Can dogs be given dioralyte, or would they need something similar if they have been running excessively in the sun, just generally hot from the weather or dehydrated from diarrhoea?
This is a question to ask your vet - you shouldn't ever give human medicine to an animal unless approved by the vet. Some human medicine is fatal to animals.
You can give you dog an eleoctrolyte solution similar to the ones for children, or if you make it yourself 5% dextrose in cold water. You are better though to just wet your dog and fan him cool whilst giving him cold water. If he's ill enough to need an electrolyte he's ill enough to see a vet generally.
So longa as it is made up correctly - It is about a teaspoon in a litre - it is quite safe - and a good idea I think.
Diarolyte is heavily dependent on Segar and Hollidays work (1957) on what they called balanced solutions - and it is the same for dogs - becaaaaaause they started off on dogs I think.
There was (any nursing mothers will recollect) discussion from pinheads in 2000 wondering whether S and H had got it all wrong - especially in Hospitals. Yeah the pinheads were saying we have used the wrong solution for fifty years and and and ......
Segar and Holliday editorial 2002 in J paeds I think strongly argued - No we didnt !
So the two had survived for fifty years after making a landmark contirbution to paeds....wow
electrolytes are regularly given to racing greyhounds after exersion to rehydrate them. For most dogs though the solution is not to let them run or play in the hot weather and exercise in the early morning or evening.