Dog First Aid – Dehydration
January 4, 2011 by Celebration
Filed under Web News
Losing excessive amounts of body fluid is dangerous as it can lead to dehydration. Dogs are prone to get dehydrated because they have a poor cooling system given that their sweat glands are only found on the nose and on the foot pads. Dogs can regulate body temperature by panting but excessive panting especially on very hot weather can result to dehydration.
To regulate body temperature, the dog would pant but in doing so, more body fluid will be lost. Dogs can get dehydrated by running or doing strenuous exercises in very hot weather. Recurring diarrhea, vomiting and high fever are other causes of dehydration. Insufficient water and food intake is another cause of dehydration. This is a condition most common in dogs that become ill and have turned away from food and water.
Dehydration is a serious condition that needs immediate medical attention lest it results to the death of the pet. Left untreated, dehydration can cause electrolyte imbalance. When the body’s electrolytes get imbalanced, the kidneys, the liver and other vital organs are severely damaged often resulting to the death of the dog. The dog’s dehydration concern has to be immediately addressed either with first aid or with professional medical care. As dogs are prone to dehydration, an owner has to have the ability to recognize the symptoms of this serious condition.
Too much or too little amount of urine is one of the symptoms of dehydration. The dog would have a delayed capillary refill time. This means that if a finger is pressed on the dog’s gums it would take a while before the normal color would return. A dehydrated dog would be lethargic, have sticky gums and sunken eyes. A dehydrated dog’s skin will lose its elasticity.
Severe dehydration is an emergency situation that cannot be resolved with first aid and home management thus it is imperative to take the pet to a veterinary facility. Severe dehydration is corrected with intravenous fluids and some other medical management. Fluids are administered intravenously as due to weakness severely dehydrated dogs commonly would not want to take in water. Professional medical care would resolve the dog’s dehydration but if it is impossible to take the pet to an animal clinic, the owner has to give first aid to the dog. One first aid method is to give the pet Pedialyt, a drink given to infants to replace electrolyte. Although it would be necessary to replenish body fluids, the dog must not be allowed to drink lots of water as it could lead to vomiting that will worsen the dog’s dehydration.
Sarah’s Dogs provides more information on dehydration and first aid for dogs.
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