# Excessive drinking ?



## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

Tamara has been drinking a lot more than usual lately. I have been slowly switching her and Merlin to Fromm beef frittata (from raw). The switch isn't complete and will take at least another week or two. Right now they're at about 50% raw and 50% kibbles.

Raw has a lot of water in it, so I understand the need to drink more if she gets less. But she drinks sometimes every two hours for 30 seconds at a time (drinking for 30 seconds is long). She runs to drink as soon as she gets up in the morning also. So she drinks maybe 4-5 times a day. She's a little 4 pound chihuahua, she's a house dog, so her main activity is running in the house.

Besides the drinking, she's in great shape. She runs a lot from room to room and she's very happy in general. No signs of illness at all, on the contrary, I would say she's better than ever. She is 11 years old.

Am I worrying for nothing ? Is this amount of drinking usual when you eat kibbles ? (She ate kibbles all her life and I don't remember her drinking so much).


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

I think I would have her tested for diabetes just to be on the safe side. However, it could just be the diet change.


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

zooeysmom said:


> I think I would have her tested for diabetes just to be on the safe side. However, it could just be the diet change.


Is that a blood test ?


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

Yes. I had it done for Zooey a few years ago when she was drinking a lot, but she was negative.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Zooysmom is correct, diabetes is always the suspect if you think that they are drinking excessively - and yes it would be a simple blood test.
But you are also correct that they need to drink much more with dry than raw.
About how many ounces a day would you say that she drinks? Teaka eats mostly dry raw, in the evening she has roast chicken or beef, and I would say that she averages about 4 ounces of water a day. Timi is a poor drinking so I add an ounce or two of water to each of her meals.


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## TrixieTreasure (May 24, 2015)

zooeysmom said:


> I think I would have her tested for diabetes just to be on the safe side. However, it could just be the diet change.



Have her kidneys checked also. In 2008, I found out that I had a problem with my right kidney. I would drink an excessive amount of water every few hours, and I also had blood in my urine. Had a cyst on that kidney, which they removed. I'm not saying that would be the case here, but to just rule it out, I think it would be a good idea to ask the vet ( unless you really don't think that's it).


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## seminolewind (Mar 11, 2016)

Dogs will need a lot more water with dry. Is she peeing more or pooping more? Is she getting the same amount of calories or less?

Blood sugar test is easy. I wonder if they need just a drop of blood and can do it in the office.


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## sidewinder (Feb 3, 2016)

Cushing's is another possibility. One of the first signs is drinking lots of water.


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

Tiny Poodles said:


> Zooysmom is correct, diabetes is always the suspect if you think that they are drinking excessively - and yes it would be a simple blood test.
> But you are also correct that they need to drink much more with dry than raw.
> About how many ounces a day would you say that she drinks? Teaka eats mostly dry raw, in the evening she has roast chicken or beef, and I would say that she averages about 4 ounces of water a day. Timi is a poor drinking so I add an ounce or two of water to each of her meals.


Hard to say how much she drinks. I would say more than 4 ounces, maybe 5 or 6 ?


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

seminolewind said:


> Dogs will need a lot more water with dry. Is she peeing more or pooping more? Is she getting the same amount of calories or less?
> 
> Blood sugar test is easy. I wonder if they need just a drop of blood and can do it in the office.


She is not going outside more often, so she's not doing her business more times, and not pooping more, but she could be peeing bigger quantities of urine and Imwouldn't know it.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

You should probably just get a blood test to ease your worries - diabetes can do a lot of damage if left unchecked, so might as well be safe.


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