I was party to a conversation last night that really raised my eyebrows. It's not my dog, my family, or my problem, but I promised that I would run it through the forum.

A young man who is a senior member of our club was gifted a GSD puppy by his uncle, who has been breeding for over 35 years.

The owner: Raised with his uncle's breeding operation. Has been a protection handler and decoy for years. Also helps his uncle wrangle dogs in the movies (actually appears on screen in several, including a recent one with Oprah that is set in NOLA).

The pup: 8wk GSD from Belgium and Czech working lines.

The dilemma: The puppy drinks water to the point of bloating. When the owner puts out water, the pup consumes all of it, regardless of the amount, and sometimes blows up like a water balloon. He is the only pup from the litter that drinks that much water. The owner and his fiancee worked out a schedule for workdays where the pup would be crated for four hours before lunch and three-four hours after lunch. Because of the water issue, it was decided that water would not be left in the crate.

The fiancee's mother was concerned about the arrangement, which isn't perfect but is pbly reasonable, and she offered to dogsit while the pup is young. She took it on herself to take the pup to her vet, and was told that the pup would have died had it been left in the crate without unlimited access to water. The pup was also diagnosed with a bladder infection and prescribed an antibiotic.

Two questions:
1. I had never heard that a puppy had to be allowed free access to as much water as it wants (and I've raised a few). Is this true?

2. Could a bladder infection be the result of dehydration? From what I've heard in the past, the sources of bladder infection are hard to pinpoint.

Insatiable thirst and bladder infections in PEOPLE can be signs of diabetes. I hope they ran a full battery of tests and didn't stop at 'oh there's a UTI'.

They are considering diabetes and running tests.

Dehydration is pretty common in dogs with UTIs. On the other side of the coin, flushing out bacteria (drinking and peeing) is a major mechanism against UTIs.

Drinking excessively can be a sign of a UTI.

But like Kristin, I'd be concerned about this level of polydipsia .... I'd want bloodwork asap, thinking about diabetes, hypercalcemia, renal failure, etc. So it's good to hear that they are doing this.

Also, I hope they understand how important it is to re-check after the antibiotic protocol to make sure the infection was wiped out.

Way too many owners don't do this (IMO) and then think that they have a dog with recurring UTI ... when what they have is a dog whose initial UTI was not fully wiped out; the remaining bacteria just reproduced and repopulated the UT, and now they are achieving resistance to that antibiotic, on their way to superbug status.

As I was reading, my mind was thinking UTI or kidney infection. Vigo had a kidney infection maybe a year or so ago. His only symptom was polydipsia...he would literally drain the water bowl.

Abx got rid of the problem & I supplemented with a cranberry supplement for awhile. We've had no re-occurrences.

I also used urinalysis test strips to check his specific gravity in the mornings. Save a ton of $ by buying from Amazon, instead of paying for the vet to check it.

Whenever I have had a dog or puppy that is drinking "too much water", it is a red light and I take it to the vet. I have been right EVERY time. It is always a problem.

With my last shepherd, it was a pancreas issue. With puppies it has been some sort of infection: giardia, bacteria etc.

I am forever running fresh poop samples to the vet after the treatment is over and before. Thank goodness my vet is so close!!

6 weeks ago Kipp started drinking more water. It was subtle but I realized something was going on when he woke me up in the middle of the night to go outside. Took him into the vet and he had the beginnings of a bladder infection. Abx cleared it up right away.

Duane regarding your question of leaving dogs (puppies) with free access to water, I've always allowed my dogs, adults and pups free choice water, even as young just weaned babies. The way the body works is that by the time thirst is felt, the body is already dehydrated, water for dogs is also a temperature regulator. I've picked up dogs who were left in a crate in a sunny spot without water and developed heatstroke in five minutes. I also have a friend who purposefully witheld water from her bichon pup so that he wasn't peeing as often, that dog developed odd behaviors such as going into the shower while they were showering to drink yucky, soapy water... Everything I have always been told by vets, handlers, etc is to always provide a source of water. I would never, ever, leave my dog alone for an extended period without water. jmo.

Assuming normal temperature/humidity conditions, as in a home, crate not in the sun, there is no medical reason a pup cannot go 3-4 hrs without water.

Lower urinary tract infection, i.e. bladder, causes urgency --- a feeling of having to go, a burning, but there is not really more urine coming out.



Most puppies who drink water like you describe have newly left their litters where they have been forced to compete for both food and water. Gobble up everything ASAP is usually a learned behavior caused by competion and usually goes away once the pup gains confidence that water and food will not be scarce.