My 1 year old Rottie tends to stop frequently on walks to mark. I tried to stop at a spot to let him empty his bladder before going on the walks. It helped a bit, but he still tends to pause briefly to wet a few areas. There are times where I'd let him relieve himself on a grass patch and he'll pee and start to slowly sniff and roam while peeing.

I suspect bladder problems also because of his 10 cup water bowl, he'll drink the whole thing at once at the end of his morning walk. Before I leave for work I have to fill it back up. Im just curious if anyone else has gone thru this and aside from a trip to the vet, what else have you gone thru/experienced dealing with this?

My aunt's beagle/sheltie mix will stop every 4-5 feet to water a bush/tree/leaf/anything. It doesn't matter if he already eliminated prior to the walk. He will heist his leg and nothing even comes out. He will have his leg heisted and start to defecate at the same time. Marking is his deal, big time. Oh, and he's neutered (at 6 months). My male GSD rarely marks. If he stops, it's because he has to GO!

BUT...the excessive thirst concerns me.

My Vigo recently had a kidney infection. His only symptom was insane, excessive thirst. He went from drinking about 10ish cups of water a day to draining the 5 cup water bowl over and over. I had to take him to the vet (21 days of antibiotics). I would measure out his water daily to monitor intake. I also bought some urinalysis strips from amazon.com for under $15 and checked the first urine of the day randomly. His specific gravity was the only thing that was "off" (also only thing that showed on his urinalysis the vet sent off). After a week or so, his thirst returned to normal.

I would definately have the vet check him for bladder infection or some other issue. If all is well...I'd limit his water intake to a normal amount. Some dogs, more often a younger one, just drink an excess of water for no real reason...except maybe an obsession with it. An OCD behavior in some cases. He is a pup & with some limit guidence from you...may outgrow his excessive water intake.

As for the marking on walks..... I have my dogs potty before we walk or go to the field for a run. My dogs learn as pups that when we are going for a walk, we walk. We don't stop to sniff or pee or anything else...we WALK. PERIOD. I usually walk 2 at a time, if we had to stop everytime one wanted to sniff or mark...we'd never get very far. I have had all intact dogs...doesn't matter...we walk....nothing else. When it is time for them to be allowed free time...they are told 'free' & then they can sniff, pee whatever they want. That is the rule here. It has worked for the 4 GSDs that I have had here in the last 9 years & all prvious dogs.

Just my way of doing things.

 Quote: Melissa Hoyer

... BUT...the excessive thirst concerns me. ...

Me too.

It's called polydipsia (and excessive peeing is called polyuria), and it's very important to check it out so a UTI can be ruled out or identified quickly -- and also serious problems including kidney failure, diabetes, liver disease, Cushing's, and calcium levels gone awry.

Good luck! Let us know.