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My puppy has parvo and won't drink water. What should I do?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Shih Tzu | Male | unneutered | 7 months and 17 days old | 10.2 lbs

10/20/2017 my puppy was positive with Parvo, it’s day 2 and everything seems to be back to normal only problem is he will not drink water. I’ve been giving him some pedialyte to keep his electrolytes up & fluid in him so he won’t dehydrate. The main problem is how do we make him drink water again?

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1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on October 22nd, 2017

First off, I'm so sorry Prince has parvo! You are correct that preventing dehydration is very important and right now the main focus should be keeping that from happening. It can take from 7-14 days for the clinical symptoms of parvo to pass, so it's fine if you keep giving him small amounts pedialyte using a syringe or small turkey baster during this time. As he begins to feel better, he will start drinking water and it's fine to leave a bowl out of water for him in case he feels like drinking some. But for now, don't worry about making him drink water as long as he is keeping down the pedialyte. If he starts vomiting that, rush him into a vet immediately as he will need IV fluids. Dehydration is the number one cause of death in these puppies and it has to be avoided. I hope this helps!

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