My little girl dog, with as body about as big as a deli boloniga roll, drinks allmost a gallon of water every 24 hours, does this seem excessive? Other dogs I have had in the past never drank so much; she is basically an indoor dog, not over active, about 2 years old.
Dog's water excess
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Mitch, that does sound like a lot for such a small dog. 
I have a 25 yr old cat that drinks constantly and the vet said it's due to her kidneys slowly giving out but it's due to unbelievable old age.
My first guess would be she may be diabetic. They first checked Squiggy my cat for diabetes when I told them how much she drank each day.
You might want to have her checked out; now dogs can live a long,healthy life with diabetes. They just get insulin shots like a human.
Until you get her into the vets, you might try limiting any sweet treats or high carb treats/foods to see if her thirst subsides. That would give you some idea if that is the problem.
Does she pee more than what you think is normal? From what the vet told us, dog diabetes symptoms are very similar to human symptoms-thirst, excessive urination, hunger or lack of appetite, weight gain or loss and skin problems.
Best of Luck with your pooch.
Kathy
I have a 25 yr old cat that drinks constantly and the vet said it's due to her kidneys slowly giving out but it's due to unbelievable old age.
My first guess would be she may be diabetic. They first checked Squiggy my cat for diabetes when I told them how much she drank each day.
You might want to have her checked out; now dogs can live a long,healthy life with diabetes. They just get insulin shots like a human.
Until you get her into the vets, you might try limiting any sweet treats or high carb treats/foods to see if her thirst subsides. That would give you some idea if that is the problem.
Does she pee more than what you think is normal? From what the vet told us, dog diabetes symptoms are very similar to human symptoms-thirst, excessive urination, hunger or lack of appetite, weight gain or loss and skin problems.
Best of Luck with your pooch.
Kathy
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I took in an older German Shepherd girl a year or so ago - she drinks unbelievable amounts of water and pees like no one's business.
In her case, she's got a little spay incontinence, but she also has some kidney failure and diabetes going on. There's a lot of things which can cause it, so it would be hard to diagnose based on your description alone.
One very important thing for you to remember: never deprive a critter like this of water. Doesn't matter if you think they're drinking too much, they have to have it. Get a much bigger water bowl and always keep it full. Guys like this REALLY need the water.
In her case, she's got a little spay incontinence, but she also has some kidney failure and diabetes going on. There's a lot of things which can cause it, so it would be hard to diagnose based on your description alone.
One very important thing for you to remember: never deprive a critter like this of water. Doesn't matter if you think they're drinking too much, they have to have it. Get a much bigger water bowl and always keep it full. Guys like this REALLY need the water.
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Yo Moo,
Kathy advice is excellent. I would add, limit her intake of water
to maybe only 1 or 1 1/2 cups at one setting. I believe there is something
called bloat, where the intensines get all twisted. It is very painful and
leads to death.
BTW Merry Christmas Take Care Kathy
Kathy advice is excellent. I would add, limit her intake of water
to maybe only 1 or 1 1/2 cups at one setting. I believe there is something
called bloat, where the intensines get all twisted. It is very painful and
leads to death.
BTW Merry Christmas Take Care Kathy
This is a classic sign of diabetes in a dog. But it's fairly easy to control, so don't panic. But she does need to be seen by a vet. Is this a new thing? Does she also pee alot? The technical term is polydypsia-polyurea, or in layman's terms excessive drinking and urinating.
Hi,
I had a boxer that drank more water than any dog I have ever had, and peed a lot too. She didn't have diabetes or any other discernable health problem that would cause excessive thirst and she lived to be pretty old for a boxer. It was just normal for her. But drinking that much water should be a cause for concern and I think your dog should be seen by a vet. It might be nothing but you won't know until the vet runs some tests.
Good luck!
Starr
I had a boxer that drank more water than any dog I have ever had, and peed a lot too. She didn't have diabetes or any other discernable health problem that would cause excessive thirst and she lived to be pretty old for a boxer. It was just normal for her. But drinking that much water should be a cause for concern and I think your dog should be seen by a vet. It might be nothing but you won't know until the vet runs some tests.
Good luck!
Starr
There is no weight change or appitite gain or loss. She has free choise dry food but is allways eager to share whatever she can of my chow. She gets about 1 cup of whatever I am eating over a 24 hour period. There are no excessive trips outside. What is the recommended diet for dogs with diabeties?
Mitch go to the library and get a copy of Dr Pitcairns natural health for dogs and cats. Gives recipes and advice. Here is a recipe for diabetes, 1 meduim egg, 1/2 cup lean meat, 2 3/4 cups brown rice [cooked], 1/4 cup chopped vegetables, combine ingredients and serve. kidney recipe is almost the same.
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moopups, you might want to be careful about assuming it's diabetes. My older GSH girl does this and, when investigating it, I discovered there could be many causes. I just ran a search at vetinfo ( http://www.vetinfo4dogs.com ) on excessive water intake (polydipsia) and came up with all these results for younger dogs:
Younger dogs: * kidney disease, liver disease, leptospirosis, pyelonephritis, pyometra (uterine infections -- * occur rarely in spayed dogs but do sometimes occur in them), Fanconi's syndrome (Basenjis* are prone to this, not too common in other breeds), medication side effects (especially
corticosteroids), polycythemia (too many red blood cells), hypoadrenocorticism, diabetes* insipidus, bladder stones or other urinary obstruction and behavioral or psychogenic water* drinking.
You might check around to see if you can find an affordable and knowledgable vet in your area, or some kind of animal program which could help you. Good luck, and here's hoping you find the solution easily!
Younger dogs: * kidney disease, liver disease, leptospirosis, pyelonephritis, pyometra (uterine infections -- * occur rarely in spayed dogs but do sometimes occur in them), Fanconi's syndrome (Basenjis* are prone to this, not too common in other breeds), medication side effects (especially
corticosteroids), polycythemia (too many red blood cells), hypoadrenocorticism, diabetes* insipidus, bladder stones or other urinary obstruction and behavioral or psychogenic water* drinking.
You might check around to see if you can find an affordable and knowledgable vet in your area, or some kind of animal program which could help you. Good luck, and here's hoping you find the solution easily!
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I would take her to the Vet and they will run couple of tests. It doesn't sound normal for her to drink that much and if she's not very active then it does pose a risk to diabetes just as humans. IF it is diabetes, then most vets will try modifying the diet first, then pills or shots. I wouldn't feed her free choice, feed twice daily. Feeding free choice and a sedentary lifestyle not good bedfellows.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Good luck and keep us posted.
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Let's not forget, you live in Florida. This just maybe your dog trying to stay cool if the weather is warm and humid. Just a thought here. Don't jump the gun.
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Have your vet check for Cushions! This happened to my male Dachshund-- Our Vet did several test and found that he had Cushions--We did the treatments recommended by our vet but he only lived about 18months. He had been drinking accessive amounts of water and getting up twice at night to go out. He was happy until about three weeks before we had to put him down for kidney falure. Good luck.
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