Good Breeder Center

Dehydration in Puppies

This common problem in neonate puppies can become very serious if not treated.

Introduction

Dehydration occurs when puppies use or lose more fluid than they take in, leaving their bodies without enough water and other fluids to carry out its normal functions. Dehydration can be caused by:

  • Diarrhea
  • Inadequate nursing or formula intake
  • Low humidity and/or high heat in the puppy room
  • Vomiting
  • Fever
  • Infections

Checking for Dehydration in Pups

We check for dehydration in baby puppies differently than for older pups and adults. In these more mature animals, we pull the skin on the back of their necks and watch how quickly it returns to normal. This is called skin-tent testing and can be used after 5 weeks of age. However, this method is not helpful in younger puppies since even healthy pups’ skin will tent when pulled up.

Instead, for pups younger than 5 weeks of age, check for dehydration by tapping a pup’s gums. They should be moist and smooth. If they are tacky or sticky, the pup is dehydrated. Sticky saliva is another sign.

Confirm this by evaluating the color of the pup’s urine. Soak a cotton ball in warm water and massage the pup’s genitals with it. The pup will likely urinate onto the cotton ball. Normal urine in a neonate should be pale yellow to nearly colorless because they have limited renal function. If the pup’s urine is obviously yellow or darker, the pup is dehydrated.

Treating Dehydrated Puppies

Treating dehydrated puppies can be dicey because overhydrating can overwhelm a pup’s cardiac and renal function, causing kidney failure. It’s best to hydrate pups with lactated Ringers.

Here are a few ways to hydrate a pup:

  • Give warmed fluids subcutaneously, injected with a small needle just under the skin beneath the shoulder blades. This will produce a “bolus” or rounded hump of fluid that should dissipate over the next hour or so. Give 5 to 10 ml of fluids for every pound of body weight. Be sure the fluids are warmed to the pup’s body temperature.
  • Tube feed the pup a normal-sized meal of warmed (98-100 °F, 36.7-37.2 °C). lactated Ringers solution rather than formula.
  • Get the pup to your vet, who can give fluids intraosseously, intravenously, or intraperitoneally.