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