Preface

Insufficient water intake, fever, and excessive exercise can all lead to dehydration in dogs. Mild dehydration does not have a significant impact on dogs, but once dehydration reaches a certain level and is not replenished in a timely manner, it can cause significant damage to the dog's body. Observe the symptoms of the dog, and if dehydration occurs, promptly replenish its fluids.

1、 Causes of dehydration

Dehydration is usually caused by systemic diseases that suppress the thirst center, resulting in reduced water intake or restricted access to drinking water. Or it may be due to intentional restrictions on food intake or reduced food intake due to accidents. Excessive urine output can accelerate water loss, and digestive diseases such as vomiting and diarrhea can also cause water loss.

2、 How to diagnose

1. Inquire about the dog's medical history and determine the degree of dehydration. Understand the dog's usual food intake, whether there is appetite, low thirst, excessive drinking, and normal intake of water, etc. Whether a dog has appetite is also a factor in determining whether it is dehydrated. Because water intake is often a functional response caused by feeding stimuli. Whether there is abnormal loss of body fluids, and whether there is vomiting, diarrhea, polyuria, excessive salivation, etc. in daily life. If the above-mentioned problems persist for a long time, dogs are likely to experience dehydration.

If a dog's weight drops sharply, it is likely due to excessive dehydration. If the weight decreases by about 450g, it means a loss of 500ml of water.

Dehydration can generally be detected through physical examination. When dehydration is severe, the dog's eyeballs will sink, the mucosa will become dry, and the capillary refill time will be prolonged.

4. Pinching: Normal dog skin has elasticity because it has more moisture. It is best to choose the trunk area for pinching the skin, and not on the neck area where the skin is loose. Pinch the skin, release it, and if it immediately returns to its original state, it indicates that the skin is very healthy. But if the skin is loose and the recovery time is long, it indicates that the dog has a certain degree of dehydration.

5. Blood test: The blood itself contains a certain amount of water. If dehydrated, the color of the dog's blood will be dark red and the viscosity will increase.