Food that hydrates
 

My yorkie Lucy is in the hospital from severe dehydration. She went down very quickly. She went in yesterday and will be there for a few days. She started out not eating or pooping for a few days and then passed a loose black and bloody stool. She is very finicky and sometimes she doesnt eat so we figured she was just being picky. We feed her Purina One but was wondering if we should feed her a soft food because they contain some water. Any help would be greatly appreciated. We sure miss her :cry:
Thank you, Lucys mom

Welcome to Yorkie Talk. I'm sorry Lucy is sick and in the hospital. Are the doctors able to determine what caused the dehydration and bloody stool? These are often symptoms something else is going on, other than a lack of moisture in food.

There is a school of thought that a kibble-only diet leaves dogs in a constant state of mild dehydration. My boys eat a primarily kibble diet, but they are good water drinkers. I praise them every time I see them take a drink, and I keep the water in the bowls fresh. Sometimes a doggy water fountain encourages drinking. Fresh water in clean bowls is essential to encourage drinking. I also found that my boys prefer glass bowls vs stainless steel, so we use little custard bowls.

Depending on what is causing Lucy to be ill, you could add some plain boiled skinless chicken breast to her kibble. This would entice her to eat and it would give her a little more moisture. The food enticements should not exceed 10 - 15% of her daily intake or you risk upsetting the balance of nutrients that dogs require to maintain health organs, like liver and kidneys.

You could also try a different kibble and play games to entice her to eat. I had to hand feed Max his entire first year.

Keep us updated on Lucy.

Thank you
 

Thank you for your response. The doctor thinks she has had a bout of pancreatitis. Lucy had a rough life before she wandered into my garage 4 years ago. I thought it was an old stray cat at first. She was severely malnourished, filthy and flea ridden. She was 4 pounds. She is very timid and scares easily, very jumpy thing. She is now at nine pounds and the vet thinks she is approximately 7 years old. She will sneak a piece of food from her bowl and take it behind the couch or another room to eat, to this day. I did give her a small amount of chicken a few days before she went into the hospital, she threw it all up. She does LOVE wet dog food. I would give her the canine cuisine. I am just not sure if it is a good brand and want to make sure that she is getting the best nutritional values and plenty of hydration. Her labs showed dehydration on the border of shutting down. As of yesterday, he said she is barking and active at the front of her cage and acting fine. I did not go back to see her because it would upset the both of us. I have visited other links here on food types but alot of the food they talk about, is not available where I am. Some I have never even heard of.
Thanks again and I pray she can come home today!

Sorry to hear about Lucy. Seems like she is on the mend though:) As I am a newish Yorkie owner, I can't give advice on food. Having said that, my Bailey, who is 1.5 years old, only gets kibble and the odd piece of chicken, rice, veggies (no celery). He sure loves his bits of apple once in a while:) All the very best to you and your Lucy!! You are both in my thoughts.

Oh, and how wonderful that you took her on. She's a lucky girl and I'm sure that she brings you a lot of joy, sometimes worry, as well. Good karma for sure!!

Lucy is home
 

Lucy is home now. Her weight is good, she is rehydrated and I bet you cannot guess what we are doing now.....lol snuggling of course. She still has not pooped tho but, she did not start eating for the vet til last night. I purchased some wet food and the vet said to mix the wet and dry together and feed her small amounts about four times a day. I fed her a bit ago and she ate it right down. Is my Lucy worth the 300.00 hospital stay? HECK YEA! I think Yorkis are such great dogs:) she lights up my life

Of course she's worth it! Glad she's home and doing well.

dog
 

Just spent $385.00 at my vet. I am so glad Lucy is better. I give wet and dry to my dogs. Mix it in and mine like it. Spud in on the I.D. for vomiting. I hope Lucy will eat and feel real good soon.l

I'm glad to hear Lucy is home. I feed mine a mix of kibble and wet. Mine aren't big water drinkers. I feed them the canned Weruva. It's pricey but is human grade and looks really tasty.

I'm so sorry that Lucy was sick, but happy to hear she's better! I've never given a kibble only diet and I like mixing their food for them since they love it. I mix their kibble (Now Fresh Grain Free Small Breed) with Grandma Lucy's in the morning, and with wet (Weruva, Tiki Dog, Fromm) at night. They also get a Kong with either Sojos or Honest kitchen frozen in it when I have to work. They have done great with this, and I like making their meals less boring!

Happy to hear Lucy is home and recovering nicely. I'm sure was ready to snuggle with you.

Once a dog has had pancreatitis, you have to be careful with what they eat. Future attacks can be increasingly worse. Pancreatitis is somewhat of mystery with the exact causes not being able to be pinned down. Still, I would avoid fatty foods and treats.

they do light up our life, that is for sure, chester gets dry kibble and has his wet at nite, and he is more than willing to let me know, I feed weruva one of the wet foods that do not have any bpa in there cans, some do

I used to feed Purina One before I joined YT and found it is NOT recommended. Once I changed to Blue Buffalo Freedom, Huey stopped the vomiting that he would do at times for no reason. He is doing much, much better off of Purina One. He is on a all kibble diet, but he also gets carrots, green beans & occasionally blueberries & drinks lots of water & gets a fresh cup of ice chips every day.

Boy, reading this, I sure am glad that I changed my dog's food to Blue Buffalo! I did it to rule out food as a cause for his biting/scratching. He was previously on a low grade food, which I found out here that wasn't in his best interest:( I hope that Lucy continues to heal:)

Thanks
 

Who carries the Blue Buffalo food please. I am definately interested in this. Like I said before, I am from a small town and there just is not very many brands of dog food. I go once in awhile to the bigger city so it will be very worth it to grab some then and try it on her. She is doing great and she pooped this morning, no blood! (((Happy dance)))...I love the idea of ice chips....just this morning I dropped an ice cube on the floor and she did go get it but it was too big for her. Thanks for your ideas and help!

How wonderful that she is doing great and has had a bloodless poop!! Fingers crossed for you. They sure are a worry when they are unwell... and with good reason, as they are such treasures:) I am in Canada, and got it from PetSmart here. The staff were very helpful to me, taking the time to discuss my options on better food, as well as they steered me in the right direction, and I had searched/read it on YT past posts, so I had a good idea what I was looking for. Do you have PetSmart there? Please let me know if you have any problems searching for it and I will locate where I read it on YT and forward that info to you. Good luck! :aimeeyork

I've seen it at Petsmart, Petco, Pet Supplies Plus, as well as a few different independent pet stores. I believe Tractor Supply also carries BB.

you can boil the boneless skinless chicken breasts in spring water then pour the water into ice cube trays. Melt one over her kibble every day the smell alone will make her lap it up! Then she gets water and there is no fat in it since you used the boneless skinless..

Bits of apples, just not the skin or seeds.

Glad Lucy is doing well and thank God you took her in. I pray all goes well with her and you can get her on a good dog food.Susan

Great Ideas
 

Thank you very much. I am going into the big city on Monday and will stop at a pet store there for the Blue Buffalo. I love the idea of the chicken ice cubes and apple pieces too. Thanks all!