What I have done in that situation is use Pedialyte. I put Pedialyte in Dolly & Desi's water bowls (about 15% Pedialyte) in the warmer months.
The first time that I used the Pedialyte, Dolly was probably 12 or 13 months old and was dehydrated. I was using a syringe to get fluids into her and then I thought about Pedialyte. My vet said it is OK, and it is also a good idea to add some to the water in the summer You can buy a bottle - even the generic kind - and if you don't have a syringe get one at your local pharmacy. Then put as much as you can in the syringe. If you insert the syringe on the side of her mouth there are no teeth on the bottom, so you can fit it in and slowly push the fluid into her mouth. Dolly & Desi love the grape flavor and the fruit flavor that I get in Walgreens. Dolly is a free feeder and always has been. Buy some kibble and leave that for her to be able to eat in between her other meals. It may be as simple as that - that she is a free feeder and you really can't change that. She may be very thin, but that might just be because she doesn't really eat very much. Good luck and keep us posted. Joan From: Chihuahuas@yahoogroups.com [mailto:Chihuahuas@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of freddyscribbles Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2011 8:24 AM To: Chihuahuas@yahoogroups.com Subject: [Chihuahuas] Help! Not drinking/eating Pia seems to be eating okay - not great. She'll eat it if she's fed. Ergo, I've found myself spoon feeding just to make sure she gets nutrition until she perks up and is eating on her own. I've been giving her a couple of beads of nutra-cal as well. But she's not really eating on her own, and because I've mostly been giving her prepared food, I can't leave it out for her as it's perishable and we have rodents around. The bigger issue, and this is one the vet noted, she's dehydrated. She received subcutaneous fluids yesterday. I've seen her drink a little bit. But I don't think she's drinking enough. I've tried putting a little chicken stock in her water. I'm going to try warming a little beef brother in a bit. But I'm really concerned that she's not getting enough fluid. And I know that no one really wants to eat or drink when they're ill. But she's not going to get any better until I can get some weight back on her and make sure she's getting the right nutrition and enough liquids. Help or advice would be welcome.
