Aa
Extremely thirsty dog in the middle of the night
We Need HELP with our dog!!!
Background:
We have a very stubborn, male, Beagle named Romeo. We've had him for almost thee years. He was overweight when we took him in, and he's lost some weight while with us, but not a lot. Romeo is about 10 years old. He dreams and snores loudly. He has a seizure about once every 3-4 months, but the vets don't know why. Other than that, he's our sweet, “old-man” pup.
Now, we adopted another Beagle, Bella, from the Beagle Rescue a year and a half ago. She's small and dainty, girl, compared to the beast that Romeo is. While she's about Romeo's age, she does not have the issues he has and still likes to play chase and tug-of-war, (while Romeo stands and bays at her playing, but is too big and lazy to actually run around WITH her.) Still, Bella has been very good for Romeo and for our family.
In the past, we had trouble with Romeo and Bella peeing in the house during the night or while we were away from the house. So we talked about it and decided the dogs would have to be kenneled during the night and whenever we were gone. Originally, we had them in separate kennels, but Bella would still pee in her's because she still had space to go pee in one corner and use the remainder of the space to lay down and sleep. We now have BOTH dogs in ONE kennel during the night (and don't worry; the kids saw to marrying them first so they wouldn't be “shacking-up”, unmarried. Bella wore a dress with a train and Romeo wore a shirt and tie. My son (5 yrs old) officiated. With both dogs sitting side-by-side, Alex started in with, “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here.......”, and Romeo got up and wandered off. HAHA!!) We eventually got though it (with the help of snacks), but rest assured, our dogs are not living in sin. ) Now, it IS crowded in the kennel with the two of them, though for the most part, they've been able to work-it-out so that both of them can lay down in there.
So anyway, they share a kennel at night and things, for the most part, have gone well. Now, it IS crowded in the kennel with the two of them, though for the most part, they've been able to work-it-out so that both of them can lay down in there. All-in-all, they seem to prefer being close and there have been no more accidents to wake up to, or come home to.
While Bella is SUCH a good girl, Romeo bays every night when we first put them to bed, just like our kids do when they are young and testing the boundaries at bedtime. We go up and deeply, fiercely, growl the words, “ Romeo!! You LAY DOWN and go NIGHT NIGHT.”...and we stay with him until he complies, then he's generally okay for the rest of the night. Lately, Romeo has been baying in the middle of the night.....not like he's hurting or alerting us of an intruder....but that he had needs that could no longer be ignored. Last night, it happened at midnight and again at 4:40am. My husband took care of it at midnight and I got to deal with the 4:40am call. It's happened like this several times before in the last two weeks.
Now, because of Romeo's age, obesity and his history of seizures, I've gone-ahead and gotten Romeo and Bella OUT of the kennel at the 4-5am call. Romeo RUNS downstairs to the water bowl and proceeds to drink a whole bowl (and sometimes more!) of water without hardly stopping to breath!! And all-the-while, Bella is fine and doesn't need to drink much, if at all. Now folks, what is THAT about??! My first thought is that Romeo may have become (at least) borderline diabetic. Thoughts?
When Romeo is done drinking, I go ahead and take them outside to pee. It's dark, it's cold, it's windy and I hate it, but moreover, I can't bear the thought of putting them BACK in the kennel without allowing them relieve themselves, first. Bella usually “does-her-thing” fairly quickly...but it seems Romeo doesn't even feel the need “to go” for the longest time and is caught-up in whatever new scents he's picked up. Annoying!
My husband is concerned that I've now taught Romeo that he CAN call for us in the middle of the night and that we'll get him out. He's probably right, but Romeo has been EXTREMELY thirsty and I feel for him. After letting them out to get a drink and go potty, they WILL go back to their kennel with no problem, lay down and sleep for another two hours or so until morning. But I don't want things to be this way forever!! I'd like for Romeo to learn to be content (like Bella is) from the time we put them in bed, until morning. What do I (we) do??!!
Background:
We have a very stubborn, male, Beagle named Romeo. We've had him for almost thee years. He was overweight when we took him in, and he's lost some weight while with us, but not a lot. Romeo is about 10 years old. He dreams and snores loudly. He has a seizure about once every 3-4 months, but the vets don't know why. Other than that, he's our sweet, “old-man” pup.
Now, we adopted another Beagle, Bella, from the Beagle Rescue a year and a half ago. She's small and dainty, girl, compared to the beast that Romeo is. While she's about Romeo's age, she does not have the issues he has and still likes to play chase and tug-of-war, (while Romeo stands and bays at her playing, but is too big and lazy to actually run around WITH her.) Still, Bella has been very good for Romeo and for our family.
In the past, we had trouble with Romeo and Bella peeing in the house during the night or while we were away from the house. So we talked about it and decided the dogs would have to be kenneled during the night and whenever we were gone. Originally, we had them in separate kennels, but Bella would still pee in her's because she still had space to go pee in one corner and use the remainder of the space to lay down and sleep. We now have BOTH dogs in ONE kennel during the night (and don't worry; the kids saw to marrying them first so they wouldn't be “shacking-up”, unmarried. Bella wore a dress with a train and Romeo wore a shirt and tie. My son (5 yrs old) officiated. With both dogs sitting side-by-side, Alex started in with, “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here.......”, and Romeo got up and wandered off. HAHA!!) We eventually got though it (with the help of snacks), but rest assured, our dogs are not living in sin. ) Now, it IS crowded in the kennel with the two of them, though for the most part, they've been able to work-it-out so that both of them can lay down in there.
So anyway, they share a kennel at night and things, for the most part, have gone well. Now, it IS crowded in the kennel with the two of them, though for the most part, they've been able to work-it-out so that both of them can lay down in there. All-in-all, they seem to prefer being close and there have been no more accidents to wake up to, or come home to.
While Bella is SUCH a good girl, Romeo bays every night when we first put them to bed, just like our kids do when they are young and testing the boundaries at bedtime. We go up and deeply, fiercely, growl the words, “ Romeo!! You LAY DOWN and go NIGHT NIGHT.”...and we stay with him until he complies, then he's generally okay for the rest of the night. Lately, Romeo has been baying in the middle of the night.....not like he's hurting or alerting us of an intruder....but that he had needs that could no longer be ignored. Last night, it happened at midnight and again at 4:40am. My husband took care of it at midnight and I got to deal with the 4:40am call. It's happened like this several times before in the last two weeks.
Now, because of Romeo's age, obesity and his history of seizures, I've gone-ahead and gotten Romeo and Bella OUT of the kennel at the 4-5am call. Romeo RUNS downstairs to the water bowl and proceeds to drink a whole bowl (and sometimes more!) of water without hardly stopping to breath!! And all-the-while, Bella is fine and doesn't need to drink much, if at all. Now folks, what is THAT about??! My first thought is that Romeo may have become (at least) borderline diabetic. Thoughts?
When Romeo is done drinking, I go ahead and take them outside to pee. It's dark, it's cold, it's windy and I hate it, but moreover, I can't bear the thought of putting them BACK in the kennel without allowing them relieve themselves, first. Bella usually “does-her-thing” fairly quickly...but it seems Romeo doesn't even feel the need “to go” for the longest time and is caught-up in whatever new scents he's picked up. Annoying!
My husband is concerned that I've now taught Romeo that he CAN call for us in the middle of the night and that we'll get him out. He's probably right, but Romeo has been EXTREMELY thirsty and I feel for him. After letting them out to get a drink and go potty, they WILL go back to their kennel with no problem, lay down and sleep for another two hours or so until morning. But I don't want things to be this way forever!! I'd like for Romeo to learn to be content (like Bella is) from the time we put them in bed, until morning. What do I (we) do??!!
Your dog needs a vet to check out the likelihood of diabetes. If that is ruled out then he may be becoming thirsty from anxiety and barking and/or pining. You should not leave this without veterinary intervention, otherwise things are likely to get much worse and eventually critical.
Tony
Tony
I use to have a beagle/Bassett mix and he had seizures. It turns out beagles are prone to them. He didnt have them very often - kinda random like Romeos - so no medicine was ever required. He lived to about 16ish he was a stray with out any complications from being epileptic. Ive got no clue on the water drinking at night that;s what I was googleing when I came across your post. My 16yr old doxie mix drinks a lot at night have had labs drawn three times in last year and no diabetes so idk.
If your little one is drinking a gallon and a half of water in one day that's excessive. What breed of dog is she? Is she a large breed? Where do you live? Are you someplace where it is summer now? Unless she is an extremely large breed, like a Great Dane, or it's ghastly hot where you live, you need to take her to the vet and tell them about her large amount of water consumption.
Excessive water consumption is called polydipsia. This condition CAN mean that there is an underlying medical condition that needs to be addressed, as many of the conditions that cause polydipsia are extremely serious. Cushings Disease causes polydipsia. Polydipsia is the main symptom of kidney failure and of diabetes. Usually, along with excessive drinking comes excessive urination. Is she urinating a lot to compensate for the large amount of liquid she's taking in?
The general rule of thumb is that your dog should drink 2.5 times the amount of water for every pound of food you feed them. Any more than that and you need to have the vet check them out thoroughly because something is probably amiss. If she's a large breed dog it could mean juvenile kidneys, which means that the kidneys don't grow along with the dog, they stop growing when the dog is about 3 months old and it causes very young dogs to go into kidney failure. Unfornately, short of a double kidney transplant there is no cure. Most dogs with juvenile kidneys don't make it to their first birthday. I am not trying to alarm you, I just need to let you know that THIS much water consumption is definitely cause for alarm. Please get your puppy checked by the vet ASAP and let us know what the vet says.
Ghilly
Excessive water consumption is called polydipsia. This condition CAN mean that there is an underlying medical condition that needs to be addressed, as many of the conditions that cause polydipsia are extremely serious. Cushings Disease causes polydipsia. Polydipsia is the main symptom of kidney failure and of diabetes. Usually, along with excessive drinking comes excessive urination. Is she urinating a lot to compensate for the large amount of liquid she's taking in?
The general rule of thumb is that your dog should drink 2.5 times the amount of water for every pound of food you feed them. Any more than that and you need to have the vet check them out thoroughly because something is probably amiss. If she's a large breed dog it could mean juvenile kidneys, which means that the kidneys don't grow along with the dog, they stop growing when the dog is about 3 months old and it causes very young dogs to go into kidney failure. Unfornately, short of a double kidney transplant there is no cure. Most dogs with juvenile kidneys don't make it to their first birthday. I am not trying to alarm you, I just need to let you know that THIS much water consumption is definitely cause for alarm. Please get your puppy checked by the vet ASAP and let us know what the vet says.
Ghilly
My little chole is 7 mounts old she stay so thirsty in middle of night I got 3 galing water she went though1/2 of it today is that to much she in door and out door dog she is very running and playful happer is that amount of water ok for her
My little chole is 7 mounts old she stay so thirsty in middle of night I got 3 galing water she went though1/2 of it today is that to much she in door and out door dog she is very running and playful happer is that amount of water ok for her
I would not want this to go on forever either!
Agree on having some testing done and go from there. If not systemic, you probably have a behavioral issue on your hands. Can you kennel them separately?
Agree on having some testing done and go from there. If not systemic, you probably have a behavioral issue on your hands. Can you kennel them separately?
I agree w/deadgamegrrl. Excessive Water drinking should be checked out by your Vet with Bloodwork & urine test. I suspect he needs to pee during his nightly episodes and his body feels the need to rehydrate for a reason...This is suspicious of many diseases so it would be best to rule them out. Especially in a senior....Let us know what you find out & good luck, Karla
First let me just say I LOVE your background story!
Does Romeo drink a lot during the day too? I would get a blood panel done from the vet, to check for diabetes as well as other possible suspects such as kidney problems, thyroid etc. I would also get a urine test done to see if there is an infection that is causing pain when he goes (just in case he's not just being a stubborn old man on the 4am pee trips) and they can also check to see if it is concentrating enough (the urine, not the dog!)
I just went through this round of tests not long ago. In my case it turned out to be a steroid eye drop side effect so that result probably won't help you much.
Keep us posted!
Does Romeo drink a lot during the day too? I would get a blood panel done from the vet, to check for diabetes as well as other possible suspects such as kidney problems, thyroid etc. I would also get a urine test done to see if there is an infection that is causing pain when he goes (just in case he's not just being a stubborn old man on the 4am pee trips) and they can also check to see if it is concentrating enough (the urine, not the dog!)
I just went through this round of tests not long ago. In my case it turned out to be a steroid eye drop side effect so that result probably won't help you much.
Keep us posted!
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