Super-Hydrating a Dog

[Keith Ortiz]

Recent walk through the cranberry bogs in Pine Barrens, NJ and it seemed the dog was dehydrated … lethargic, not marking territory, dark yellow pee. The water is heavy in iron and bacteria attach to the iron making it taste disgusting (rotten eggs).

I need to stop every so often and give the dog a bowl of filtered water, and to make sure he drinks it all. Internet search say add beef or chicken consume to the water to make it more attractive. Unfortunately I have not found a product that has no onions (deadly to dogs) and is low in salt. Lipton chicken noodle packets have no onions, but plenty of salt.

The vet was no help. Anyone out there deal with this … you desert hikers?

[Zack Karas]

When I want to get my dog to drink a lot, I always add bits of her dog food to her water dish. In the process of getting the kibble out, she end up drinking a ton of water. it might work for you. The kibble that sinks (about 1/2 sinks, 1/2 floats) is what makes her consume lots of water as she won't stop until she gets every last piece.

Edit: I have a friend whose dog had a sort of heat stroke. He also did the chicken broth thing. His dog seemed pretty disinterested in drinking much and was very lethargic. It took her several days until she was back to normal, so be patient.

[Sarah Welton]

Here's a link to a couple of the best bouillon options that I've come across.

There's a couple of pure stock powders that haven't had anything added to them – it's just the stock powdered. There are also some liquid options that have a pretty nice ingredient list.

[Keith Ortiz]

I discovered too that jerky sinks … so I whet the dog's appetite with a piece of jerky and then put some in the bottom of the bowl of water with a touch of the salty lipton soup. dog lapped it up, i fell asleep, and i was rewarded with a wet kitchen floor. experiment a success.

rgds

[Mark Regalia]

Before you decide against the bullion do some research on onions. I think you'll find that the amount in bullion is no risk at all. It is sort of like chocolate. Dogs can be killed by chocolate, but you would amazed at how much it takes.

But please do the research, don't take my word for it.

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