Dehydration is a symptom that can hide a serious problem in the dog. You always have to try to have a full trough for him so that he drinks whenever he needs it, but sometimes he may not want to drink water. When that happens, we will have to worry and try to fix it.
Therefore, if you are wondering how to know if my dog is dehydrated, do not stop reading.
Symptoms of dehydration in dogs
A dog that is dehydrated will have a very peculiar behavior. You can become very anxious while looking for water (if you have the energy to do so). In addition, he will lick his lips and can lie down by putting his nose against the trough to indicate that it is empty and that he wants to drink. Try to avoid reaching the latter, since otherwise these other symptoms could appear:
- Dry or sticky gums due to lack of humidity.
- Low skin elasticity. It is done by lifting the dog's neck (it is the loose skin that is on the shoulders) about 5 centimeters on the back of the animal in a vertical position, and releasing it. If it takes more than two seconds for you to get back to normal, you are dehydrated.
- Intense yellow urine. If the furry dog does not drink enough water, the body will preserve the liquid it retains, so it will either not urinate, or the urine it produces will be very concentrated, with an intense yellow color.
If he shows these symptoms, we must take him to the vet.
What can be done to prevent it?
Fortunately, there are several things you can do to prevent dehydration. We have already said one of them: always keep the drinker with clean and fresh water, but there are others that you should know, which are:
- Give him wet food: it has 70% humidity (dry only has 40%), so it can ingest almost all the water it needs. If we do not want to give it cans all year, at least in summer it would be advisable to give it from time to time.
- Soak your food in water or homemade chicken broth: is another way to make sure you drink enough.
All in all, our furry friend will be able to recover 🙂.