Foster Dog won't drink - suggestions

[Northof49]

So Gunner is doing really well. He still isn't breathing really well out of his nose, but it has definitly improved. However, I have come up with a weird problem. I can't get the little sucker to drink water out of anything. He is on a raw diet, and if I put water in that bowl he will drink it normally, so I know that the problem isin't that he physically can't drink, but I can't get him to drink at any other time.

 

I have tried numerous differnt bowls, pots, soups pots, you name it I pulled it out of my cupboard. I have tried chicken broth, beef broth, milk, putting treats in the water, cheerios (which he loves), cornflakes - nothing seems to work! He just looks at the container with a puzzled look on this face and sits back and looks at me like I am crazy. Even with his food bowl, without food in it he won't drink.

 

Obvioulsy he couldn't have just drunk water with his food, wherever he is from. He had to have access to water. He doesn't touch the water in the pail in is crate while I am gone, I didn't give him water with his food one day, and he didn't drink anything until I gave him his food and water the next morning.

 

I tried putting the containers outside for him to drink out of as well and that didn't work either - any suggestions? He has settled in really well, so I don't think it is stress.

[MrSnappy]

Give him snow, or ice cubes?

 

RDM

[Bo Peep]

Ice cubes are a great idea. I had trouble with Usher when we moved. He didn't like the water. I knew it was ok. I was drinking it. They sure are picky critters. He loves ice cubes and would eat the snow or drink the water that formed in puddles on the patio. Now he finally drinks the water at the new house. I let it run for quite a while before I put it in his dish.

[JohnLloydJones]

They sure are picky critters.

You're telling me. I have managed to stumble on a magic water container that all dogs I have met seem to love to drink from. Outwardly, it looks like a normal (cheap) round water cooler. For some reason every dog in the local dog park loves to drink from just this one container -- ignoring their owners' water completely. The dogs that Senneca usually plays with come to me directly they see me and demand a drink from this magic container. Even in the house, Senneca will always prefer to drink from the cooler instead of her water fountain. It's the same water.

[bc friend]

Okay, at the risk of sounding crazy, have you tried bottled water? I had a foster dog who would not drink tap water but would drink bottled water. The only thing my vet and I could figure was that he didn't like the smell of tap water (chlorine, minerals, etc.).

[JohnLloydJones]

The only thing my vet and I could figure was that he didn't like the smell of tap water (chlorine, minerals, etc.).

Most dogs dislike chlorinated water. If you let it stand for a few hours the chlorine smell goes away. I give Senneca the same purified (reverse osmosis) water that the rest of the family drinks.

[Northof49]

Okay, at the risk of sounding crazy, have you tried bottled water? I had a foster dog who would not drink tap water but would drink bottled water. The only thing my vet and I could figure was that he didn't like the smell of tap water (chlorine, minerals, etc.).

 

I haven't tried bottle water, but I leave my water out for 24 hours before I give it to the dogs. I have some bottled water at home, so will give that a try. I was thinking about getting water from my friend, as they are on well water, but he wouldn't drink from anything out there either, except with his food. They got stuck in a storm a couple of days ago, and I had to go spend the night with their 8 dogs. Between their 8 dogs and my four - and 7 of the 12 sleeping on the bed with me, I still have no room on their king size bed!!!!!

 

Snow on th ground is okay, but he won't touch it in any container outside either.

 

It's funny, as he is being so practical about anything else that is going on with him that he has never experienced before.

[Allie Oop]

Glad to hear that poor Gunner is doing so well. Have you tried a shallow dish like a pie tin or even a frisbee, only partially filled? My neighbor had a dog that received an injury to his snout and after that would never drink from a regular water container. We theorized that the water got into his nostrils in a regular bowl/container and hurt it. He drank just fine, however, from a thin level of water in a very shallow dish.

 

Good luck with Gunner!

[Northof49]

Glad to hear that poor Gunner is doing so well. Have you tried a shallow dish like a pie tin or even a frisbee,

 

I did - even my favourite apple pie plate! Even my dogs have never been allowed to drink out of that \

My frisbees are all cloth, so those wouldn't work.

 

He is really a nice dog - very sweet and quite sensitive (and no I will not be keeping him). I really haven't done anything with him since I wanted him well on the way of healing. He did great with my friend's pack of 8 dogs. I was going to introduce him slowly to them, but he bailed out of the car too fast so I thought - okay welcome to the rest of your extended family. My friend and I spend so much time together that her dogs and mine are basically one pack.

[OffTopic]

Such strange critters.

Finn (rescue dog) was weird about drinking water, too.

I use the insert from an old crock pot....it's big enough to hold plenty of water and since it's such a thick crock, it keeps the water temp nice and cool. Finn would drink out of it until the water level dropped about an inch. Then he would just stand and bark at it, but not drink until I added more water. Or he would bark to be let outside and run straight to the fountain for a drink.

Took me a few days, but I finally figured it out. When the water level drops he has to dip his head closer to the crock....and his collar tags "ping" the side of the dish.

 

Gunner may have a similar issue if he's at all noise sensitive. Or he could just be waiting for you to put the water in the "right" kind of dish. Or he could just prefer a nice flavorful mud puddle.

[Mojo]

You say he is a rescue--is it possible he came from a kennel where they used those upside-down plastic water dispensers with a metal spout (like the ones for hamsters) that the dog has to lick? Perhaps that is what he is familiar with, and doesn't realize that bowls can also contain water (unless it is his food dish, as you said, and he already has his nose right in it, so it is obvious to him). That was my first thought--since the water is clear and hardly has any smell to it, maybe that's why he looks puzzledly at a bowl full of water--he thinks the bowl is empty.

 

Here's my second thought: even if the above is true, perhaps he needs to learn that water in a bowl is the same as water in a dispenser. This is what I would try, short of buying one of those dispensers: Godiva often doesn't drink nearly enough water (old kidney failure dog), and so to encourage her, I will put the bowl in front of her face, and then swish the water with my finger to make a splashing noise to get her attention. Sometimes that works. If not, I will dip my finger in the water again, and then put a dab on her nose. That will get her to lick her own nose, and by this point, she is now looking at the water with more interest. If I then keep dipping and dabbing her nose, say, 5 or more times, eventually, she will start to drink a healthy amount by herself. I also only use bottled water (we get water delivered, so everyone in the house drinks bottled water)--she won't drink tap, and if the bottled water has been standing for too long or if something (like food crumbs) have fallen in it, she won't drink it, either. Even Mojo prefers fresh bottled water, and that dog will eat/drink anything. Anyway, for some reason, sometimes Godiva just needs to be reminded that the water is there, but I think that is typical of all older dogs. In this case, I was thinking that if this guy is used to the plastic dispenser, maybe physically showing him that the water is wet by putting it on his nose will help him generalize to the bowl.

 

Third thought: Has Gunner seen other dogs in the house drink out of his bowl? That could help, too.

[BustopherJones]

They sure are picky critters.

Both Annie and Missy will only drink San Pellegrino water. They used to like Perrier, but found that the lighter carbonation of SP is more to their liking. They will, of course, ignore any domestic sparkling waters like Poland Spring. If the situation is desperate and there is no sparkling water available, they might condescend to drink Evian, but only reluctantly...

 

Now for reality...

 

Both dogs like cold water. They will drink room temperature water if desperate, but much prefer to go and get DW or me to fill their dishes from a jug of filtered cold tap water that we keep in the fridge just for them. We pour it into their water dishes in front of them, so that they can see and hear the dish being refilled, and they seem to know that it just came from the fridge. You might try ice-cold water and see if that works. (Are my dogs spoiled? Never!!!)

 

And if it doesn't, there is always Perrier or San Pellegrino...

[Dixie_Girl]

Mojo, you voiced exactly what I was thinking!

[ErinKate]

I hate to be the one to say it, but the dog is not going to die of dehydration. He will drink if you are providing clean water. I wouldn't give him nasty sulfur water, and expect him to drink it, but reg. water?! I would be willing to bet he is drinking something somewhere. If he seems in good health, and is urinating on a regular basis, I don't think I would be too alarmed. Give him the skin pinch to check for dehydration. I wouldn't keep fussing and switching bowls though. Put one down and leave it.

Honestly it is just as bad as saying "oh he doesn't like Pedigree, he will only eat Kibbles and Bits". We all know the dog will not starve itself with a bowl of food infront of it.

However, if you notice the dog changing attitude or health, you may have a problem beyond a picky dog. Dogs in acute renal failure have trouble swollowing. Will make attempts, but drop food back out. I am guessing your dog is not doing that.

Good luck.

[mbc1963]

One winter, I noticed my old dog was eating snow all the time when we went out for walks - as if she was dying of thirst. I thought maybe she had diabetes or something... until I remembered that she'd gotten a new (shiny silver) dish for Christmas. Apparently, seeing her own reflection in the water dish was too scary for her, and she wouldn't drink from that dish anymore. Or maybe it was the sound of her tags pinging on the metal - never occurred to me! We swapped it out for her old dish, and she began drinking normally again.

 

Weird how they get hung up on this stuff.

 

Mary