Excessive Thirst?

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Archived Message

Excessive Thirst?
by Ellyn
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
Excessive Thirst? I have two Maltese, a 2-1/2 year old female (Bailey), and a 10 month old male(Buddy). Buddy seems to be thirsty all of the time (which of course, challenges the housebreaking!) The last time I took him to the vet, he had a urinary infection, which caused a lot of uncontrollable wetting. The vet put him on antibiotics, which cleared up the infection, and he was checked for diabetes. But he still drinks (and wets) a lot in comparison to Bailey. Should I be concerned about this? Other than this, he is a normal, happy, active, puppy.

DISCUSSION:

Hi Ellyn! Your Buddy sounds like my 2 and one half year old Bianca. She is ALWAYS thirsty and I also had this checked out with the vet and he said she has nothing physically wrong with her. He recommended we pull her water bowl up 2-3 hours before going to bed. We tried this and we caught her in the bathroom licking the sink and toilet! Can you believe this?! I called the vet the day after I saw her do this and he said bathroom sinks and toilets give a a very small amount of moisture and since I took her water away she went in there and tried to get water. He also said to just close the bathroom door to prevent her from going in there so we did. Than we caught her - this is even worse - on top of our other dog licking her mouth! The vet said she was trying to get her saliva to quench her thirst. The vet said just to keep an extra close eye on her but I couldn't take her suffering at night from thirst anymore, so against the advice of the vet I let her have as much water as she wants! She goes through MANY wee wee pads per day but she is not thirsty. That's my story on the subject. I know when I'm thirsty I can hardly stand it so I cannot deprive my baby from drinking all she wants. I feel terrible for listening to my vet and pulling her water before bed in the first place. So, I hope you find something to do that will work. Maybe just let him drink his water to his heart's content. Good Luck!
Angel

Angel,For whatever it is worth, I agree with you. Do not restrict water. Some dogs just seem to require more water to cleanse their systems than others. It could be a symptom of disease that may eventually show up in later life, or it could be nothing other than what that particular dog needs to maintain healthy metabolism. I would much rather deal with an "accident" or full wee wee pads than deny an animal the water it needs. I would put the dog out more often even if that means getting up in the middle of the night. Another possibility is too much salt in the diet. Bacon, bread, cheese and lots of things we feed for snacks can contain a lot of salt. Good luck.
Beverly B. Passe

I just took Zoe to the vet last week for the same thing! I know you both probably understand how tough it is to get a urine sample from a puppy! She is only 2.5 lbs and when I went near her she would stop so I put a white kitchen garbage bag on top of her wee wee pad and when she went I drained it off into a baggie! Anyway - no urininary tract infections or anything - just a thirsty little pee pot!! Maybe its a breed thing?
Lauren & Zoe

Angel ! What type of food are you feeding ? Perhaps it's too spicy ? I would never deprive any of my dogs of water ! Vets are not always right.....! Use your own judgement...you know your babies better than any vet ! Try newspaper...less expensive get a plastic pan and line it ! works great and preserves the floor !
Renee

I do agree that some dogs just seem to want more water. However, I would look into the diet as was suggested. Especially if they get a lot of people food, jerky-type treats, or anything with a high sodium content. This will often make them more thirsty. Or, it could be just some lingering effects of the urinary infection. Keep an eye on it, but I agree that withholding water from an obviously thirsty dog is cruel. We take the water away about 2 hours before bedtime, but neither of my dogs ever showed any signs of wanting more. If they did, I'd give it to them. You may want to have the blood work repeated if he doesn't grow out of it or shows any other symptoms of illness.
Aimee

Thanks for everyone's comments! Like most of you, I haven't been withholding Buddy's water, except in his crate at night. He only gets his puppy food (Pro Plan), an occasional small puppy treat,and no people food, so I doubt it's the diet. He is a very ACTIVE puppy and seems to do EVERYTHING MORE than my 2-1/2 year old female Bailey (he plays harder,barks more,gets into trouble more!)so maybe he just requires more water. I think I may have the vet check him again, just to be safe. Thanks again for your help!
Ellyn

Ellyn, I shared your plight with my workmate, Kim. Her Beagle had the same symptoms and was diagnosed as Cushing's Disease. Did they rule out this possibility? Also, there is a test to see if your dog is able to concentrate urine. If these things lab tests have not been done, perhaps the vet should. Best wishes and keep us informed. Kim could not restrict the water, either.
Halen

Ellyn, Believe it or not our little "Casey" is another thirsty pup. He is eight months old and loves his water and we have many outdoor trips, or I should say we better because he might just have an accident. Anyway, we do not restrict his water. In fact, our little guy sleeps with us at night. We still are unable to distinquish his barks in the middle of the night. They could mean "I'm hungry, I'm thirsty, or " I have to potty." Well, by deduction, we go thru the process. Of course, all of this happen in the wee hours of the morning. So, I keep a fresh plastic butter dish of water on my night stand, a fresh butter dish of food, and if these are not what he wants we make a trip outside. Sometimes all he wants is a drink of water. This takes only a few minutes and then back to sleep, all parties happy. Talk about spoiled.

Oh what we won't do for our babies. Sandy and "Casey"
Sandy

Ellyn, I agree with Aimee. Diet can have alot to do with it. Diet can have alot to do with behavior, also. I would talk to the vet about the ProPlan. I believe it's pretty high in protein and very rich.....more so of both than other very good foods. (ProPlan is an excellent food, but not for every dog). Seems like I read something about the link to excessive urination and diet recently. It's worth a try. Good luck. I'd check on the urinary tract thing again too. Often, one round of antibiotics doesn't get it.Very often!
anne