# Anyone's poodle have a drinking problem?



## itzmeigh (Apr 28, 2014)

O.my.GOSH! Hazel has to be the sloppiest drinker in Poodleville! 

She drinks water a million times a day (or she would, except we are wise to her and have started to ration her) and every time she stops by the water bowl (or 3) I'll swear there is more water on her, the floor, the cat, the dog...

It's like she stands there lapping in the dish for 5 minutes and then just walks off without actually swallowing. 

We have 3 water dishes and when you run her off from one she will go right away and check the other 2. And as she's leaving the bowl water will be simply pouring out of her mouth. I'm not kidding! After she drinks at the big water bowl I have to mop up drips and puddles in 3 rooms!

She is only 13 weeks old so I'm really hoping that this extra messy drinking is just a phase. RIGHT??

I keep her face shaved close. I like a nice clean face. But man, if she had Sugarfoot's beard? Wow! We'd all get a bath! And I'd have enough water to fill a swimming pool!

I just don't remember any of our other dogs being this messy at the water bowl. 

Am I alone in this soggy adventure? Will it ever get better? Or will drinking water just not be one of her princess powers?


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## Charlygrl2 (Mar 30, 2014)

I think my boys purposely take a mouthful of water spew it across the floor, I finally figured out to keep their water dish in the spare bathroom and on the back porch where the water cannot do any damage.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Not Lily, but Peeves sometimes slobbers water out of the bowl. It is only occasionally though. The funnier thing he does is take a mouth full of kibble and walk away from the bowl then puts the food on the floor before he picks it up bit by bit to eat it. I caught Lily doing the same thing over the weekend with chicken kibble she stole out of a bag where I had left the top off the can it was in.

BTW your thread's title is funny. I had a vision of Hazel boozing it up on gin she got out of the liquor cabinet after she stole your key.


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## Poodlelvr (Mar 13, 2010)

I had a bit of a problem with my boy Beau. Whenever he ate or drank stuff slopped all over and out of the bowl. I had bowls with sloping sides. Things worked out much better when I got bowls with straight sides. I don't know if that would help you, but it might be worth a try.


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## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

Misha is a neat drinker, but my old horse, Mischief, was horrible! I would be cleaning his stall and he would go get a drink. Then he would come over to me, raise up his head, and rest his chin on top of my head. Then after a moment he would open his mouth and let the water he was holding in his mouth out! It was awful! 

So funny because his new mom posted on facebook once about it, he did the same thing to her! lol Guess I should have warned her!


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## poodlecrazy#1 (Jul 2, 2013)

lily cd re said:


> Not Lily, but Peeves sometimes slobbers water out of the bowl. It is only occasionally though. The funnier thing he does is take a mouth full of kibble and walk away from the bowl then puts the food on the floor before he picks it up bit by bit to eat it. I caught Lily doing the same thing over the weekend with chicken kibble she stole out of a bag where I had left the top off the can it was in.
> 
> 
> 
> BTW your thread's title is funny. I had a vision of Hazel boozing it up on gin she got out of the liquor cabinet after she stole your key.



Interesting, my GSD would do the exact same thing with kibble. Take a mouthful, walk away, drop it, and eat one or two bits at a time.


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## ericwd9 (Jun 13, 2014)

Consider possibility of Diabetes! Hope not.
Eric.


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## PoodleFoster (May 25, 2013)

Hello
Yes, we have a mini poodle who has a problem, he can't hold his licker....
Our standard poodle drinks a lot of water and slobbers it all over the place. We keep bowls in the bath room/tile and the kitchen/linoleum and it's easy to clean up. The kitchen floor can get slippery when wearing Crocs, so i have to be careful.
We have another mini who thinks our toy poodle's poop is a gourmet treat. ONLY hers, no one elses.

So, yeah we have quite a bit of poodle excitement going on here. It's not dull, that is for sure! Poodles rule, yes they certainly do.


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## poodlecrazy#1 (Jul 2, 2013)

This might help you understand why water gets all over when she drinks. It looks like a lot of work for them to get water! 
http://youtu.be/jxQR0zyldYc

Have you thought about getting a fountain for her to drink out of. I never really liked the idea of a fountain for my pets, but finally got tired of the water in the gravity waterer getting super dirty. I invested $25 into getting a dogit fountain on amazon. It is very simple and just bubbles the water up ever so slightly. there is no noise and it helped a lot with keeping messes away. I really like the dogit and catit brand because they have a 2 year warranty. They also seem to have the best reviews.


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## BorderKelpie (Dec 3, 2011)

*BTW your thread's title is funny. I had a vision of Hazel boozing it up on gin she got out of the liquor cabinet after she stole your key. 
* My exact thought, too!

Look on the bright side. My DD's mini and my BCxACD cross stand with their front legs in the water bowl (or bucket if outside) then come over to happily jump in my lap. *sigh* It was wicked cold this evening for that, too. grrrr!

PoodleFoster - can't hold his licker - *giggle*snort*

Oh! And you've not lived until your house-pig wakes you up because he's blowing bubbles in his water and your first thought is 'Oh! no! The dishwasher is spewing again!!!' (and yes, the dishwasher is now a total loss. After I get the dryer fixed Thursday, time to go shopping for a dishwasher......)


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## itzmeigh (Apr 28, 2014)

Some great tips! And I feel less alone. 

We do have straight sided bowls. There is a large stainless bowl on the floor in the kitchen. Then both creates have a clipped in stainless bucket with water. I haven't introduced it to Hazel yet, but I also have a spigot on the faucet outside that is on all the time. Since we live in a very hot climate I like for them to have water outside. 

I have given thought to a fountain. One of our cats pretty much only drinks from a running tap (yes, he has trained us well.) which means we run water for him 3-4 times a day. (He will and does drink from 2 of the 3 other water locations but he much prefers fresh tap water. So a fountain has been on my list for a while anyway. 

Diabetes is way in the back of my mind. I have mentioned to the vet that she seems to drink a lot but he agrees that it sounds more like she isn't actually taking in as much water as you'd think. Mostly I think she spends time lapping in the bowl and very little water is being drank. She seems to mostly be playing. 

My middle sister (not Q) has a tiny Pom and he likes to stand and dig in the water dish. I am very grateful that Hazel hasn't figured that trick out yet!

That video was pretty great! The water pouring back out of the mouth is pretty much exactly what Hazel looks like as she leaves the bowl! I'm going to look into the dogit and catit fountains. 

As for the thread title, I renamed it like 4 times before I hit send! Glad I picked a good one!


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## Rachel76 (Feb 3, 2014)

My redbone did yhat.....drink lap lap drink...walk away, open her mouth and water pours out. Like she'd forgotten to swallow. After she was about a year old she quit being such a messy drinker. She also drank often and quite a bit and had a thyroid problem. I may have missed it in someone else's reply but thought I'd just mention it.


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## Luce (Mar 4, 2013)

Luce was the same way at that age and I thought diabetes also :afraid:

I brought it up to the vet and he assured me she was playing:amen:

Oh yeah...she used to "dig" in her water dish too!! Water everywhere! Thank God it was only water LOL She doesn't dig in HER dish anymore, she's too big for it. But.......... she happily digs in the neighbors outside dish when we visit. There is a 14" bowl outside for an 80lb. lab and 2 small poms.

Luce LOVES the water as long as soap and scrubbing are not involved


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## BorderKelpie (Dec 3, 2011)

Well, occording to my dogs (most of them, Coulter LOVES his baths), soap is deadly to dogs. I get the "You know we could die from this, but since it makes you happy, we'll try to survive....."

Bug LOVES the blow dryer, though. 

spoiled, rotten, good for nothing............


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

poodlecrazy#1 said:


> Interesting, my GSD would do the exact same thing with kibble. Take a mouthful, walk away, drop it, and eat one or two bits at a time.


BF's previous two GSD both did the same thing!


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## mom2Zoe (Jun 17, 2014)

Zoe drinks like a lady , but doesn't drink enough. I never refill the water bowl. Wish she drank more like yours and wouldn't care if she drank like a slob, if at least she drank more.


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## Rhett'smom (Sep 23, 2012)

Rhett is the gentleman drinker... Never commits water abuse... Jippy never spills a drop. Scarlett on the other hand is a totally different matter... Water water water everywhere. I guess she is trying hide it like she does her cookies!! Lol


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## georgiapeach (Oct 9, 2009)

My little dogs are fairly neat drinkers, but I also have a boxer - 'nuff said... I keep a towel under the water bowl (changed daily), so that at least some of the water drips onto the towel as Jackson starts walking off. I've just gotten used to water drops leading away from the water bowl on my laminate floors - lol!


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## sweetheartsrodeo (Sep 19, 2012)

Remington believes that the only way to drink water is if he stands in it or puts his paw in. We have a small baby pool at the back door so he can stick his head in and stand in the water. Oh yes he is a messy drinker


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## itzmeigh (Apr 28, 2014)

mom2Zoe said:


> Zoe drinks like a lady , but doesn't drink enough. I never refill the water bowl. Wish she drank more like yours and wouldn't care if she drank like a slob, if at least she drank more.



We lost one of our cats about 1.5 years ago from crystals in his bladder. We tried so many things to help him. I think his biggest problem was genetic, he had a lot of inbreeding. He was only 2 years old but the vet said she didn't feel that the surgery would help him and we didn't feel that putting him through all that was worth it. 

But anyway, one thing we tried with him to help get more water into him (sometimes that helps) was we started to just add water to their food. Then I don't give the water a chance to soak in so that they have to actually drink it. 

It has worked well for us. And if I notice someone hasn't been drinking then I'll add water to their kibble for a few days. 

Both my cats now like their water super fresh and running. Our younger cat will paw the water in the big dish to make it move so he can drink.


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## Chells_Aura (Dec 7, 2012)

itzmeigh said:


> Or will drinking water just not be one of her princess powers?




I don't have a solution to your problem... but this line was epic!

Hopefully she learns that princess power


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## mom2Zoe (Jun 17, 2014)

itzmeigh said:


> We lost one of our cats about 1.5 years ago from crystals in his bladder. We tried so many things to help him. I think his biggest problem was genetic, he had a lot of inbreeding. He was only 2 years old but the vet said she didn't feel that the surgery would help him and we didn't feel that putting him through all that was worth it.
> 
> But anyway, one thing we tried with him to help get more water into him (sometimes that helps) was we started to just add water to their food. Then I don't give the water a chance to soak in so that they have to actually drink it.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the suggestion, i will try. she eats kibble and doesn't like it wet, but maybe if keep doing she will get used to it. I am sure she is drinking what she needs, but doesn't seem enough. Most days she will finish a bowl by end of day others not.


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## JudyD (Feb 3, 2013)

Our old lab Luke was the sloppiest drinker I've ever seen--he could spread water all over the kitchen floor--and he drank so much that eventually we had him evaluated for diabetes. Thankfully that was negative, but our vet said sometimes anxiety would make dogs drink more. (We did notice the drinking increased when our son's dog stayed with us for more than a day or two. Probably a good thing Luke wasn't tall enough to reach our liquor stash.) Finally I bought a microfiber rug to put under the bowl. It's very similar to the Soggy Doggy chamois mentioned recently in another thread. While it didn't completely solve the problem, it did help a lot. Neither of the poodles is close to as sloppy as Luke, but they do drip sometimes, so I'm glad we have that rug.


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## Marcie (Aug 2, 2011)

I have just the opposite problem. Sasha has never wanted to drink out of the water bowl (I have tried all types of bowls and containers). No matter where I moved it she just will not drink. 

When I first brought her home from the rescue I showed her where the food and water bowl was and didn't think anything about it. Two days after I got her it rained and I let her out to potty and she ran over to a puddle and started drinking like she was dying of thirst. She was. She had not been dirinking in the house. I took her to the doctor and he gave her an IV for dehydration. 

I finally got her to drink out of a container on the patio, but I still have to encourage her to drink. It has been 6 years now and she still will not drink water in the house unless I hold up a "Water Rover" to her(I have them all over the house so I can reach one at any given time) or take her outside to the container on the patio. It is the wierdest thing I have ever seen.


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## mom2Zoe (Jun 17, 2014)

ITzmeigh thank you for the suggestion of adding water to her kibble. I found I am getting water right into her at breakfast that way. I add dinner too, I am feeling much better now. Now when I don't refill her water bowl I know she still drank enough throughout day,


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## Manxcat (May 6, 2013)

Pippin drinks very little, but half her food is wet so I don't worry. When she's had a drink of water she always coughs a bit too.

Pushkin drinks loads still, due to his meds, but is messy! Also he way prefers to drink from a planter or the birdbath...


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## itzmeigh (Apr 28, 2014)

mom2Zoe said:


> ITzmeigh thank you for the suggestion of adding water to her kibble. I found I am getting water right into her at breakfast that way. I add dinner too, I am feeling much better now. Now when I don't refill her water bowl I know she still drank enough throughout day,



I'm so glad it is working for you! It is a very valuable trick with our cats. If we suspect someone hasn't been drinking enough we do a few days of water in their kibble. I'll use warm water (closer to cold then hot) and leave it like "cereal" so they actually have to drink the water before they can eat their food. It works every time. 

They like it so much that sometimes we do it just as a treat for them. Sometimes they'll just drink the water and not eat. But since the water doesn't really have time to soak into the food their food is fine left out.


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## itzmeigh (Apr 28, 2014)

I wanted to update this thread. Many of you suggested that to help Princess Hazel become a more refined drinker a fountain might help. Well, it just happened that a fountain was on my radar for years anyway so what better time then now to indulge!

I got a nice fountain for Christmas. We decided that the Pioneer Pet Stainless Steel Fountain, Rain Drop design would work best what with 2 dogs and 2 cats. I figured the cats would like it the best. 






So we got it all set up and running! The cats LOVE it and have both drank far more water then usual. Our older dog couldn't care less but she's a "go with the flow" type so nothing (and I do mean NOTHING) phases her. 

And the Princess? Well... She is convinced it is her mission in life (as a princess) to drink every last drop of water on the planet. The fountain seems to have only made this mission more fun! And by fun I mean so incredibly messy it is not hardly funny anymore. 

She laps and laps and laps in the bowl and then walks off with water just streaming from her mouth! It just POURS out! Almost like she just doesn't swallow. 

It is so randomly weird that I'm going to try and get video of her effort to drink because I really can't do justice to the retelling of the quantity of water she lets just run from her mouth. 

So, 2 thumbs up to the fountain! Worth every single penny and then some! But it did not solve Hazel's drinking problem. 

I am convinced that neat drinking is NOT one of her Princess Powers.

Oh well, we love her anyway! Just keep a towel handy for mopping up after she drinks. 

Bonus: the kitties enjoying the fountain for the first time...


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## LEUllman (Feb 1, 2010)

It's funny -- the sound of Beau lap, lap, lapping away at his water bowl always makes us smile. But then, he doesn't make a mess in the process. One of his favorite things in the world is to chase, attack, and drink from a stream of water coming out of a garden hose -- he sort of goes crazy. He doesn't get to do it much, though, because his ears get soaked. I bet he'd love a fountain with running water . . .


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## Janice D. (Apr 15, 2020)

itzmeigh said:


> O.my.GOSH! Hazel has to be the sloppiest drinker in Poodleville!
> 
> She drinks water a million times a day (or she would, except we are wise to her and have started to ration her) and every time she stops by the water bowl (or 3) I'll swear there is more water on her, the floor, the cat, the dog...
> 
> ...


Malachi a 10 week old Standard poodle is the same way. Only difference is he drinks a ton of water but when he's through it's like he forgot to swallow the last few laps he took and it just goes all over. Lol I sure hope he grows out of it. He's my 1st poodle. His brother is a australian cattle dog and dalmatian mix and he's not messy at all.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

Janice D. said:


> Malachi a 10 week old Standard poodle is the same way. Only difference is he drinks a ton of water but when he's through it's like he forgot to swallow the last few laps he took and it just goes all over. Lol I sure hope he grows out of it. He's my 1st poodle. His brother is a australian cattle dog and dalmatian mix and he's not messy at all.


Whoa! Old thread! 😂

Sorry to disappoint you, but Peggy has very much not grown out of her terrible drinking skills. If anything, it's gotten worse as her mouth is bigger and can hold more water to later deposit on the floor.

I read that this can be related to the physical structure of their lips. It's certainly not intentional. But it's a real pain in the butt. I'm constantly trying to come up with a solution so she doesn't damage our floors. A mat or tray wouldn't help, as the waterfall can continue a foot or more away from her bowl.


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