Lots Of Water Drinking, Low Urine Specific Gravity

[Guest gryhnd3]

Got a new girl about 3 weeks ago. She is constantly drinking (way more than our other two greys). About a week ago, vet did urinalysis and labwork. Said everything looked good except her urine specific gravity was 10.05. I had mentioned that she drank a lot of water right before we had headed to the vet (she was going for a different reason but I mentioned the excessive drinking so we decided to run the tests then). Vet said to wait two weeks (she was just getting started on an antibiotic that day) and then don't let her have any water in the morning and bring her in for re-test.

 

Is this generally a sign of kidney problem?

 

At first we thought maybe she was just excited about being in a new home, or the fact that she's very food motivated maybe translates over to an available dish of water. She was probably crated a bit more in her foster home (so no water at those times we are thinking), we haven't crated her much. We do pick the water up or we will never get through more than 4 hours during the night (which is about all we get 4-6 hours at most).

 

I don't think it could be related, but both she and our new guy have pudding poops, so I had taken his stool in for test and they said it was very high in bacteria, I brought hers but the vet suggested putting them both on metronidazole, but the excessive drinking has been since the beginning, before she was on any meds.

[macoduck]

The sample that your vet tested, was it drawn or captured at the vet office? Or was it caught at your home? If from your home, was it the very first pee after she woke up?

[Guest gryhnd3]

It was at the vet's office, the tech took her in the back, I think they took her outside to see if she would go, so I'm thinking capture but I don't know for sure. It was not the first pee of the day.

[4My2Greys]

If she has kidney problems you will only make it worse by withholding water. They drink the water to help flush toxins from their body, which their kidneys are no longer able to filter properly. Also if your dealing with kidney issues it is also probable that you may be dealing with some form of heart disease. I just lost Nadir to kidney and heart disease.

[tbhounds]

To rule out renal disease---if her renal values were normal (gh normal means slight increase of the BUN and creatinine) I would withhold water overnight (8-12 hours) and catch her first morning urine. Ideally, you would like to see her USG >than 1.030.

There are many reasons dogs become pu/pd (polyuria =excessive urination & polydipsia=excessive drinking)---tummy upset, uti, water diabetes (diabetes insipidus),.......

[Guest gryhnd3]

Thanks, the vet said everything was normal on the labwork and urinalysis except for this one item. That is what the vet suggested, bring her back in a few weeks and don't allow her to have any water in the morning. But that would not be first morning urine at the vet's office, so perhaps I should catch it myself, and if they want to get another one there, they can, but I would have first morning (unfortunately, technically first thing in the morning is sometimes 2 am with her). We have had a grey with a kidney problem before, but he was not drinking excessively and it did show up with his creatinine and BUN levels, so different than her. He was put on the kidney diet kibble when he was 3-4 y/o and lived past his 14th birthday, had to let him go last year due to mobility problems. I am hoping it's nothing serious with her, but there is definitely an excessive drinking problem.

[tbhounds]

I would definitely withhold water for 8-12 hours overnight and catch the first morning sample at home. That will produce the most accurate results :-) They do not need a lot of urine-actually you only need a couple of drops to check the USG--they would like at least a teaspoon of urine to run a full urinalysis. Remember to use a clean container to catch the urine. Keep us posted!

[cleptogrey]

ask your vet directly- do you want the first catch of the day and can she have water during the night.

[Guest Houston1219]

Could it be doggy heartburn? Sometimes they will gulp water seeking relief from the acid reflux. Especially before next meal time when their tummy is empty. Yellow foamy slime puke (bile) can be a telltale sign. Check with your vet, may be a fix as simple as some otc pepcid!

 

Best of luck to you!

[Guest gryhnd3]

Collected the first pee of the day after about 10 hours with no water and took it to the vet on Saturday. Unfortunately, the number only went up slightly, 1005 originally (when she had just drank before going to the vet) to 1010. Next step is, once she's off antibiotics (she had one for cut leg and now finishing up metronidazole), vet wants me to bring her in and leave her there so they can draw it out. However, vet says she doesn't 'trust the stick' and would like to use a refractometer, but this office doesn't have one. So I would need to find a vet that has one and take it there, and then she'd like to compare the numbers - from the stick and from the refractometer, to see if they are similar or not. If still an issue, mentioned it could be diabetes insipidus.

 

No yellow foamy slime, I wish it was that easy of a diagnosis/cure, though, thanks for suggesting.

[Guest gryhnd3]

Forgot to mention - (don't have my notes here with me at work). The vet wants to do the draw in the office to rule out any UTI for sure, then the next step, if no UTI, was to take a urine sample and have it tested at another vet's office with a refractormeter, and this office with the stick, so she can compare specicif gravity numbers. I'm definitely bummed that it only went up slightly with water withheld .

[tbhounds]

You never, ever, never--did I mention ever check the USG with a urine dipstick-never! You must use a refractomator :-)

Honestly, I'm kinds gobsmacked that your vet doesn't have a refractomator--pretty basic equipment for a vet hospital to have/need. Idk-perhaps they broke theirs??

Edited to ask--if they don't have a refractomator-can you ask why they are t submitting the urine to the lab?? It sounds like they want to culture the urine so, not only submit the culture submit a u/a at the same time.

Edited April 14, 2014 by tbhounds

[Guest gryhnd3]

I will ask. There are several vets there, the one I like best is on personal leave right now. This is a new vet (young), she worked there as a vet tech, went to vet school, worked somewhere else, now working here as vet. Don't know how many yrs experience. I imagine she's not thrilled that they don't have one. She didn't mention it being broke. It's in a small town, I know they are not the best vets in the world, but I did come to trust/like the one who is on leave. I felt that these are two separate actions - first want to draw it to rule out a UTI, then if no UTI, the next step would be the refractometer, so I didn't feel that would all be with the same UA sample..

[tbhounds]

USG is part of a u/a :-)

[LuvEarsies]

My greyhound Woody was experiencing the same issues - drinking excessively, diluted urine. Woody would lay next to the water bowl and drink, drink, drink. We spent so much time trying to distract him/stop him from drinking water. It was upsetting to all of us. His water drinking was non-stop it disrupted his sleep and ours. No one in the house were happy campers. Labwork/ultrasound/urinalysis showed nothing obvious...everything in normal ranges. With the exception of the non-concentrated urine. We ruled out renal disease, Cushings, tumours, etc., etc. My vet suggested trying the ADH (anti diuretic hormone) eyedrops rather than submitting him to further stressful testing (Woody is 14). The vet said we would know within 1-2 doses if it was what he needed..wouldn't hurt him if he didn't have water diabetes (diabetes insipidus). Well, the drops worked and he's been on them for over 6 months now. The medication made the diagnosis...Woody has water diabetes (diabetes insipidus).

[Guest gryhnd3]

LuvEarsies, thanks very much for your personal experience. I do think that could be what she has, although she's not drinking nearly that much, not lying next to the bowl, drinking nonstop. She'll drink a lot but then walk away from it and not go back to it for awhile.

 

TBhounds, my husband looked up refractometers online and it seems that they cost less than $100. So now I am baffled as to why the vet's office doesn't have one?

[tbhounds]

I was surprised to read that this clinic didn't have a refractometer--pretty much one of the cheaper diagnostic tools a clinic can have.

[Guest gryhnd3]

I will have to ask the vet about it. However, thinking of ordering our own, I see one on Amazon for only $22 that has recommendations/reviews by a mobile vet and someone who has to check their dog's USG frequently.

[tbhounds]

Honestly-I don't think you need to purchase one-as I mentioned the USG is part of a urinalysis which I believe you mentioned will be rechecked. Hate to see you spend the extra $$

[MaryJane]

I wouldn't get involved as to why they don't have a refractometer - office politics ... whatever.

 

Get another first catch of the day and have them send out for a urinalysis which will include the specific gravity. The outside lab should also do a microscopic that might pick up bacteria and they should also be able to culture the urine.

 

I would not let them do any lab tests at the vet hospital - wrong results or misleading ones can complicate this matter.

[Guest gryhnd3]

Update: we now seem to have an incontinence problem during the night.

Vet sent the clean sample of urine (from leaving her at the vet's office for the day) to be cultured for UTI and it came back negative - no UTI.

I brought in the refractometer that we purchased and they used that and got 1032 so felt that they had ruled other things out and that she was able to concentrate her urine, so surmised that she must just have, and I don't remember the word, but it meant a psychological issue of wanting to drink a lot of water.

(as a side note, the owner of the practice bought the refractometer from me so at least they have one now...it did seem like there was some odd backstory but I didn't get it).

Okay, we can obviously live with that and was glad she didn't have a renal problem. I pick the water up by about 8pm.

She had stopped getting up at 2, 3am etc. and is going through the night, which is great for our sleep/rest.

However, I have realized now that she is leaking/going during the night. I had a suspicion lately, but I am absolutely sure now, I just woke up early and put her out and I could see part of her tail and one side of her butt was damp (and smelled) and so did the bed I just washed yesterday.

Going to call the vet this morning but I feel like there must be some medical problem involved, because she, a three year old, certainly should be able to go through the night, I would think.

[tbhounds]

They need to rule out diabetes insipidus.

[Guest gryhnd3]

They feel they have ruled diabetes insipidus out, and I talked to a different vet there today about the incontinence and she also felt she is concentrating her urine based on those later tests. She said since it has been 6 weeks, we should run a small panel again to make sure there is nothing wrong w/ the kidneys - BUN, creatinine (all labwork was fine initially, with the exception of the USG - with the dipstick...).

 

If there is nothing wrong there, I think she also comes to the conclusion that is some sort of behavioral/psychological issue re: the excessive drinking. Re: the incontinence, she mentioned a medicine that helps with that that we can try, she said it is a little unusual to see that problem so close to when she was spayed (January 2014). I would expect it more in an older dog myself.

[tbhounds]

Did they mention trying desmopressin (DDAVP)?? I would really hesitate starting DES or proin--they will have zero affect on her excessive drinking.

[Guest GreytNewfie]

Did you ever find out what was going on? I have a very similar situation with my new girl

Drinking too much, peeing a lot, including in her crate, leaking while asleep.

But she's seems health as a horse, according to our vet! We've also had tested for everything they can think of!