Causes of Increased Drinking in Dogs

If you recently noticed your dog drinking lots of water, you are right to be concerned. There are indeed several medical conditions known to cause ''polydipsia'', the medical term used to depict excess thirst, and therefore, excess drinking. Before tackling the list of medical issues associated with polydipsia, it may be helpful to determine how much drinking is considered too much. So how much is too much?

A good rule of thumb is to consider that generally, a dog will consume about 2.5 times the amount of water, as its daily intake of food, according to the Veterinary and Aquatic Services of Drs. Foster & Smith. This would mean that if say your dog consumed two pounds of dry dog food you would expect him to drink about five pounds of water. If you are wondering how much that is exactly consider that there are eight pounds of water in one gallon.

To put it into a different perspective, an average dog generally drinks an ounce of fluids per pound of body weight per day, therefore, a dog weighing 10 pounds will need a little bit more than a cup of water daily, according to WebMD. If you have a hard time tracking how much water your dog is consuming each day, you can try to refill your dog's water bowl at approximately the same time each day with the same exact amount of water, you can therefore then subtract the amount left in the bowl after 24 hours.

Make sure your dog has only access to water in the water bowl: it is not unusual that some dogs like to also drink from the toilet bowl or from dripping faucets!

Generally, dog owners are the best predictors of the development of any unusual drinking patterns. If you know on average how much your dog drinks usually and find yourself filling up that water bowl more and more without finding a good reason for it, it is a good idea to play it safe and have your dog seen by a veterinarian.

There are several dog health conditions that may cause dogs to drink excessively. Most likely, dogs affected by polydipsia, will also be affected by ''polyuria'', the medical term for excessive urination. In some cases, dogs may drink so much they may not be able to contain themselves and may have accidents inside the home. This, is also a sign something is not in the norm. Following are some of the most common medical causes that may be causing your dog to drink a lot of water.

• Diabetes
• Kidney Failure
• Liver Failure
• Cushing's Disease
• Addison's Disease
• Hypercalcemia
• Infections
• Psychogenic water drinking
• Fever
• Diarrhea

These are actually only a few of the many health causes that may be causing your dog to drink a lot of water. It may be quite frustrating to sort through all the possible medical causes and several diagnostic exams may be needed at times in order to go to the direct culprit. Generally, in most cases, a blood chemistry panel, urinalysis and complete blood cell count, will suffix to rule out several conditions and confirm the potential cause.

When it comes to excess drinking, there are several factors to consider. Consider for instance the dog's activity level: has your dog been exercising more lately? Is he spending more time outdoors? Consider outdoor and indoor temperatures: has the weather been getting warmer? Is the air in your home too dry? Consider diet: are you feeding foods with more sodium? Have you switched to dry kibble lately? Are you feeding treats that make your dog more thirsty?

Consider also the administration of certain medications. Anti-inflammatory drugs like prednisone have a well known reputation for increasing drinking and urination. Diuretics, such as Furosemide, are not known as ''water pills'' for no reason. Dog seizure medications such as phenobarbital also have a reputation for increased drinking and increased appetite.

Life changing events such as lactating a litter of puppies, can also considerably increase drinking up to two or three times the normal amount, and puppies are also notoriously known for being avid drinkers.

Unless you have obvious signs that these potential causes are inducing your dog drinking lots of water, your best bet is to have your dog examined by a veterinarian just to be on the safe side. Your vet will get at the root cause of your dog's increased thirst so the issue can be targeted properly.