# What Exactly is "Drinking Too Much Water" and "Peeing Too Much"



## wenryder (Oct 21, 2010)

Our Obie has had two UTI's since we've had him. The first time was at about 10 weeks, we noticed he was going through a LOT of water. Like, 2-3 litres a day. (You know Milk jugs/bags? Imagine a whole one of those PLUS more..) He would also have to pee every 10-15 minutes (up to 45 mins if we were lucky). So imagine taking him out for a pee, walking back in, pouring yourself a glass of water, eating an apple and BAM it's time to go out again.... and again.... and again!.... you get the idea.

The second time it happened, he was a bit older, and it wasn't quite as frequent, but still every 30 mins or so. We knew the symptoms that time and caught on pretty quick to get him in for a urine test.

Does that help?


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## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

That is a tough call. My guys go out 2-3 three times an evening. I fill their water bowls once or twice a day.


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

Oaklys Dad said:


> That is a tough call. My guys go out 2-3 three times an evening. I fill their water bowls once or twice a day.


Okay - this does definitely help. My dog drinks at least two full bowls of water a day (probably the standard Golden Retriever size stainless steel bowls - if such a thing exists!). She gets water on her food, but then will regularly gulp down half a bowl of water. It'll be gone by the time I get home from work (she goes out mid day with a walker). In the evening, after dinner, she'll gulp down another entire bowl of water. When we were out walking in the snowy woods today, she was eating snow constantly. 

I recently switched her to Acana Senior Dog. I just checked the sodium content - it's 0.34%, which seems in the low-mid range just on the comparisons I've done. My house is drier in the winter for sure - but I do run a humidifier in the bedroom.

She also just had a senior plus blood work up in May - and passed all with flying colours. She had a blood panel done again a week ago to see if her organs could handle an NSAID, and again, all levels were normal.


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## C's Mom (Dec 7, 2009)

I think you have to go by your own individual dog. If you notice that they are drinking up all their water faster than normal and wanting to go out more often then I think its time for concern - could be weather/exercise related too.


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

On another thread - somebody mentioned that a dog may be peeing more because its eating a lot of snow.


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

My general rule of thumb is that a dog or cat will drink at max one oz/lb of water/day.And when it is pathologic, they drink at least twice that. So a 60 lb golden should drink 60 ounces max (obviously if it's hot or you are doing a lot of training, this number can change). And if a dog drinks excessively, the dog will urinate excessively.


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## bioteach (Nov 13, 2010)

Brewer used to think that it was his mission to empty the swimming pool by drinking it all up. It's an Olympic size pool so he made Olympic sized lakes. In the winter he didn't care much for the pool and only drank a half gallon or so in 24 hours. It was a game for him.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

I've always thought that the concern is a CHANGE in habits. We've noticed here at the pet hotel that some dogs naturally drink a lot of water their whole lives, whereas others do not. Labs in particular seem to drink a lot. 
If she has always consumed a lot of water, I wouldn't worry. But if she never did, and does now, it's a cause for concern.
BTW, I use a slightly less accurate but easier "rule of thumb", one cup of water per 10 pounds of body weight per day. I don't function well with ounces


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

That's a good point - the change in habit.

Tesia is 55 pounds - her bowl (I just measured) is 5 cups. So she is drinking more than one cup per ten pounds per day for sure. I think what's got my attention is the drinking the entire full bowl of water right after eating her dinner. That's a lot of liquid going into her tummy on top of her food, which also includes one cup of water!


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