My dog is recovering, won't drink. When can I switch back to kibble?

Question

My dog was recently brought to the hospital to throw up raisin chocolate and the week following he had really bad diarrhea so they put him on antibiotics. His condition is improving and he’s starting to make better more solid stool but he refuses to drink water. I’m worried about this- I’m also wondering when I am able to stop giving him chicken and rice and give him his kibble again. He’s been on boiled chicken and rice since Tuesday. Pet's info: Dog | Goldendoodle | Male | neutered | 4 years old | 25 lbs

Dr. Strydom, DVM · Accepted Answer

Hello, thank you for using PetCoach. I'm sorry to hear that Iggy has had all these issues. It is best to start transitioning him back to his regular food now. I recommend just putting a handful of kibble in with the chicken and rice and just gradually increase the amount of kibble at each feeding (and reduce the amount of chicken and rice) until he is back on straight kibble. This should take 5-7 days. I would also recommend giving him prebiotics/probiotics (I recommend Fortiflora Pro) and use it daily until the stools have been completely normal for at least one week. Not only did the induction of vomiting change the normal flora of his stomach but also the addition of the antibiotics probably did more to harm the GI biome. Antibiotics kill both good and bad bacteria. Fortflora is easy to use - one packet on his food once daily. It is a powder and is very palatable. Each box of Fortiflora has 30 packets so you will have a month's supply. ( https://worldtails.securevetsource.com/itemView/view/223965_HomeDelivery.pml?productId=138172&auto=true ) As for the water drinking, you cannot force him to drink but you can encourage drinking by using some low sodium chicken broth added to his food. Are you sure he isn't drinking from other sources (pool, toilet, puddles, snow, etc)? Hope this helps. Best wishes.

My dog is recovering, won't drink. When can I switch back to kibble?

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