[tnt9702]

We got our 11 week old Maya when she was 8 weeks old from a breeder. She has been having issues with really craving water. When I try to walk her and there's water on leaves or the pavement she will stop and lick it. If I tug her away or tell her no, she will ignore me. If I raise her leash so she can't put her head down to lick, she will almost choke herself to get to the leaves.
To complicate things, she has a urinating problem...she will pee all the time, probably once or twice an hour all day long; she will pee in her crate and drink it if we don't get to it right away. We asked our vet how much water she should get and they were hesitant to tell us, but ended up saying that one cup with her two meals is enough for her...she weighs 11.4 lbs, and, if she exercises hard during the day, she can have a little more.
When she was unable to quench her thirst, we put down an extra bowl of water and she tanked it, it was probably 1.5 cups. She then was peeing every 2 minutes, peeing while walking. It's tough because I don't want to deprive her of anything, and I just saw on a couple other sites that she should have 2.5 times the amount of water as food...which means she needs an additional 3 cups of water a day.
We did take her to the vet, 3 times in 3 weeks. First trip was possible UTI, given cephalexon, then d/c'd after 9 days of no progress (by the vet). Next, she was given Albon and Sulfatrim (she also has coccidia). We were told to also giver her vitamin C supplements to help concentrate her urine for the small amount of crystals found in the urinalysis. She has had blood work done with low protien, low globulin, low albumin, elevated HCT(could be normal in puppies per the vet) and elevated liver enzymes. they say she may be anemic and we are going to talk to them again tomorrow and probably schedule an ultrasound.
I'm not looking for professional help, I'm just wondering if anyone has any similar experiences. Maya is a great puppy aside from her issues, she learns tricks quickly and is energetic and playful. I have read on a lot of other sites there may be a kidney disease issue / diabetes. We really hope it is something that can be treated.
Maya eats Blue Buffalo Puppy natural chicken and brown rice one cup twice a day. The breeder had her on Purina Puppy chow. Initially, we fed her Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice until I researched it a little more and decided that Blue Buffalo was probably a better choice. We're really trying to give her a good life, but with her current issues, it seems like we haven't been able to accomplish that. :wub:
Maya is crated occasionally, goes for morning walks and plays throughout the evening with the family.
Anything you can offer as far as insight or past experience would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time.

 

[VegasResident]

Hmm. I never withheld free access to water to my pup except an hour before bedtime.
What were the bun, creatine levels in the blood test? These are kidney values and we used them with a Lab that had chronic kidney issues.
Weight is not that bad for her

 

[liv]

I'm sorry that you're having these problems! Did they do a blood sugar? There was a 9 month old puppy on this board recently diagnosed with diabetes, so it can happen. It's an easy thing to rule out at least.

 

[KZoppa]

it could be her kidneys or diabetes but the guzzling water every chance she gets leads me more to believe its diabetes. let us know.

 

[Rerun]

Have you tried just giving her free choice water for multiple days on end to see if it quinches her thirst?

An unhouse trained puppy at that age will frequently pee that much. I take them out at that age at least every half hour for a potty break. Can they hold it longer - yes. Will they - no. They don't know to hold it yet. They just go when they gotta go.

If I'm reading your post right, she's getting one cup of water twice a day or three times a day. This is not enough IMHO. You said you gave her an extra bowl of water, I thought a full normal bowl, but you said 1.5 cups. That's not "a bowl of water." I would give her free choice water for at least a few days, take her out to potty constantly when she's awake or when she wakes up from a nap, finishes a meal or drink, takes a break from playtime, etc. See if it helps.

 

[Pattycakes]

Have you tried just giving her free choice water for multiple days on end to see if it quinches her thirst?

I was going to ask that too.

I know when my dog was a puppy...she drank A LOT of water. I would get worried and pick it up and put it on the counter. But finally I figured if she was thirsty then she should be able to drink...so I just left it down and after a few days...she was fine.

 

[fatmit1]

Titan is having literaly this EXACT problem. Interested in possible answers as well. He has a water fixation, and drinking from leaves lead to him contracting Giahrdia a few weeks ago, which has since been treated. I'm going to see my vet about the water fixation.

 

[Jax08]

Did they take a clean urine sample and run it to see what kind of bacteria it may be? Jax had recurring UTI's, with the symptoms you describe, and they did a sample straight from the bladder and sent it out for a culture to see what bacteria it may be. Just because the antibiotic didn't work, doesn't mean it's not an infection. It could just be that the antibiotic didn't work on that specific bacteria.

I would also not restrict her water. It may be that you are restricting the water, she's not getting enough so she thinks she has to drink everytime, then it becomes a habit. Given you have wacky blood levels, I suspect something medical but giving her all the water she wants isn't a bad thing.

 

[BlackGSD]

I don't beleive in withholding water either. (Unless there is a medical reason or course.) Have you done what Rerun asked?

How much did she weigh when you got her? 11lbs sounds small to me for her age. BUT it might just be her if she has always been on the small side. How much has she gained in the 3 weeks you have had her?

 

[Cassidy's Mom]

It seems bizarre that your vet would have you restrict water, and I can't imagine measuring it out and rationing it every day. I've always put a bowl down and filled it when it got low, or every day, whichever comes first. Maybe she's just thirsty? The only time I restrict water at all for a puppy is late at night before bed. I'll usually let them drink up to 7:00 or 8:00 at night, but don't allow them to tank up a bunch of water at 11:00 at night.

If they're really thirsty later in the evening I'll let them drink a little bit before bed. Keefer was constantly thirsty as a pup (and a peeing MACHINE!!!), so I'd let him drink some water before bed or he'd keep me up all night whining. Eventually he grew a big boy bladder and now he can hold it forever.

The frequent urination really does sound like a UTI, but there may be more going on. Good luck, I hope you figure out what's wrong soon.

 

[Kris10]

It would be helpful to list what levels came back normal, not just the abnormals. For example, I imagine they checked her glucose, was that normal? Bun/creatinine?
Poor little girl..hope she gets better soon!

 

[BowWowMeow]

If she is not getting adequate fluids she is going to develop other problems due to dehydration!

Can you post the blood test results?

And I agree that you should get a urine culture done.

 

[Montana Scout]

i would think there is something up with the kidneys if not a UTI

 

[natalie559]

I think you have gotten some good advice already. Some things I would want to look into further would be possible infection that wasn't treated with right antibiotic, diabetes, and portosystemic liver shunt-

Portosystemic Shunts FAQ

Also the increased HCT, I read here that

Bloodwork differentials for dogs

"The hematocrit (HCT) is the percentage of the blood that is composed of red blood cells. When the percentage rises, it means there are more red blood cells or less liquid portion of the blood. The most common cause of rises in hematocrit is dehydration but disorders that cause decreases in oxygen transport can cause rises in hematocrit (like heart failure and respiratory disease) and it can occur due to abnormalities in production of red blood cells. But the most likely problem with this low a rise is dehydration. That would also be true for the rise in hemoglobin.

Also curious about the type of crystals were found in the urine as certain types you do not want to match with vit c supplementation.

Let us know what you find out!
​

 

[natalie559]

She has been having issues with really craving water.

she has a urinating problem...she will pee all the time

she weighs 11.4 lbs

She has had blood work done with low protien, low globulin, low albumin, elevated HCT(could be normal in puppies per the vet) and elevated liver enzymes. they say she may be anemic

Portosystemic Shunts FAQ

Reading more of the link above, it says that,

"Clinical signs are often seen at a young age and include small stature, poor muscle development, behavioral abnormalities (circling, disorientation, unresponsiveness, staring into space, head pressing), seizures, and quiet demeanor. Other less common signs include drinking or urinating too much, apparent blindness, diarrhea, and vomiting. In some animals the signs are associated with eating protein. Other animals are diagnosied when they take a long time recovering from anesthestics (i.e. barbiturates) or sedatives (i.e. acepromazine). Some animals show no signs until they are older, when they develop bladder and kidney infections and stones.

On blood work, dogs with congenital liver shunts usually have low blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and albumin concentrations. They may be slightly anemic or have red blood cells that are smaller than normal ("microcytosis"). They also may have increases in liver enzymes ("AST", "ALT"). Their urine may be dilute or infected and contain small spiky crystals ("ammonium biurate"). None of these laboratory changes are specific for a liver shunt; however, when veterinarians see these abnormalities, they will usually measure bile acid or ammonia concentrations to evaluate liver function."

So some of the symptoms match, yet others don't (as far as I can read from your post). Enough fit that I would bring it up to the vet though.

 

[tnt9702]

Wow, thank you everyone for your feedback, I really appreciate the time and effort.
I won't be able to get any of the specifics back on the blood until tomorrow, they only told me the abnormals that I posted, but not their levels, and her vet wasn't available today.

The vet didn't say what the crystals in the urine consisted of, another great question for me to ask.

Regarding the Portosystemic Shunts, Maya is very inquisitive, seems to have good muscle development and stature. The water craving we're working on.

Today around 2:30 we gave Maya about 3 cups, maybe 4 cups of water in one sitting. The last time, we gave her about 2-2.5 cups she drank it all and was still craving, peed all over the place while walking. Today she drank about 90% of what we gave her and then seemed really happy and excited. Then she peed all over the place, all the time. The poor girl peed all over herself while she was napping outside, peed while walking and of course peed while squatting like she should. But, the important lesson was she wasn't uncontrollable craving water. We left the water bowl down with the last little bit in there and she left it for the whole afternoon. When we bathed her, she was manageable in the tub, nothing like before...she used to fight and claw to get the water in the tub, lick it off my hands, off the tub and off her fur. Thank you all very much for suggesting to NOT limit her intake....I'm so mad that I was limiting her intake and causing her to be manic over water, it feels like I was abusing the poor dog. When dinner time came, she drank normally and didn't fuss. I'll see how tomorrow goes with more water, just not all at once like today.

Maya weighed 8lbs and 2 ozs when we got her 3 weeks ago; she now weighs 11lbs 4ozs. Both vets we visited said that externally, she appeared great.

I'll keep the thread updated, thanks again.

 

[ramvan134]

sorry the dogs not well. some of the symptoms sound like the problems some dogs were having on the blue buff with to much vitamin d.

 

[BowWowMeow]

I was thinking about the food: the puppy food isn't included in the recall: Blue Buffalo Recall — Vitamin D

I also wonder about her bladder muscles...

 

[tnt9702]

sorry the dogs not well. some of the symptoms sound like the problems some dogs were having on the blue buff with to much vitamin d.

When we first got Maya she was on Purina Puppy Chow...I know...
We put her on nutro for the first week until I researched more and found BB to be a much better quality for about the same cost. She is currently on a 50/50 mix of the BB and Nutro Natural Lamb and Rice. By next week she will be eating just the BB. Like BowWowMeow said, I didn't see that this variety was part of the recall.

 

[tnt9702]

I just spoke with the breeder and they are going to take her for observation for 48 hours and take her to their vet before we send her for an ultrasound.
Today our vet said BUN was 20, glucose was 134.
The crystals in her urine were Struvite and there was a little protien in her urine. Her urine was 1.015.
She (the vet) said there is a slight possibility it may be something that is not curable....I really hope she is wrong.