excessive drinking and panting - first post

[Rach230288]

Hi this is my first post so bare with me.....

i've got a Cairn his name is Archie and i've had him since he was 2 months old he'll be 1 this week. After talking with my dad and reminising of how fast the year has gone by we realised that he drinks lots of water and realised that he always has since he was a pup, he isn't dehydrated and doesn't pee excessively, so i was just wondering does anyone else's cairn drink sufficient amounts of water? and should i worry that mine does? or is this just normal for him as he has always drank lots of water?

Also he seems to pant alot but he is always on the go he never just walks anywhere he runs hard and fast and is like a little spring jumping up at everyone and everything! so am i just being paranoid worrying about his breathing? is it simply because he is just so excitable and wont keep still and has to do everything as quickly as possible. when he is still (on those rare occasions) his breathing is perfectly normal.

[Jetti]

Same "Problem" here, except for the drinking. However....mine had issues with diarhea as a pup

and has just come to terms with that. The vet allways said there is nothing wrong with him but he just could not cope with food we gave him. His insides seem to have finally grown out of it. He is

going to be 2 yrs old tomorrow.

[Hagar]

Renny will be 4 next month. His water consumption varies. He will drink a lot one day and very little the next. His output seems proportional to his intake.

A trip to the vet may be in order. It may be nothing, but excessive thirst is one symptom of diabetes.

[BetsyNoodle]

Awww, he sounds like such a sweet pup. Excessive thirst and panting can signal medical issues like Cushing's syndrome or diabetes....or nothing at all. For peace of mind, you may want to have him checked out by your vet.

[Rach230288]

I think Archies water consumption varies to as today he hasn't reallty drank much but tomorrow he'll probably drink his whole bowl full!

I think i will take him the vet, he's due a check up anyway so i'll mention it when i go!

Thanks for all the advice

[Thistle]

It won't hurt to ask the vet but if he's been like that since a pup its likely normal for him.

[bradl]

Determining when a dog is drinking excessively can be difficult if you have no frame of reference. With four (at the time) in the house, it was clearly obvious when Stella was drinking far more than anyone else, even though all of the dogs would "tank up" from time to time. We might not have noticed it if she'd been an only dog, and just assumed whatever she did was normal.

If you want to make a vet happy you can provide actual data by measuring the amount of water you put out (including "top offs") and then measuring what's left over at the end of a day or two. That allows the vet to know how many liters (or ounces, whatever) per day the dog is drinking.

[Hagar]

I'm curious about one thing on the topic of dogs drinking water. Renny is picky about having his water changed regularly. It has to be fresh or he won't touch it.Yet, he will gladly drink out of a mud puddle on a walk!

[josie&holly]

Hollys does not appear to drink a lot. Holly much prefers the water in bowl outside to that inside [which is usually fresher than bowl outside] and she also likes drinking from muddy puddles.