If Pedialyte is safe for humans, isn’t it safe for my dog?
Currently, there is no scientific research showing that Pedialyte is any more helpful for a mildly dehydrated dog than just plain water. It’s important to know that giving your dog Pedialyte risks making them feel even worse, so always talk to a vet before giving your dog any medication or over-the-counter treatments including Pedialyte.
If your pet is sick, especially if they’re having symptoms of vomiting and/or diarrhea, less energy, weak, or difficulty standing, you should call your nearest vet to have your pet examined so that appropriate veterinary treatment can be given.
Dogs experiencing dehydration develop imbalances in their electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, and chloride. Vomiting and diarrhea, for example, often cause a loss of electrolytes, while dogs with heat stroke or heat exhaustion often have higher than normal levels of these electrolytes in which Pedialyte could actually worsen their symptoms. If your dog can drink fluids and is not vomiting, plain water is recommended and is a much safer choice over Pedialyte.
Pedialyte is an electrolyte solution used for children or adults with symptoms of mild diarrhea or dehydration. It helps add electrolytes and fluids that are lost from diarrhea. This helps a person with mild dehydration feel better.
But remember, Pedialyte is made for humans, not for dogs. Because Pedialyte is formulated for humans, it contains higher levels of sodium than dogs need and also contains sugar – both of which can be harmful to dogs, especially if they are senior dogs, pregnant or nursing/lactating dogs, have other conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, or other conditions that make them more sensitive to increased sodium and sugar levels.
If you suspect your dog is dehydrated, you should contact your vet or the nearest pet emergency hospital. Dogs become dehydrated from continued vomiting and/or diarrhea, being active in extremely hot weather, or from being sick with a fever. Dogs with diabetes can become dehydrated when they have too much sugar in their blood, causing them to urinate a lot. Increased panting, which is how dogs manage their body temperature when they get too hot, can also lead to dehydration.
Severe dehydration left untreated can lead to severe conditions including kidney failure, abnormal heart rhythms, and even death.
Dogs experiencing mild dehydration often recover quickly once they’ve taken in enough plain water.
When dogs become severely dehydrated, drinking water or Pedialyte will often not be enough to rehydrate and stabilize their condition. Often, if they have signs of vomiting or diarrhea, continuing to offer Pedialyte will stimulate them to continue to vomit which further dehydrates them, making their condition worse. Your vet will determine what’s causing the dehydration and give any necessary medication along with fluid therapy to relieve your dog’s symptoms and help them recover.
How much water is normal for my dog to drink?
In general, healthy dogs need about an ounce of water per pound of body weight per day. If they are experiencing fluid losses, such as vomiting or diarrhea, their water intake should increase to keep up with these demands.
Definitely Sweat the Small Stuff When it Comes to Dog Hydration
When it comes to keeping hydrated, one of the major components to human gain, loss, and maintenance of proper water and fluid levels has to do with differences in how dogs and people sweat. When a human is overheated, sweating is the body’s way of assisting in cooling your internal temperature. Water will bead up on the skin’s surface and evaporate, creating a biologically efficient method for cooling core temperature in a hurry. In fact, some people suffer from disorders where they don’t sweat, often leading to life-threatening overheating.
Fido, on the other hand, doesn’t cool down in quite the same way as people do. Dogs do perspire slightly on the pads of their feet, but this is nowhere near the levels of moisture loss as experienced by people when they sweat. Instead, dogs cool off via panting, gulping in big quantities of cooler air into their lungs and expelling warm air/exhaust in a constant cycle. Both sweating and panting cause loss of moisture through evaporation, but there’s a critical difference in that dogs don’t lose the same amount of salts through panting as humans do through sweat. Dogs, therefore, still need adequate amounts of water when they get hot, but not quite as much extra as humans.
Can Dogs Have Pedialyte? | Can I Give My Dog Pedialyte? | Is Pedialyte Safe For Dogs?
When the sun shines brightly on the hottest days of the year, we often reach for electrolyte-laden drinks for hydration. These special drinks are great to help replenish nutrients lost during sweating. However, should we be using the same for our dogs during the dog days of summer? Read on to learn why you might want to just stick to plain water when it comes to re-hydrating your pooch.