Are you repeatedly filling up your dog’s bowl with water? It simply means, your pet is drinking too much water which can be a symptom of health problems. While, if your pet seems to drink water for a day only then it is not a cause for concern because it might be possible that they are feeling hot, after intake of a certain food they need to drink water, or after playing and exercising a lot feeling thirsty. If your dog is active and plays a lot then it is obvious that he will feel thirsty in comparison to other pets.
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So, if you are wondering, why is my dog drinking a lot of water? This query depends upon various components, for example, as a pet owner you should examine different components in your pet’s life like his diet, whether is he feeling hot in warm weather, any kind of medical illness, and a lot more.
In medical terms, if your dog is suffering from excessive thirst then it is termed “Polydipsia.” In this article, you will be getting all the answers to queries like why is my dog drinking a lot of water, and how to diagnose such problems at an early stage. So, let us start the discussion with the effective steps that you should take to resolve such problems.
How Much a Dog Should Consume Water in a Day?
A dog should drink water as per their body weight for example, if you have a pet whose body weight is 12 pounds then he must consume 12 ounces of water in a day as per the general guidelines for a dog’s consumption of water daily.
If you are residing at a place that typically has warm weather and your pet is more active. In such circumstances, the dogs require a lot of water than mentioned in the general guidelines.
If your pet is drinking too much liquid then never take away water from your pet’s bowl if it is not prescribed by the veterinarian. The pet might require to intake the water at night or at different times when he feels dehydrated. If you try to deprive the water of their bowl it will lead to pet dehydration and an imbalance of electrolytes in their body. This will result in kidney malfunction; therefore, it recommends never to deprive your pet to drink water.
Is It a Matter of Concern – Why is My Dog Drinking a Lot of Water?
· As a pet owner, you need to examine your dog if he is drinking lots of water and urinating much more than usual. If your dog has such symptoms then it can be a sign of suffering from medical illness, for example, diabetes, infection in the body, cancer, kidney problems, and much more. For better clarification, you must communicate with your pet doctor immediately to know the root cause of “why does my dog drink so much water.”
· Yes, you should be concerned if the dog is older and drinking a lot of water. As per the studies, it is observed that senior dogs are at higher risk of illness. You should keep an eye on your dog’s health like if he is gaining or losing weight suddenly. Another sign of illness is if they are urinating or drinking water more often than usual. In such conditions, you should meet the veterinarian and seek the medical attention.
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Important Factors Because of Which Your Dog is Drinking Too Much Water
1. Dry Gums, Hot Climate can be one of the reasons
A common reason why is my dog drinking so much water can be deprived of their dry gums. As a pet lover, you must check your dog’s mouth if his gums are dried and look for water. Try to keep bowls filled with water so that he should not get symptoms of dehydration. If you are living in a hot climate area and have an old pet then it recommends putting more than one bowl near the dog so that whenever he feels thirsty can drink water at a nearby place.
Still, if you observe that your dog is drinking too much water that is usually required. It is better to contact the doctor because such problems can lead to a heatstroke which needs treatment under the vet’s supervision.
2. Lots of activities, exercise on warm days
In summer, not only animals, but humans also feel thirsty as of excessive workouts, and activities and our bodies need more liquid than we usually drink on normal days. Similarly, if you have an active dog who loves to play and exercise on warm days then they also require more consumption of water. In some cases, it can be harmful to a pet if he has a sign of drooling, nausea, vomiting, breathing problems, fatigue, and loss of appetite. In all such circumstances, it is better to contact the vet without wasting a single second because these are the symptoms of heatstroke which can be cured at the doctor’s end.
3. Is your dog following some medication?
It might be possible that doctors have prescribed some medicines which do have steroids. This can be one of the possible reasons, your dog is drinking plenty of water. If you are observing such symptoms, then you should communicate with your vet and ask them to give you a properly balanced diet that contains wet food items and appropriate treatment in overcoming such medical problems.
4. No activities to play for small pets
Another reason why your pet is drinking an excessive amount of water is no play zone area available inside the room. This means, your pups get bored easily in a room that has no activities and hence they find only a bowl full of water. Hence, they start drinking water even if they are not thirsty to pass their time. In such circumstances, you must engage your pups with some entertaining toys so that they must be diverted towards different gaming options.
5. Check what your pups are eating
It is important to check your pet’s food if it contains too much salt. This can be a reason why your dog is kept on drinking water. In such conditions, it recommends providing a wet diet to your dogs so that they will feel hydrated. Still, if you find that your pet is becoming thirsty then it is better to take advice from the veterinarian.
Why is My Dog Drinking Lots of Water Suddenly?
Are you worried about your dog’s drinking habits as he feels thirsty in a short interval of time? As we mentioned above, if the climate is hot and your pup enjoys drinking water then it is not a cause for concern. Sometimes, the dogs feel bored with one activity and they divert themselves to drinking water or eating food. Apart from this, if your dog is not active and seems to have some pain while urinating, loss of appetite, not eating properly or some other observation examined at your side. Then, it is always better to contact the vet immediately before it becomes a major problem.
Is your Dog Drinking So Much Water – Time to Meet the Pet Doctor!
It is not an easy task to understand the excessive thirst problem of your dog and when to meet the pet doctor. So, here we are concluding some of the symptoms which are generally observed in pets who are suffering from dehydration problem and requires an excess water intake.
If you find any of these signs in your pet then we would recommend meeting the veterinarian immediately for better treatment. Sometimes, the pups feel like vomiting, stomach upset, drooling, loss of appetite, weakness, fatigue, severe panting, diarrhea, pain while urinating, general malaise, blood in the urine, breathing problems, and much more. It is time to contact the veterinary hospital and tell them to examine the dog in an emergency. The hospital team will examine your dog thoroughly and if he acts well like eating well, playing, active. Then, they will discharge your pup and schedule the appointments for further processes.
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If they find some serious problem then the vet will diagnose the thirst problem by following some medical tests which we discuss here.
- At first, the vet will take a brief of your dog’s history.
- After taking the complete information, the vet will accomplish the full physical examination.
- Once the physical examination gets completed, the doctor will work to check the full blood functioning in the body. For like, he will examine the working of enzymes, liver, electrolytes, sugar levels, and red and white blood cell counts.
- Another test that can be included is urinalysis. Such a process is required to check the working of kidneys, white blood cells, crystals, and bacteria in the urine.
- In some incidents, the vet advises urine culture and sensitivity examination. It is known to be a specific urine test that helps to investigate if your pup has bacterial growth in the urine or not. Based on the examination, the doctor will prescribe antibiotics to kill off the respective bacteria.
- Other tests included in checking the problems like, “why does my dog drink so much of water” are abdomen X-rays. This will help the doctor to understand if your pup has stones or tumors in the bladder or urethral location.
- A complete examination of the abdomen by following the abdominal ultrasound to check the functioning of internal organs.
