Top 5 Reasons Why Your Dog Drinks A Lot Of Water?

If your dog is always thirsty and drinks a lot of water, you should be concerned about this habit as it can lead to severe health issues. Most dogs have different water drinking habits. Active and playful dogs drink more water than others. Similarly, lactating dogs and little pups drink even more water than adults.

It mainly depends on the body weight of your canine companion. A dog weighing 10 pounds needs 1 cup of water daily.

Increased water consumption can be a sign of some severe health conditions. If your old dog drinks a lot of water, it may be caused by diseases like kidney disorder, diabetes mellitus, dehydration, Polydipsia and Cushing syndrome.

What Does It Mean When A Dog Drinks A Lot Of Water?

If you’re a dog owner and your dog is always thirsty. Then you might be wondering, “why my dog drinks a lot of water?” This is normal due to hot weather or after a playful activity. But excessive water drinking in dogs all the time can be a sign of severe health problems, so you should be concerned about it.

It is advisory to notice the water drinking habits of your dog and book an appointment with a vet. The vet will take some tests and ask questions about your dog’s practices to diagnose the disease.

Causes of Excessive Water Drinking In Dogs

Increased water intake may be a sign of some severe health disorders. Following are a few of the underlying causes of your dog drinking plenty of water:

Polydipsia In Dogs

When your dog drinks an unusual and increased amount of water, this condition is medically termed Polydipsia in dogs. In this condition, the dog consumes excessive amounts of water from time to time. This disorder may be a symptom of a disease which may be life-threatening to your dog. So, if you notice unusual water drinking habits, discuss them with a vet.

Dehydration

If you observe that your dog drinks a lot of water and then vomits at once, then you should check if your dog is dehydrated. Sometimes a dog drinks a lot of water and then throws up, which also signals severe dehydration in dogs.

You can do a simple skin turgor test at home. Your dog may be mildly dehydrated if its skin returns to its position slowly after displacing a bit. And if it does not return to the original position, it may be a sign of severe dehydration. Dehydration can be life-threatening for dogs of all ages. So, you should immediately book an appointment with your vet.

Illness

If your dog drinks a lot of water at night and in the daytime, the reason behind this odd behaviour may be a severe illness.

• If your dog drinks a lot of water and pees in the house, this may be due to kidney failure. The kidney plays its role to remove the wastes from the body. Sometimes it fails to function correctly and could not produce diluted urine. Then in this situation, the dog feels an urge to drink more water than average.
• Diabetes Mellitus caused by reduced amounts of insulin (a hormone that keeps blood glucose levels normal in the body) also causes excessive thirst in dogs.
• Sometimes, older dogs show a gradual increase in water consumption, which may be due to Cushing’s Disease. It is a hormonal disorder that causes the dog to drink plenty of water.

If you notice any of the above symptoms in your canine friend that may link to a disease, then you should visit your vet immediately to avoid any severe health condition.

Medication

Sometimes dogs drink a lot of water but do not eat much. This increased water consumption may not be a direct effect of any disease but a side effect of any medication that a dog takes for some time.

• When your dog is taking anti-inflammatory drugs, you will notice that the dog drinks a lot of water but not eating anything.
• Sometimes particular medicine to treat heart diseases also cause excessive water drinking habits in dogs.
• Medicines to cure seizures also make your dog thirsty all the time.

Diet

Diet has a direct effect on your dog’s water drinking habits. Dry dog Foods contain a tiny amount of water, approximately 10% of the entire content. This dry food also makes your dog thirsty all the time.

The elevated amount of salt content in your dog’s food is harmful to your dog’s health. Try to put-off sodium-rich food and avoid giving salty human food to your dog. Your dog may suffer from diarrhoea, tremors and sometimes vomiting if large amounts of sodium are consumed.

How to Stop Your Dog from Drinking Too Much Water?

You might be concerned about why my dog drinks a lot of water? And probably thinking of a way to stop your dog from drinking too much water. But you should never do that. You should make water readily available to your dog because this increased amount of water is the body’s need, and if you try to limit the water intake, it may be life threatening. So, the only thing you can do is visit your vet immediately when you notice this abnormality.

How Should You Prepare For A Vet’s Visit?

If you’re scheduling a visit at your dog’s vet, you should be prepared before the visit. The vet can ask you a few questions about your dog’s habits. So, you should observe your dog’s daily water-drinking routine. In Addition, the doctor can take some urine tests and blood tests to diagnose any other related disease.

FAQs

How to Stop Dog from Drinking Too Much Water?

You should never stop a dog from drinking water as it is the body requirement of the dog. If you do so it could be life threatening to the dog. Instead, visit your vet and discuss the problem.

What Does It Mean When An Older Dog Starts Drinking A Lot Of Water?

If you’re older dog drinks a lot of water it may be a sign of kidney disease, Diabetes and Cushing syndrome. Dehydration, and Polydipsia may be also be the cause of drinking a lot of water in dogs of all ages.

Why Does My Dog Drink So Much Water At Night?

Drinking excessive water at night signals under lying health disorder like kidney disease, Cushing syndrome, Liver disorder and dehydration.