Spud Has Turned Into A Water Processing Machine

[ivon]

This is really weird, I shall drop him at the vet's in the morning to have them check it out. Spud is fine all day, he also doesn't drink water when nobody is home....but as soon as I get home, he goes out and pees for like a minute, and from then on, about every 20 minutes he has to go out for a looooong pee, and if I don't totally pay attention at all times, he will have accidents in the house, pees a lake every time. Now, he is fine in every way, he eats, he runs, most nights he is good all night, or at most leaves me with one puddle to deal with. I've had dogs with UTI's, that usually results in many small puddles, this is different.....how can he be fine all day, but turn the faucet on in the evening? He drinks a lot lately, but only when I am home, I will keep a closer eye on the water bowl, and take it up around 8pm, but what in the world is up with this? He is a bit ashamed about this, I can see it in his face, so I won't scold him, I don't think he can help it. But I do worry, he seems to be getting a bit senile too......let's hope this a highly unusual UTI and easily fixed. Anyone have any wisdom to share?

[Guest Audeamus]

Diabetes maybe?

PM Hub City Pam, I think that's what the start of Poodles diabetes was like.

[Sambuca]

Yes, that sounds like it could be diabetes. It can also be a sign of cushings, esp if he's gaining weight. I'm glad he's getting checked out tomorrow.

[greysmom]

Uncontrolled drinking and peeing is usually a symptom of diabetes, but it can be a lot of things. Hope someone with some experience can help tonight.

 

Good luck.

 

 

[Hubcitypam]

Yes --

 

The start of his diabetes was that his thirsty switch would not turn off. My vet initially tested for both diabetes and kidney failure and we got our answer there.

 

As to why he doesn't drink when you are not there, they do wierd things. I had one that would not eat unless the lights were out and she was alone, no matter how hungry she was.

 

Hope it is something simple and easily fixed. Diabetes has not been easy on us (harder on me more than him) but we're getting along and so far it has been managable. Ask your vet about taking up the water bowl if that is what it is. They told me to let him drink while we were getting it fixed.

 

Best of luck and will be looking for an update tomorrow.

[GeorgeofNE]

You should not take his water away; if he has Cushings or any sort of kidney issue, it's critical he be able to flush his system by drinking.

[duncan41]

Ugh! Hope there's an easy answer to this perplexing problem! Sending prayers and will be waiting for an update.

[Guest Swifthounds]

It could be diabetes, Cushings, kidney issues, or some type of UTI/bladder/kidney infection. Hope you get some answers soon.

[inugrey]

Could be a mental problem After blood work etc. for Inu we determined it was all in his mind. And <gasp> I do control his water intake.

[dante2zoe]

I have a whippet that has the mental condition - I forget the name. He goes on water binges and we have to physically move him away from the water bowl at times - which was recommended by the vet. Hope you get to the bottom of this!

[LBass]

How very interesting. Not, unfortunately, that I have anything useful to offer, but my Spirit has been doing the same thing for the last couple of months. He has access to fresh water all day and the bowl is usually not nearly empty when I get in from work, even with 3 dogs drinking from it. After I get home from work, however, Spirit usually has 3-4 spells of standing at the water bowl and drinking on and on and on. Then, predictably, he needs to go out to pee about every 20 minutes. He's fine at night and fine in the daytime (dog door access in the daytime).

 

I've had him to the vet for a thorough set of labs and urinalysis and everything at that point looked good except that he was getting far too high a dose of his thyroid meds. The vets thought that might be contributing to the drinking binges. Of course we cut the thyroid meds drastically and I have noticed some decrease in the number of times he drinks the bowl dry but some nights it continues to occur. He's about ready for a f/u appointment to check on his thyroid medication level, so I'm planning on taking another look at this issue as a potential sign of health problems brewing. Hope you find a solution for Spud.

 

---Lucy

[ivon]

Well, the vet can't find anything wrong with him, it is NOT diabetes or kidneys, nor a UTI, she is sending in blood work to check for thyroid and Cushings, but she thinks it mental Somehow that would not surprise me with this boy.....

[inugrey]

Glad to see that it's a mental issue. Welcome to the club

[Guest MZH]

Here's a tidbit I learned from a friend's 6-year-old greyhound who had Cushing's. He peed huge amounts of *concentrated* urine. I don't know if this is typical of Cushing's dogs but that's what happened to him. He had a brain tumor. We once had an older dog who drank like that but he was quite old. The vet felt he had a brain tumor b/c it wasn't from kidney disease or diabetes and his temperature would get very high and go back and forth between normal and high (105). A vet told me that some drink because they're hungry and are filling up on water. I can believe that!

 

Any news on Spud's condition?

 

Here's a tidbit I learned from a friend's 6-year-old greyhound who had Cushing's. He peed huge amounts of *concentrated* urine. (I don't know if this is typical of Cushing's dogs but that's what happened to him.) He had a brain tumor. We once had an older dog who drank like that but he was quite old. The vet felt he had a brain tumor b/c it wasn't from kidney disease or diabetes and his temperature would go back and forth between normal and high (105). A vet told me that some drink simply because they're hungry and are filling up on water. I can believe that!