Sometimes a pup or adult gets sick from one thing or another. Could be that your animal has loose stools or some other symptom. Maybe it’s worms, enteritis, giardia, etc. Aside from obviously treating the cause so the animal is right side up again, there is one effective thing you can do, right then and there, usually overlooked by owners who insist on panicking instead of stabilizing the animal.
Remember, if you take your pup to the vet, the first thing they will do is take the animal’s temperature and hydrate it to stabilize the vital organs until they can discover what is wrong. So, if your animal isn’t doing well and is not taking in food or liquid, then the two things you can do are: take its temperature and hydrate.
So, you either have Pedialite on hand (it goes bad, so you have to have unopened bottles) or make your own. There are recipes all over the internet on making your own, with purified water, salt, sugar and baking soda. Mix up a batch and feed a bit to the animal, either in a bowl, or if they are not taking liquids, orally through a syringe. (Okay, please remove the needle first – this is for feeding, not injecting). If you don’t have a syringe, use a straw or something to drip the liquid into the animal’s mouth so it goes down. Don’t over do it, maybe 20 cc or so for a pup, etc. in tiny applications. Just stabilize the animal, don’t drown it. Remember, small amounts.
Next, take the temperature. You should have a digital thermometer on hand with some plastic covers, and so on. Just lubricate the tip and you know, take its temperature rectally. It should be between 99 and 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit. If the temp is, let’s say, 103, you have a sick animal and need to get to the vet.
Okay, at least the animal is stabilized and you know whether you have a seriously sick dog or not.
Now, you can call your vet and take it from there.
Best,
Bob
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