Dehydrated and over exercised Corgis..
I really need some advice from the corgi community! Ellie is suffering from her 4th bowel complaint this year. our vet has ruled out diet as a contributing factor and is now considering whether or not her constipation and straining to poop is a result of her not drinking enough water.
This got me thinking about Ellie's lifestyle. She is the most active of the 3 corgis I have owned in my life. she will play all day and give 180% when we go walking. Some days I'll walk her for 40 minutes because she just seems that crazy to be active. She plays chasey nonstop too.
I wonder if she is putting out more than she is putting in in terms of hydration and energy? She is 13 months old and has weighed 9.5 kg for the last 5 mths. Trainers at our local obedience club have commented that she is undersized.
My questions are
1. How much exercise are everyones corgis getting each day ( Ellie's a cardigan)?
2. Are there any physical signs to look for when a corgi is dehydrated ( besides the obvious)?
I would love some feedback!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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Excersize is fine...what worked for me is I now add a TBSP of rice and about 1/4 cup of warm water to her food (3 TBSP perday). Sage was a wee bit dehydrated wasn't eating well and not gaining weight:( She is now doing MUCH BETTER:)
Corgis don't finish growing till they are almost 2 either. Sage will be 2 in Jan. and looks much better since I started this. She also gets a fair amount of exercise.
Good luck!
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Permalink Reply by Rebecca and Ellie on
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- Thanks Jane! That is a helpful suggestion.
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Permalink Reply by Jane on
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I'm assuming you did try switching her food at one point that the vet ruled that out? You could try adding a cup of water to her kibble when you feed her. You could also try adding a tablespoon of some type of fruit juice to a cup or two of water and see if that gets her drinking.
According to google she's about 21 lbs, which is on the small side for a cardigan but she might fill out still. My cardi Luke had a big growth spurt shortly after turning a year old. He gets about a half hour walk a day and pretty much unlimited playing in the back yard with my other dog.
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Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on
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She is definitely not getting too much exercise. Franklin gets at least a full hour walk everyday with a few smaller/shorter play sessions in the morning and evening. Adding water to the food is a great way to get them to drink more. We used to always add water to all of our dog's food but I dont' do that with Franklin because he drinks a ton on his own.You can also add low sodium chicken broth to the food to get her to get more water or even wet food/water combo to the kibble.
Signs for dehydration: tenting of the skin on the back of their neck, tenting of the eyelids, sunken eyes, and dry mucous membranes (most noticeably the gums). If you pull up the skin on the back of her neck it should pop back into place and her eyes should be shiny and bright. Her gums should be moist and pink, if they are pale or dry that indicates dehydration.
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Permalink Reply by Wendt Worth Corgi's on
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Some dogs don't like to stop to take a drink..they are all about the activity. I run my dogs ALOT but I always stop and tell them "okay guys, lets get a drink" and then they'll stop and go to the water bucket. I know with my girls having pups or nursing pups they don't like to get up much for anything so I always water their food down...this helps with easier digestion and then I also know they are not getting dehydrated. But for you I think the biggest would be probiotics!!! This helps keep the intestinal tract healthy for maximum absorption of good nutrients and prevents diarrhea and constipation....I give all my dogs and puppies probiotics and a tbsp of Activa yogurt. The other thing is frequent potty's...sometimes having them hold from pottying to long can cause constipation and activity such as ball chasing or romping about gets those bowels moving so do not stop exercise.
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Another thing...firmer stools helps express anal glands..dogs with to soft of stools can have anal sac issues so don't try to soften the stool up to much.
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with probiotics you have to make sure to get DOG probiotics, probiotics for other species (i.e. feeding Activia,) does nothing to support the intestinal flora of a dog. It is still being debated whether feeding dog probiotics does anything either as the bacteria are somewhat sensitive and when you just stick them in a sealed envelope and store them on a shelf for resale, how much are actually still alive and hearty enough to colonize. It's one of those things that wont' hurt, but in many cases won't do anything either unless you are giving intestinal flora for the appropriate species. You can also give 1-2 tbsp of canned pumpkin to help with constipation.
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Thanks everyone! Soups and broths are a fantastic idea. When we walk I always takea drink bottle with me and we stop for drinks along the way.
Now that you mention it, Ellie is definately a "hold it" kind of dog so I'll have to keep making those regular toilet trips occurr.
It is interesting to read the discussions about probiotics. I had asked the vet about these and he doesn't seem to think they work.
It is reaffirming that people are exercising their Corgis as much as we exercise Ellie.
Thanks for all of your suggestions and advice!
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Permalink Reply by John Wolff on
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To make sure the sailors swallowed their lime juice, the British Royal Navy put it in their grog.
To make sure a corgi gets enough water, put it in their food.
We feed a raw-meat diet. This results in hard, odorless turds and borderline constipation, so we added some kibble, which softens (and stinkens) the poops. I feed them freeze-dried meat on camping trips, with kibble. To encourage water intake, I add a lot of water. Dog food soup.
What's an "over-exercised corgi"? Is that like a "dry lake" or "cold fire"?
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