, are you rinsing it really well? I know I wash ours once a day and I can tell that they are drinking well. Maybe since you are washing more often that he is sipping more than you think. Ok, just thinking out loud here, I'm sure he is fine and a cute little stinker too.

I agree he is getting hydration from his wet food. It's always good to encourage them to drink more good water though. It keeps their kidneys flushed out. Hopefully you will find out what helps to get him interested in drinking more.

I used to have a dog that liked to drink out of the tub faucet. He would jump in there and wait for me to turn on the water.:rolleyes:

Thanks so much for the info! He passes all the tests so maybe I'm just worrying too much!! Thank you everyone for all the feedback!!!

One of my daughter's cats does that! :eek: :D

And when our schnauzer went off water for a while, I would sometimes put a favourite treat in his bowl of water (I'll probably get told off for saying that!!! ;)) Sally + Harry x

So funny about the faucet! I just gave him a bath and he walked around the water and drank the water out of the bathtub! There wasn't any shampoo or anything used yet so I let him take his sips.....crazy dog!!! Haha!

And I'll try the treat trick as well! Anything to get him drinking water on his own is worth a shot!!

Gatorade has too much sugar so please don't tempt him with that. If you are feeding wet food your dog may not need any additional water, especially if your air isn't dry. Dogs lose water through panting and urination, and dry air makes them lose more water. I'm told Pedialyte is safe for dogs and can help rehydrate them and of course unsalted chicken broth is another favorite. Unless there is something wrong with him, dog know exactly how much to drink, so you may be worrying about nothing.

I just saw this, wondering how he is doing today! You might try putting an ice cube in his water to make it interesting for him. Might get messy but could get him drinking.


Hope he's doing better....

I actually purchased a waterer for dogs that works like a small fountain, you put water in the bowl and plug the machine in and it draws water up a small "tower" in the middle of the bowel, and it spurts out from the top like a fountain and goes back into the water bowl below....I have several that drink the water as it spurts from the top of the tower!

Hi Everyone, just saw there were more comments on here, I've tried ice cubes, constant fresh purified water etc etc etc.....it's been gorgeous and in the high 70's here lately and we play outside a lot and he pants so I know he's thirsty and he just won't touch water, my vet said I can add a splash of vitamin water to his water and it would be fine so I've tried that and it worked great so I will do that for a while and then start weaning him off that after a while of possible! I don't worry much during meal times as I know he gets hydration from his food, but when it's hot outside and playing he needs to drink something so I'm glad I found a solution finally!!

Thats good to hear.... dogs, so Unpredictable and so weird at times. Such a mystery, good thing we have YT... and vets. to help us figure them out.

Have you tried switching his water bowl to stainless steel? Just an option in case its the bowl that is the problem. You can also try a water bottle feeder and just for info, dogs water needs are approx one ounce water per pound of body weight per day. This varies of course depending on season/exercise/temps... If he is getting moist food, you can look on the label for what the moisture content is in the food and calculate how much he is getting through his food:)

I didn't know that about the oz/lb ratio thanks for the info!! And yes YT is a blessing I've learned so much about how to care for my little furbutt on here!! This forum is like a 24 hour vet service!! Hahaha!:)