Dog not drinking water

[ashann89]

On Feb 5th, we left at 5:30pm & the dog was fine.  Came home at 7:30pm & the dog was upset, in pain, not acting himself at all.  When we picked him up he yelped a little bit.  That week we moved to an apartment with stairs & our dog & cat have been running up & down them playing quite alot.  We figured he must have fell down some steps or somehow hurt something while playing.  Since he was still using the restroom & eating we took him into the Vet on Feb 7th.  She checked him & said he tensed up when she put pressure on his neck & when she put pressure on his lower back.  She he may have a pinched nerve.  They didn't take his temp or do any bloodwork. She prescribed him anti-inflammatory to take for 10 days.  After returning home he seemed to be feeling better than he did before taking the first dose of medicine.  But, we then realized that he hasn't been drinking water.  Everytime we try to give he some he turns his nose up away from it.  We have given some with a syringe but not very much at all because he starts to squirm all over.  He  will lick water from our fingers, but nothing more than that.  Recently, before his pinched nerve incident, we've noticed that when he does drink water he always coughs.  He eats fine & like normal. But whenever he drinks even a tiny amount of water he coughs & acts like hes scared of the water now.  I'm scared there might be something else wrong, or that maybe its not a pinched nerve that he has.  Is this something I should take him in again to have checked out?

[ginger899]

Whatever is wrong she must not go any longer without hydration! She needs to be admitted to hospital for IV fluids at the very least in my opinion, unless you can get her to take some fluids in the next hour. If she is still eating, one way to get fluids down her might be to boil some chicken, meat or fish, in a cupful of water, then give her the pieces of meat as well as the liquid.

Poor little girl. I hope she will be okay.

[susan64083]

my 14 yr old chihuahua is walking hump backed, not steady on her feet, is eating chicken and rice once a day, but will not drink water, walks crooked at times and holds her head at a tilt while walking sometimes. She only weighs 5.4lbs, took her to vet 2 days ago,vet seemed to think it might be a disc in her back, although she holds up her paw at times, blood work was ok, stool test had a trace of blood, but was negative for parasites. Vet put her on famotidine, prednisone, and gabapentin for pain and said to wait 24 to 48 hrs for improvement. Had such a difficult time with administering the pain medication, with a dropper, the shakes her head and refuses, I got most of it in, but later she was really unbalanced and wobbley, the vet suggested I not give her the pain med since she was fighting it so much, which might cause her more pain, she is more coherant now, a little more stable on her feet, but still unstable. This is day # 3 without water, I've tried giving it to her from my hand, but that didn't work either. The vet said possibility of vestibular disease, but her eyes aren't shaking. I'm taking her back in tomorrow. I don't know what's wrong with her!

[Margot49]

Glad you took him in. Good job!!  Hope things get better.

[ashann89]

Thank you! I ended taking him in yesterday & the day before.  I was concerned of his non-drinking & dehydration. They said he probably wasn't drinking bc his bladder was already full & it was too painful on his back to go & bc he doesn't feel well to drink. They did blood work & administered him fluids that night.  They said white blood cells were fine, but his liver enzymes were a little elevated.  They switched him to Tramydol.  Yesterday morning after he took it, he started breathing extremely hard & fast.  I took him back in right away.  They did xrays, drained his bladder, a urinalysis, & rectal exam.  They found that he has some Prositis & some inflammation in his back.  They prescribed a slurry to coat his tummy, an antibiotic and a steroid.  He started them all yesterday & today he already seems a little bit better :)

[Sadary]

Some dogs tend not to drink when they have an illness and while recovering from surgery or an injury. If you can find no logical explanation for why your dog is refusing water, you should have him checked by a vet. If he is recovering from surgery or an illness, proper hydration is important to the recovery process. If you can not get results from gentle coaxing and encouragement, try moistening their regular food with water. If you can not get your dog to drink, especially in hot weather, call your vet.

[Margot49]

First of all, not good if they aren't drinking. Any signs of dehydration (pale gums?  pinch the skin and see if stays up or not).  Hard to tell if there is a problem.  Have you checked his mouth real good to make sure nothing is stuck in there?  Odd he would eat okay but is ot drinking.  See if he will drink some low sodium chicken broth?  That may get him to drink then see how he does.  If he is on pred, that should make him thirsty, actually.  If he still refuses to drink (and esp since something seems to have happened while you were away), I would take him back in for a recheck.  Who know if he hurt himself or ingested something, etc.