HELP. Dog drinking too much water - Page 1

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aristianM

by aristianM on 24 January 2017 - 16:01

Okay so my female German Shepherd turns 10 in 3 months. She is a healthy and active dog but I have noticed a dramatic increase in her water intake. This started happening last week. I used to feed her Taste of the Wild grain free kibble but after having experienced a shortage I recently switched to a German Brand that Goes by the Name 'Winner Plus Super Premium Holistic kibble'. This dog food is also grain free. Anyway, I googled why my pet is drinking so much water and to my horror I found a list of potential illnesses ranging from kidney disease to cushings. I took my dog in for evaluation and asked for the following blood tests: RFT, LFT, Glucose and Blood complete picture. The results came back and all her readings were normal. The vet assured me nothing was wrong with my dog. Her kidneys seem to be working fine according to the reports, her liver is also in good condition and she isnt diabetic. However, after returning home I couldn't help but feel uneasy so I collected a sample of her urine and sent that in for evaluation today just in case the blood tests missed anything. I will get the results in 2 days. Her appetite seems normal and so does her behaviour. I have checked her thoroughly for any abnormal growths but found none. She isn't as energetic as she used to be but thats also because she is almost 10 years old! However, for an older dog she is still pretty active and shows no sign of weakness. I dont know why she is drinking so much water and i am very concerned because I love my dog very much and we pretty much grew up together. I really need your help. If there are any experts on this forum, I would really really appreciate your help. Thank you


aristianM

by aristianM on 24 January 2017 - 17:01

Wow thanks for all the help guys..

by Nans gsd on 24 January 2017 - 17:01

I have had a similar experience with dog foods which contain obviously a large amount of salt (used usually as a preservative). In fact one of my favorite foods my guys started drinking hugh amounts of water and then would end up getting the squirts due to their water intake. Finally I figured out that it was the food. Had to be really salty for them. I changed and went to raw, but that was in2009; since have been back on kibble dog food and do not have the problem with my current food; but have been suspicious about some of the foods that I have tried prior to this one which is Petcurean "Go" grain free limited ingredients and I add some fresh human grade ground turkey (cooked rare). So that is my experience. I would blame the food and look for something that has lower salt content. Good luck Nan

 

PS:  Be careful with adding too many different supplements, also some have way too much salt/sodium.  Our dogs do not need any added sodium to their diets.  Enough in the meats they are given thru our dog foods, yogarts and other additives.  Nan


susie

by susie on 24 January 2017 - 18:01

Guess, besides Nan nobody posted because we don´t know the answer.
Wait for the urine results - in case those results come back okay, too, it really may be the food.
You said you changed food "recently" - what does "recently" mean?
Did you change anything else?
Is maybe any unsupervised water reservoir no longer available for your dog?
Kind regards

bubbabooboo

by bubbabooboo on 24 January 2017 - 20:01

Change back to the original food. If water consumption drops to normal then you have your dog's problem. Vet's make money for testing and telling you what the problem likely isn't. Thyroid always comes to mind and the test is neither conclusive nor accurate for your individual dog's needs. Skin and coat problems go along with hypothyroid. Hyperthyroidism causes increased water consumption and urination.  Changing back to the original food is your best bet.  Dog food can vary a great deal from batch to batch and unless somebody human complains the dogs just have to eat the adulterated crap as they can't complain. Perhaps you got a bad batch of dog food or what is on the label is a pack of lies.  Go back to TofTheWild.


by beetree on 24 January 2017 - 20:01

Read this :

http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/articles/benefits-of-a-higher-moisture-diet/

Your current food composition:

Composition: dry chicken meat (28%); rice; potato starch; animal fat; dry lamb meat; beet fiber, desugarized; pea starch; hydrolysed chicken protein; apple fibre; minerals; brewer's yeast; herbs (marigold, fennel, chamomile, peppermint, parsley, fenugreek seed, chicory root, liquorice root, carob flour); fruits (dog rose, raspberry, blueberry, chokeberry) ; natural chicory (inulin), carob meal; New Zealand green lip shell meat (Perna canaliculus), trace elements (iron 180 mg, zinc 160 mg, manganese 16 mg, cooper 20 mg, iodine 2,0 mg, selenium 0,25 mg), natural vitamin E.

Try adding canned food with the dry. Or moisten the kibble with water. I don't see added salt, but the food itself appears to be low moisture. You can do an experiment, add water and kibble in a bowl. Wait ten minutes or so and compare the volume of the wet and dry. Large gains in size shows very low moisture content, and drinking more  is needed by your dog because the expanding kibble is absorbing it from the gut. 

 

 

 


Spruell

by Spruell on 24 January 2017 - 21:01

When I switched to Orijen, my dogs doubled their water intake compared to my previous kibble. I didn't see any added salt/sodium. I since then feed the kibble fairly wet. (of course, that is still additional water intake), which made a big difference in water requirement.I have one dog, that is completely raw fed, she requires about 1/3 of the water the kibble fed dogs do.
Awesome that you had her tested, to exclude any sudden medical changes. Referring to beetree's post (experiment): I have tried soaking Orijen for my puppies, but it never swelled, so this may not be valid for all brands.

bubbabooboo

by bubbabooboo on 24 January 2017 - 22:01

There is nothing awesome about wasted time and money spent on useless vet visits and lab work. I spend $2-3 per day feeding my dogs raw ... 1 1/2 pounds US human grade raw chicken = $1 plus ... an additional 1/2 pound beef ribs, pork ribs, liver, or canned salmon most days ... average cost $1 to $1.50 max. . My dogs never go to the vet and they get to eat good food instead of dried and cooked slaughter house waste and grain unfit for human consumption which is what dry dog kibble is made from unless all human grade ingredients. Feeding excellent cooked or raw human grade animal protein and fats to your dog is less expensive and better for your dog than dry kibbles made of waste products plus $1000 worth of useless lab work. The dog can't eat lab work and is exposed to more diseases at the vet's office and their dog poop and pee exercise areas than you could ever imagine.

Reliya

by Reliya on 24 January 2017 - 22:01

Hey, Bubba, I've sent you a PM.

aristianM

by aristianM on 25 January 2017 - 14:01

Hi guys thank you so much for taking out the time to reply. I really appreciate it. Also, im sorry for being impatient earlier on i was just very concerned about my dog's health. I did a little experiment today. I soaked her kibble (Winner Plus) and it almost trippled in size which means it has a low moisture content. I have stopped giving her the kibble. I gave her cooked beef with mashed carrots and potatoes and noticed she drank less water today. Now i cant be entirely sure if this was due to the change in food but I am hoping for the best. Fingers crossed. I paid a visit to the local butcher and placed a huge order for chicken backs, necks, wings, beef mince and various organ meat. I have a couple of questions regarding the raw diet.
1.) Should I mix it up by giving her a mixture of chicken bones and beef mince or should i feed them separately?
2.) Should i add a raw egg every other day?
3.) Should i feed her veggies along with it?
4.) A friend of mine told me his dog once got a blood infection due to raw food. Now i dont know whether the quality of meat was poor or if he allowed her food to sit for too long before giving it to his dog and it went bad in the process. Have any of you experienced any negative effects while feeding raw?

5.) I use organic coconut oil and organic honey regularly for myself should I include that in my pet's diet?

In regards to the Thyroid does it have any specific symptoms because I have noticed her chewing her paws a lot lately. Could it be that my dog is allergic to something?

Cancer is something that has been on my mind and i am terrified of the thought of it. Are there any specific symptoms I should be aware of? She doesnt seem to be losing weight and is pretty active for a dog her age. Do dogs with cancer shows visible signs of being lethargic and unwell?

Have any of your dogs had allergies in the past that went away after feeding raw? I could really use a break from al the visits to the vet esp the bills haha

I will start the raw diet this friday and will keep you guys posted on her progress. Once again id like to thank all of you for putting in the effort and replying. I am very grateful to all of you.

Regards,
Maher






 


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