Excessive Thirst in Dogs

Paul's Alsatian Cyrus was an absolute joy to have. Paul always maintained that. His stride, his coat sheen, his speed and his looks. There was nothing to complain about, he said. When Paul took him for his daily run at the park, heads turned to see that huge ball of fur speeding across the sprawled lawns and jumping over benches, catching the ball and fetching the Frisbee. He really was the reason Paul walked with his head high whenever he went out with him. Then one day, Paul noticed that Cyrus had finished the bowl of water early in the morning itself, something that he took till evening to finish. Paul found it a little strange but let it go, but when he caught Cyrus drinking out of the lotus pool in the garden, something that he was trained not to do, he realized that something wasn't right. Why was Cyrus experiencing excessive thirst? And then Paul realized that he did not know a thing about excessive and sudden thirst in dogs and had no idea how to treat it. A visit to the vet became imperative.

If you've ever had a dog and you've ever experienced what Paul did (or you've had to deal with any other dog health problems), I'm pretty sure you'd be curious to know what causes excessive thirst in dogs. Is it just what it suggests, an excessive thirst? Or does it signify and imply something more? To answer your question simply, (before getting into the details.), when dogs experience excessive thirst, it could be an indication of a more serious problem.

The Condition

In this context, it is important to know what polydipsia is. To answer your question on what is polydipsia, it is a condition of that leads to excessive thirst. This will in turn lead to a condition that is closely connected with polydipsia which is called polyuria. Polyuria is a condition that is characterized by the excessive formation of urine and thereby frequent urination in dogs. It is very important to note that chronic thirst in dogs is an early sign of several diseases.

The daily intake of water for a dog is normally 90 ml per day per kg of the dog's weight. If you notice that your dog has suddenly started consuming a lot of water, calculate the exact amount and whether it will amount to excessive thirst by cutting out all other sources of water and only providing it in his bowl. Then calculate the amount left in the bowl and minus it from the original water amount. If this persists for several days then you'll know that there is an underlying reason for it.

Causes

Diabetes
Also known as Diabetes Mellitus, diabetes is a disease that is caused in 5 % of dogs. This is caused when the glucose level in the dog's body becomes high and the glucose is therefore forced to enter the liver and muscles as glycogen, instead of entering the body tissues to be utilized as energy. Thus the pancreas will not produce enough insulin and the dog will become very weak and lose energy. This will result in excessive thirst as they are searching for nutrients to make up for the weakness and loss of energy.

Kidney Failure
The kidney is responsible for cleaning the wastes from the blood and retaining the salt, calcium, phosphorous and water in the body. When there is a kidney failure, (which can be caused by antifreeze, certain plants, heavy metals and rat poison) you will notice that this condition may come about.

Cushing's (Hyperadrenocorticism)
This disease is caused by the chronic over production of a hormone - glucocorticold. This is produced by the adrenal glands and results in an increased appetite, excessive thirst, loss of energy and skin and coat changes in dogs. Normally, a hormone called ACTH (Adrenocorticotropic hormone) is produced by the pituitary glands which stimulates the adrenal glands to produce these hormones.

Other Reasons
There can be some other reasons as well.

• High blood calcium
• Liver disease.
• Uterine infection(Pyometra)
• Pituitary gland abnormalities
• Kidney tubules defects and abnormalities
• Excessive activity
• Heat

So look out for these signs and causes of excessive thirst in dogs, and if you ever find your dog exhibiting any of these then take him to a vet immediately for treatment. This might just prevent the disease from escalating into a worse condition.