Pup will not drink water

bellx1 · 29-10-2010 1:39pm #1

My 8 month old terrier has stopped drinking water suddenly. He would always drink a good amount daily. But for the last few days his water bowl has remained untouched.
The water is coming from the same source as it always has, and there is always fresh water put out for him.

He doesn't seem at all unwell or off form.
Appreciate any advice what would cause this and how to rectify?

faceman · 29-10-2010 1:41pm

Is he drinking less or not drinking at all? Is he on wet or dry food and have you noticed a change in his doggy poo?

Wolfe Tone · 29-10-2010 1:42pm

Try a new bowl.

Important thing is NOT TO start hand cupping water in your hands etc for him to drink, or anything like that.

He will drink when he is thirsty.

bellx1 · 29-10-2010 1:49pm

faceman wrote: »

Is he drinking less or not drinking at all? Is he on wet or dry food and have you noticed a change in his doggy poo?

From what I can see he just sniffs the bowl and walks off.
He is on dry food. Poo is the same, solid, no runny stuff or anything.

andreac · 29-10-2010 1:52pm

Sounds like something is putting him off if he is sniffing it and not drinking. Have you other dogs in the house? If so any possibility they would have marked anywhere near the bowl?

Try another fresh, clean bowl and see how that goes. Maybe put it in a different place. Seems strange that hes not drinking at all.

bellx1 · 29-10-2010 1:59pm

andreac wrote: »

Sounds like something is putting him off if he is sniffing it and not drinking. Have you other dogs in the house? If so any possibility they would have marked anywhere near the bowl?

Try another fresh, clean bowl and see how that goes. Maybe put it in a different place. Seems strange that hes not drinking at all.

Hi Andrea, yes there are two older dogs here so it is quite possible the bowl may have been marked.

caseyann · 29-10-2010 3:41pm

bellx1 wrote: »

My 8 month old terrier has stopped drinking water suddenly. He would always drink a good amount daily. But for the last few days his water bowl has remained untouched.
The water is coming from the same source as it always has, and there is always fresh water put out for him.

He doesn't seem at all unwell or off form.
Appreciate any advice what would cause this and how to rectify?

Did you wash the bowl?

bellx1 · 29-10-2010 4:07pm

I washed out his bowl yesterday caseyann, didn't do any good though. I am going to buy a new bowl and hope that it will do the trick.
Thanks

caseyann · 29-10-2010 5:40pm

bellx1 wrote: »

I washed out his bowl yesterday caseyann, didn't do any good though. I am going to buy a new bowl and hope that it will do the trick.
Thanks

It could be something of an fluid type or detergent washed around the bowl and the dog can smell it.I had same problem with my dog.I washed the floor near the bowl and the bowl stunk to him apparently.I had to buy a new bowl aswell.
If out side in garden if a cat or any other animal peed on it,can cause it also.
No problem you are welcome

Give your puppy something else to drink it in.
Oh also if any kind of detergent etc.. on floor around the bowl can turn the dog off aswell.

oh only ever wash your dog bowl with water nothing else

kylith · 29-10-2010 6:00pm

Is he drinking from another bowl somewhere else in the house? If he hasn't drunk for a couple of days I'd get on to the vet for advice; days without liquid can cause serious health problems.

bellx1 · 29-10-2010 6:23pm

I brought him in just a while ago and gave him some water in a little pyrex bowl I had in the kitchen. He took a few sips whereas he usually laps it up.

His bowl is normally kept outside under the shade of his kennell.

As I said earlier, he is in great form - his usual hyper self, but I think I will take him to the vet in the morning just to be sure. I am worried about dehydration etc

Shanao · 29-10-2010 7:22pm

Which dry food is he on? Have you changed his food lately?

uberwolf · 29-10-2010 7:24pm

does he have access to water outside?

bellx1 · 29-10-2010 7:34pm

uberwolf wrote: »

does he have access to water outside?

Yes he does have access to water, he is left out a big bowl every day which is always topped up.

He is given the bakers 2 in 1 gravy bites and this has not changed.

Sorry uberwolf, do you mean access to water other than the water provided for him? Like a stream or pond etc?

caseyann · 29-10-2010 7:36pm

bellx1 wrote: »

I brought him in just a while ago and gave him some water in a little pyrex bowl I had in the kitchen. He took a few sips whereas he usually laps it up.

His bowl is normally kept outside under the shade of his kennell.

As I said earlier, he is in great form - his usual hyper self, but I think I will take him to the vet in the morning just to be sure. I am worried about dehydration etc

Hey belle,another couple of things came to mind,How many minutes a day do you walk him? If regular ignore that.If not every day he may not be thirsty also possibility he is drinking the rain water.Dogs are odd lol
I am not saying all i said is the problem,but i would take him to the vet for your own peace of mine and his health to be safe.
I hope he is in good health and all good tomorrow

bellx1 · 29-10-2010 7:50pm

caseyann wrote: »

Hey belle,another couple of things came to mind,How many minutes a day do you walk him? If regular ignore that.If not every day he may not be thirsty also possibility he is drinking the rain water.Dogs are odd lol

Hi Caseyann, yes he is walked roughly 20 mins a day, 3 times a day. Twice during the day by my mum and once in the evening by myself. Also, he has just over an acre of enclosed grounds to go as mad as he wants
Somebody said to me earlier was there a possibility that he was drinking stagnant water. I don't think this is the case as his water is changed regularly. And, (correct me if I am wrong) would this not cause runny poo, which I have seen no sign of.

Shanao · 29-10-2010 7:58pm

To be honest with you, I would change his food straight away. Bakers, like a lot of dog foods actually has a lot of water in it; a sign of a good dog food is when your dog drinks a lot of water. Also i doubt it has the right nutritional makeup for your dog if he's still only a pup; he should be on a puppy food until he is a year old. I would reccommend you find a food that in the ingredients has meat meal or dried meat written in it (preferably it should be one of the first two ingredients). In foods like Bakers, the meat that's in it is 80% water, which reduces how much the dog actually needs to drink.

Zapperzy · 29-10-2010 8:00pm

Is it tap water your using? The chlorine in tap water is adjusted according to what conditions are like (I think something to do with rainfall, high rainfall=more chlorine added) so possibly there could be a high level of chlorine in it that is putting him off it.

My dog would prefer to drink mucky puddle water than drink fresh water out of a clean bowl, and rainfall accumulated on the patio in heavy rain is like christmas to him, so I notice during heavy rain he doesn't drink as much out of water bowls. Could be that your dog is the same it's just your not noticing him drinking from the ground?

bellx1 · 29-10-2010 8:08pm

Yes it is tap water that he gets. As I am out of the house during some of the day, I cannot honestly say if he has been drinking from puddles or elsewhere.
I just noticed that his water bowl was full each evening when usually it was maybe 3/4 the way empty and he was not drinking under supervision either.

I was actually recomended the bakers by the vets nurse - not happy to hear this is supposedly wrong for my dog!

Shanao · 29-10-2010 8:14pm

A vet nurse reccommended Bakers to you!? I'm actually shocked to hear that. I really would reccommend you change it as soon as you can- make sure you have enough Bakers to mix with a new food over about five days so the transition doesn't upset his stomach. And like I was saying, get him onto a puppy food. The protein, calcium and phosphorous levels in adult food are way too low for him. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if you see him start to drink as much as he was again if you do change him onto a new food.

bellx1 · 29-10-2010 8:26pm

Shanao wrote: »

A vet nurse reccommended Bakers to you!? I'm actually shocked to hear that. I really would reccommend you change it as soon as you can- make sure you have enough Bakers to mix with a new food over about five days so the transition doesn't upset his stomach. And like I was saying, get him onto a puppy food. The protein, calcium and phosphorous levels in adult food are way too low for him. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if you see him start to drink as much as he was again if you do change him onto a new food.

Yes she did, I always remember going to the shop after he got his vac's etc and could not find it. So, went onto a bigger supermarket where they had it.
I know you are not meant to change their food so I kept him on it.
I feel awfulll now but was only going on what I was told

Shanao · 29-10-2010 8:36pm

I know how you feel dont worry about it; some vets and vet nurses dont seem to even know what they're talking about. I really am just surprised that she told you to put him on it. I would advise that you get your food from a petshop rather than a supermarket as well and whatever food you do go with in the end, make sure its one that is made by a company that does specifically pet food and only pet food. A lot of big companies that make pet food on the side generally dont care a whole lot about what goes into the food. Changing it should sort out his drinking problem in a couple of days.

thebullkf · 29-10-2010 8:45pm

Shanao wrote: »

A vet nurse reccommended Bakers to you!? I'm actually shocked to hear that. I really would reccommend you change it as soon as you can- make sure you have enough Bakers to mix with a new food over about five days so the transition doesn't upset his stomach. And like I was saying, get him onto a puppy food. The protein, calcium and phosphorous levels in adult food are way too low for him. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if you see him start to drink as much as he was again if you do change him onto a new food.

don't purina make bakers????.....wouldn't be as bad as P.chum.

plus if the OP's giving Gravy bites then i assume he's putting water with it.??

bellx1 · 29-10-2010 8:56pm

plus if the OP's giving Gravy bites then i assume he's putting water with it.??[/QUOTE]

Yes I do give a little water with the gravy bites to mix up the flavour.
However, he gets a seperate full bowl of water after feeding. Which is changed a few times a day.

andreac · 29-10-2010 9:00pm

thebullkf wrote: »

don't purina make bakers????.....wouldn't be as bad as P.chum.

plus if the OP's giving Gravy bites then i assume he's putting water with it.??

Yes they do but Purina isnt great either, its only slightly better than the supermarket stuff, still made with cheap ingredients and crap meat so i wouldnt advise feeding Purina either if you can help it.

To be honest, all those supermarket brands, Bakers, Purina, Pedigree are all the lowest quality food you can give your dog, but then again, not everyone can afford to feed a more expensive food.

thebullkf · 29-10-2010 9:01pm

what pup is it?

Shanao · 29-10-2010 9:01pm

Bakers and P Chum are every bit as bad as each other really. I completely forgot that you mix water with gravy bites as well; yet another reason to change his food. The dried food scrapes the dogs teeth when they chew it; cleaning them. If they eat wet food or dried wet that's had water added to it, the food gets stuck in their teeth. Which means bad breath, plaque and eventually having to get the dogs teeth cleaned by the vet.

bellx1 · 29-10-2010 9:12pm

Shanao wrote: »

Bakers and P Chum are every bit as bad as each other really. I completely forgot that you mix water with gravy bites as well; yet another reason to change his food. The dried food scrapes the dogs teeth when they chew it; cleaning them. If they eat wet food or dried wet that's had water added to it, the food gets stuck in their teeth. Which means bad breath, plaque and eventually having to get the dogs teeth cleaned by the vet.

I know this has gone off topic but please recommend a food for him please?

Shanao · 29-10-2010 9:17pm

The ones i'd reccomend are Real Nature, Hills, Royal Canin, Select Gold, BioPlan, Eukanuba, James Wellbeloved or HappyDog. The thing about the more expensive foods is that you'll actually feed less of it because the ingredients are a higher quality so it doesn't work out that expensive. BioPlan's the cheapest of those, but still a really good food- its completely organic. It depends on what your nearest pet shop is though, some of them only do specific ones. I would really reccomend Real Nature; its a fantastic food, but I'm pretty sure Maxi Zoo are the only crowd who do it.

bellx1 · 29-10-2010 9:27pm

Shanao wrote: »

The ones i'd reccomend are Real Nature, Hills, Royal Canin, Select Gold, BioPlan, Eukanuba, James Wellbeloved or HappyDog. The thing about the more expensive foods is that you'll actually feed less of it because the ingredients are a higher quality so it doesn't work out that expensive. BioPlan's the cheapest of those, but still a really good food- its completely organic. It depends on what your nearest pet shop is though, some of them only do specific ones. I would really reccomend Real Nature; its a fantastic food, but I'm pretty sure Maxi Zoo are the only crowd who do it.

Thanks Shanao, there is a maxi zoo not too far from where I am so will check it out.
I think I will still take pup to the vet just to be sure.

Pup will not drink water

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