boxer puppy extra thirsty

Question
QUESTION: hi, i have a boxer puppy- 7 weeks old,we have had her for 1 week now. she seems fine in herself really playfull and happy. the thing i'm concerned about is that she is always thirsty. she will drink and drink until she brings it back, then she'll carry on drinking some more. i've taken her to the vet, she had a test for diabetes- which came back normal. next step is blood test for kidney problems. could she just be a very thirsty dog? any ideas would be gratefully received! she eats plenty, at the moment 1 can of pedigree chum puppy food per day. we are currenly limiting her to approx 300ml of water a day. many thanks - jayne

ANSWER: Does she urinate a lot? If so, does she act like it hurts to pee, or an oddly colored urine? That is a good amount of water she's drinking. Something's up. It's so hard to say over the internet, because it could be a number of things, and I can't see your dog and what she's doing. She may have a simple infection. As a person who suffers from chronic kidney troubles myself, I know that I will drink a ton of water when I have an infection to help clear the kidneys out, and to not get dehydrated. Sometimes when you change the dog food, it can cause them to drink more, as some food has more sodium than others. It's really untelling just by what you have described so far. Since you're ruled out diabetes, I'd say she probably has a kidney infection. It's important to NOT limit her water intake at this point. Atleast until you get the other tests done. I wish I could give you more ideas, but when ever an animal/person starts to drink a lot, you look to either diabetes or kidney trouble first. I'll look around and see what else it might be, but I'd say that when you have the tests done, you'll more than likely find your problem with the kidneys. Good luck, and please let me know how it goes if you remember!

http://www.justlabradors.com/articles/lab_health_and_nutrition/excessive_thirst_  This is a pretty detailed web site. Read it, and follow the instructions. (It tells you to measure the amount of fluid your dog takes in over a period of a few days, ect.)

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: hi, just back from the vets. shes had her blood taken- results back thursday. apparently there are many different things that could be wrong with her, and the vet advised me to think carefully about how far to go with the tests as it could run into many hundreds of pounds. (we do have her insured but this starts on friday when she will be 8 weeks old)there is no way we are having her put to sleep! the vet mentioned 'phsycotic drinking disorder' but there is no test for this. you have to test for everything else, and if nothing is found then it is pdd. apparently it is more common in boxers than any other breed. i can't find any info on it. have you ever heard of it? many thanks - jayne

Answer
Has your vet mentioned taking a urine test? It's a little bit harder to get a sample, but it may give you more clues. I'm still thinking this girl has something going on with her kidneys. As for the drinking disorder, I've heard of it, but have never experienced it. I've owned 6 Boxers in my life, not even counting the puppies I've whelped, and have never personally seen it. I just now did a search for it, and could find nothing. However, I did find something about psychogenic water drinking.(http://www.voy.com/14351/124.html)I read your other reply as well. You said she's using the bathroom a lot. We have to figure out why she's drinking so much. Did you check that web site I gave you out? It gave a few other reasons why a dog may drink so much. I just spent a half an hour searching for more clues, but everything keeps leading back to either diabetes, or kidney infections. I would ask to have a urine sample tested. I know how expensive some of these tests can get, but I'm afraid that you'll have to have a few more done to rule out kidney problems. It may be a simple infection. The blood work may show it, or the urine test may. These two tests should be able to tell you if there's something going on with her kidneys. I'll do some more research, and tell you what I can come up with.