Excessive Drinking

[krissn333]

My friend's girl has been drinking obsessively for the past few days...it's like she's in a trance almost - she just slurps down any water she can find and wants more. She's been to the vet, bloodwork is normal, UA is normal.

 

Has anyone had this happen? She is OBSESSED, it's almost freaky in a way. She doesn't seem to pay attention to anything except finding water

[CaliforniaGreys]

When you say her blood work is normal, do you know what they ran?

[greyhead]

It's called polydipsia and could mean several things, including pituitary malfunction. Sounds like a finer level of blood work may be required.

 

 

[OwnedBySummer]

You can send bloodwork directly to Dr. Dodds at Hemopets. Her website has instructions. I would trust what she concludes.

[Brindles]

Is she urinating more than usual too?

 

Is she getting daily walks? Lots of times you'll see dogs fixate on random things because they're not getting enough mental stimulation and/or physical exercise and they need an outlet.

 

I guess bloodwork rules out diabetes insipidus?

 

Did you ask the vet about psychogenic polydipsia?

[krissn333]

Yes she is urinating the appropriate amount for the amount of water she's been drinking

 

As far as I know they did a CBC and checked kidney and liver function.

 

This just started out of the blue on Friday. Really strange. Previously she is a happy and really friendly girl, tail always wagging, always following you around waiting for you to pet her.

 

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll pass them along!

[CaliforniaGreys]

How old is this little girl? I'm asking because if she is older, and her Creat and BUN is normal, I would check for Cushings

Edited September 29, 2010 by CaliforniaGreys

[Guest oldNELLIE]

This happened to our girl Nellie about 1.5 years ago. She was tested for everything. All they could come up with was hypothyroid - maybe. Her levels were on the lowest end of normal for a GH (which is low anyway). After 2 days of tests, $1000+ and no answers I asked them to double check the things that might be kill her (ie kidney failure, liver failure, Cushings etc) and when those came back negative I called it.

 

She drank a ton of water for a few day, had a few accidents and then was fine. It is still a mystery. Every once and a while she will start up again, nothing like that first time though. It doesn't seem to bother her at all.

 

I hope this clears up as easily for your friend and is not one of the scarier options!

[krissn333]

She's 9 years old I'll pass the Cushings possibility on as well, thanks!

[Batmom]

When you say UA is normal, does that include specific gravity and analysis by an outside lab (because most vets just use the dipstick)?

 

Has owner kept track of how much the dog drinks per day?

 

 

There are a lot of reasons for drinking. The easy ones that folks sometimes forget to check are sore throat, bad tooth, upset tummy, eating odd things in the yard, food change, new bag of food, treat change, new container of supplements, completely new supplements, table scraps.........

 

You won't see diabetes insipidus in bloodwork. The simplest test is to try the med for it and see if the problem resolves.

[krissn333]

They did a specific gravity, but I don't know if they cultured or not.

 

The difference between normal water consumption and this is STARTLING. If there's water, she drinks it until it's gone. If you fill up the bowl she empties it right away and wants more. It's like she's being controlled by a satellite to rid the world of all of it's water She has tried to drink out of the toilet and even headed toward the mop bucket the other day! When it first started, she didn't want to lay down either, she just wanted to stand there and drink until the water was gone. She was actually taken to the e-vet first and they couldn't find anything wrong with her. The past couple of days she has at least been laying down and has been eating (when it first started she wouldn't eat either).

 

I will pass along all of the suggestions! I don't have any updates today, so I'm not sure if she's still doing it (I would assume so).

[Guest LindsaySF]

That's definitely concerning behavior. Sounds like my Cody was when I first adopted him (he has Diabetes Insipidus).

 

I agree with Batmom also... Did anything change recently like food, supplements, meds?

 

 

What was the urine specific gravity value?

 

Any other digestive symptoms that could point to something like a bad tooth, an ulcer, etc?

 

They aren't withholding any water right? Sometimes owners try to restrict their water to prevent potty accidents, but it often backfires and makes the dog drink even more water, making diagnosis even more difficult. (It's a psychological reaction to not knowing when they'll have water again, so they drink it until it's gone).

 

 

 

~Lindsay~

 

 

[Guest KennelMom]

That's definitely concerning behavior. Sounds like my Cody was when I first adopted him (he has Diabetes Insipidus).

 

I hate to hijack a thread but I nearly spit out my tea when I read this...Can you expand on the DI? Symptoms and how you got the diagnosis? Our vet is still shrugging their shoulders with what may be wrong with Stella and this is the latest thing they've thrown out there.

 

Also what sort of treatment are you doing?

[Guest LindsaySF]

Sorry to the OP for the hijack!

 

I hear you KennelMom. My vet basically told me that DI is so incredibly rare, she had only seen like one case in dogs (supposedly it's more common in cats), etc, etc. I did a ton of research and basically diagnosed Cody myself. After several hundred dollars on bloodwork, urinalysis, urine culture, an abdominal ultrasound to look at the kidneys, etc, I pressed for an ADH trial. What do you know, he has DI. There are websites out there that say DI is not as rare as vets used to think, it often goes misdiagnosed or gets labeled a behavioral or psychological problem.

 

Cody was a dog at the animal shelter where I volunteered. He was found as a stray and never claimed so we have no history on him. He would drain his water bucket several times a day. He rarely had an accident, which I've read is not that common in DI dogs (usually they will have accidents or even drip urine involuntarily). He simply could not get enough water. You could give him treats and everything, but water is what he wanted. He did ask to go out multiple times per night to pee. When he peed it was totally clear, and he would pee for 2-3 minutes straight. I have no idea how he held all that in his bladder. We adopted him thinking he was in renal failure and terminal. That was over 5 years ago.

 

DI's main symptoms are PD/PU (polydipsia/polyuria). Urinalysis shows that everything is normal except for specific gravity (which will be low, the urine is very watery, even the first catch of the day). Bloodwork will also be normal. There is no definitive test for DI, the vet will rule out other common conditions first (UTI, kidney failure, "sugar diabetes" Diabetes Mellitus, Cushings, etc). There is something called a water deprivation trial that needs to be performed at the vet, to see if they can concentrate their urine if water is withheld, but you run the risk of dehydration. An ADH trial is safer, in that you give them ADH (anti-diuretic hormone) and see if it helps. If it does, you can conclude that they have DI. An ADH trial is not without risks (a dog without DI can get water intoxication, bloating, etc), but it's safer than a water deprivation test.

 

There are 2 forms of DI: Central and (I think) nephrogenic. In central DI, the brain (pituitary gland) doesn't produce enough ADH. Supplementing this hormone solves the problem, so this is pretty treatable. Cody has this form. It is either genetic, due to a growth/tumor near the pituitary, or traumatic (head injury, etc). In nephrogenic DI the brain makes plenty of ADH, but for some reason the kidneys don't respond to it. I believe the prognosis for this form of DI is not as good, and an ADH trial won't help. I don't think it's fatal, some owners elect not to treat even central DI, but the dog needs access to unlimited water and you have to watch carefully for dehydration. Many people will install doggy doors because the dog will need to urinate frequently.

 

If everything else has been ruled out for Stella, I would ask if you can do an ADH trial. If she responds to the medication, you'll know it's central DI. Cody responded to the medicine in a just a few days. He still drinks more water than my other dogs, and pees more, but he never has accidents, he never asks to go out in the middle of the night, and he always leaves some water in his dish.

 

ADH is sold as synthetic desmopressin acetate. The most common form is a nasal spray for humans, you take the top off and use an eye dropper to put drops into the dog's eyes. We did this with Cody for 2 years or so, until he started resisting and biting us. We switched to a pill form, a little more expensive but worth every penny because it's easier. Desmopressin is expensive, my local CVS quoted me something ridiculous like $300 for a one month supply of the nasal spray. We got it at Costco for $110 a month. We switched to the pills which were more expensive, but Costco recently changed their supplier so the price went down, I think it's now $80 a month.

 

 

 

~Lindsay~

 

 

[Guest KennelMom]

wow! Thanks so much for the info. I just set up the ADH test for next week. Our vet has never done the test before so he's wanting to do research over the weekend.

 

Do you have Cody on special kidney food or do you feed regular dog food? Right now Stella's on the prescription kidney food and she HATES it. Like, she just won't eat it.

 

I feel like this *has* to be what it is. We've pretty much exhausted every other diagnostic test.

 

I really appreciate you taking the time to type all that up...it's really helpful!

[krissn333]

Heather I have NEVER known a dog that liked prescription kidney food. They sent that home with Sutra when he was discharged from the vet back when I got him. He wouldn't touch it.

[Batmom]

If you pay attention to the numbers (protein, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, etc.), no reason you can't formulate a homecooked equivalent to canned kidney diet. The hardest thing is providing enough calories -- you need to add some kind of fat/oil, and it isn't always easy to find one that goes thru a dog well. IIRC the relevant numbers should be on the can/bag; if not then on Hills' website.

[Guest LindsaySF]

wow! Thanks so much for the info. I just set up the ADH test for next week. Our vet has never done the test before so he's wanting to do research over the weekend.

 

Do you have Cody on special kidney food or do you feed regular dog food? Right now Stella's on the prescription kidney food and she HATES it. Like, she just won't eat it.

 

I feel like this *has* to be what it is. We've pretty much exhausted every other diagnostic test.

 

I really appreciate you taking the time to type all that up...it's really helpful!

Cody is on regular food. All his other bloodwork and kidney values came back fine, no crystals or anything funky, and his kidneys looked fine on the ultrasound, so the vet said he can eat whatever. He was also acting pretty normal for the most part, a little lethargic and he liked his water, but he never acted really "sick". I do limit high-salt items and anything that might be a diuretic (including some herbs and supplements). He's a chow hound though, that dog will eat anything....

 

Some vets do the ADH trial at the clinic while monitoring fluid intake, urine output, and urine specific gravity. Our vet was flexible and let us do it at home, we just had to make sure he didn't drink a ton of water and get bloated and absorb too much water. His drinking decreased on day 2 or 3 on the medicine, and he slept through the night I think the next night? His urine still looks clear to the naked eye, but the specific gravity went up when we tested it (maybe a week later?), and he doesn't pee for 2 minutes straight anymore. I can always tell if I've forgotten to give him his pill because he'll drink more water. One time I was out of pills and he missed 2 doses in a row (he gets 3 doses per day) and he emptied the water bowl.

 

Good luck with Stella!

 

 

 

~Lindsay~