People aren’t the only organisms who need clean water in order to survive and live a healthy life, Man’s Best Friend and other animals need to be assured that they are having clean uncontaminated water in their dish bowls as well. As the weather starts heating up and people become more active outdoors I’m always reminded that we need to drink more clean water. With that being said we need to know that our pets need to as well to stay hydrated and active with us. As easily as a person can become dehydrated so can animals.
Look for these symptoms to know if your dog is dehydrated especially if exposed to extreme heat, vomiting, diarrhea or overexertion.
- Sunken eyes
- Dry mouth
- Loss of appetite
- Lethargy
There’s also this easy test my Vet showed me to quickly tell if your pup is dehydrated. Take some of the skin between the dog’s shoulder blades on the back of the neck and pull it up. How fast does the skin go back to place? The slower it goes back to place the more water your dog needs to resume a healthy level of hydration.
If your dog is dehydrated be sure to…
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Hydrate slowly
- Pace your dog while re-hydrating to keep him from making himself sick and risk losing more fluids than before.
- Try using ice cubes for the dog to lick and slowly start the process of hydration that way.
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Mix in Electrolytes
- Mix electrolytes with their water so that they can get more nutrients and replenish themselves faster.
Remember that dogs are usually active creatures and lose a lot of water through panting especially during strenuous activity, be sure to have multiple water bowls filled with clean water, like from the Discount Filter ADQ36006101 water filter, around the house to minimize the risk of this happening to your dog.
If you think that your dog is dehydrated do not hesitate to contact your veterinarian.
