My teacup yorkie drinks way too much water. Is this normal??

Answer 1

Abnormally high water consumption can be a sign some types of endocrine disorders. The main disease we associate with increased water consumption and increased urination is Cushings disease (hyperadrenalcorticism). This is a disease in which either the pituitaty gland in the brain signals the adrenal glands to secrete more glucocorticosteroids then needed, or the adrenal glands themselve automatically secrete too much steroids. This causes increase in thirst, urination, a pendulous abdomen, poor hair coat, thin skin, etc. My advice would be to measure your dogs daily water consumption over a period of a week, and make an appointment with your veterinarian. They may suggest doing some bloodwork to assess liver functions (as many dogs with Cushings disease with have an increase in liver enzyme values), and possible some other tests to screen for the disease. Your vet may recommend a urine cortisol creatinine ratio, an ACTH stimulation test, a low dose dexamethasone suppression test, etc.

The other endocrine disease that can cause an increase in water consumption is diabetes (which can be caused by Cushings disease). Dogs tends to get more of a type 1 (insulin dependant) form, whereas cats tend to be like type 2 diabetes. Some other signs you may see are cataracts, weight loss despite ravenous appetite, chronic urinary tract infections, and you may smell a sweet scent of ketones on the breath. If your doctor suspects diabetes, they will probably run a basic blood chemistry and possibly fructosamine leves, which tells us more about what the blood sugar has been doing over the last couple months.

One more thing - is you dog currently on steroids like prednisone, prednisolone, methylprednisone, etc? Does your dog get "allergy" injections of steroids like triamcinalone? If so, these drugs could be causing the signs you are seeing as well.

Good luck and don't worry - both are managable diseases.

Answer 2

You may need to have your yorkie checked for diabetes or kidney functioning test. A vet needs to examine your dog and make a recommendation.

Best wishes.

Answer 3

Hiw old is it? Drinking a lot of water could be a sign of diabetes or a bladder problem.

Answer 4

my terrior dog drank a lot of water. took her to the vet,and he said she had kidney problems.she was 6 years when we had to put her to sleep. found out later it may had been because we were feeding her raisins-did not know then but they are poisonous to dogs ,but she loved them.
so sorry .

Answer 5

What is way to much water?!

Answer 6

Well im not sure but my dog does . and he has diebiteas