hedgehog Posted May 8, 2006 Report Share Posted May 8, 2006 Have you ever measured how much your dog drinks over a 24hr period? I've recently had to measure Daisy's water intake and was shocked to learn that she drinks about 350ml a day. The vet tells me that a "normal, healthy dog" of her size should be drinking about 1250ml a day. I know lurchers (and greyhounds?) are reknowned for their cast-iron bladders and Daisy is always reluctant to get out of bed in the morning for a wee (she refuses to get up before 9am!), so do you think lurchers generally drink less than other dogs? I would be interested to hear from anyone else... I'm thinking this means we can rule out Cushing's, but hypothyroidism is still a possibility. Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cycas Posted May 8, 2006 Report Share Posted May 8, 2006 My lurcher drinks a lot less than my greyhound, but I haven't measured, I'm afraid. The greyhound seems to be much more vulnerable to overheating than the lurcher (bigger muscles, I think) and will often need to have a drink mid-walk even if it's not that hot: the lurcher (who is slightly smaller) usually waits till we get home to have a drink, and even then rarely seems very thirsty. http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/id-1922.html says "many Greyhounds drink less water than the average dog." If your lurcher has saluki in, I wonder if that might make a difference? Salukis come from the desert... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hedgehog Posted May 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2006 (edited) Thanks for the link. I'm waiting for the vet to get back to me with where we go from here, but seeing as Daisy has constant access to water, I have to assume she's drinking as much as she needs. I tend to panic at the slightest thing and the word "dehydrated" set me off this time Edited May 8, 2006 by hedgehog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wickychoo Posted May 8, 2006 Report Share Posted May 8, 2006 Tyler (whippet) doesn't seem to drink that much TBH. I've not measured it, but lets just say I notice when he drinks (i.e. its not that often in a day) but he does have moist food and spends all day asleep under my duvet, so I doubt he expends that much energy when I'm not there He will have a drink when we get back from a walk though, so I'm not worried about him. He's just my little oddball Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hedgehog Posted May 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2006 Daisy's water bowl only holds 500ml (average size I guess) and I'm amazed to think she should be drinking 2.5 bowls a day. There's no way she'd ever drink that much! All these things the vets ask you to measure can get a bit complicated. What if they do this: How many mililitres has she consumed there?? And seeing as she's on a very strict, weigh everything she eats diet, I have to reduce the amount of food I give her if she snaffles a treat. They don't tell you how much to reduce it by if she eats horse poo though, do they? And BTW, we haven't seen nearly enough photos of Tyler! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cycas Posted May 8, 2006 Report Share Posted May 8, 2006 All these things the vets ask you to measure can get a bit complicated. What if they do this: How many mililitres has she consumed there?? [snorfle] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessC Posted May 8, 2006 Report Share Posted May 8, 2006 I know lurchers (and greyhounds?) are reknowned for their cast-iron bladders and Daisy is always reluctant to get out of bed in the morning for a wee (she refuses to get up before 9am!), so do you think lurchers generally drink less than other dogs? I would be interested to hear from anyone else... I'm thinking this means we can rule out Cushing's, but hypothyroidism is still a possibility. My lurcher with hypothyroidism (his thyroid function is absolutely zero and has been for about a year - he is treated successfully with soloxine) drinks far more than my lurcher with a bit of saluki (who drinks very little) because he can't regulate his body temperature and is often too hot or overheats quickly. Is it only weight gain that is pointing towards hT, because they tend to exhibit a number of the symptoms? Otis displays the lot! Incidentally if Daisy has deerhound in her, then hT is more coomon in deerhounds/deerhoundy types Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukaBeama Posted May 8, 2006 Report Share Posted May 8, 2006 My whippet/saluki x lurchers seem to barely drink at all, I wouldn't even have to refill a 1 litre water bowl most days. They don't wee a great deal either, probably beacuse they are too lazy to get off the sofa inbetween walks Mine do have quite a lot of liquid in their food as their veggie mix is quite watery so maybe that's why they don't drink much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerrio Posted May 8, 2006 Report Share Posted May 8, 2006 [snorfle] PMSL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hedgehog Posted May 9, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2006 My lurcher with hypothyroidism (his thyroid function is absolutely zero and has been for about a year - he is treated successfully with soloxine) drinks far more than my lurcher with a bit of saluki (who drinks very little) because he can't regulate his body temperature and is often too hot or overheats quickly. Is it only weight gain that is pointing towards hT, because they tend to exhibit a number of the symptoms? Otis displays the lot! Incidentally if Daisy has deerhound in her, then hT is more coomon in deerhounds/deerhoundy types It is the weight gain, but she also has a bald tail, thinning fur, dry skin, dark skin pigment and she gets tired very easily. The vet left a message for me yesterday saying that she thought it would be best to wait for a while and see if the weight comes off on the diet and if it doesn't we can move on to blood tests. I feel a bit about it, so I'm going to try and speak to her today. I found symptoms of hypothyroidism on the internet and it doesn't mention excessive water consumption as a symptom. Here's the link: Canine Hypothyroidism Does that match Otis's symptoms? Was he ever sick as a result of hypothyroidism? Daisy's been throwing up on a regular basis Kate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hedgehog Posted May 9, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2006 Just wanted to add, thanks for all the replies. I'm having a major wibble over all this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessC Posted May 9, 2006 Report Share Posted May 9, 2006 Of the symptoms on that link Otis had.... 1. Lethargic behavior such as a lack of interest in play, frequent napping, tiring out on long walks 2. Weight gain, sometimes without an apparent gain in appetite 3. Bacterial infections of the skin 4. Dry skin 5. Hair loss, especially on the trunk or tail (“rat’s tailâ€) 6. Discoloration or thickening of the skin where hair loss has occurred 7. Cold intolerance/seeking out warm places to lie down 8. Slow heart rate 9. Chronic ear infections 10. Severe behavioral changes such as unprovoked aggression, head tilt, seizures, anxiety and/or compulsivity 11. Depression 1. Yes 2. Yes 3. Not really, but very slow healing 4. Yes 5. Yes, he looked like a pony with a trace clip for a while 6. Not really 7. Yes, and heat intolerance too 8. Hard to tell, as he gets so excited going to the vet that his heart rate always goes through the roof! 9. No 10. Extreme behaviour towards unknown dogs (the red mists ) overexcitement, compulsive behaviour and a 'three second memory' yes, but no head tilt/seizures 11. Not noticeably, he tends to be quite a happy chappie normally. Once we managed to get the dose of soloxine right, most of the symptoms either disappeared or lessened significantly. Just check that your vet is aware that greyhounds/lurchers can have have the T4 levels of other dogs and still be 'normal', as lots of vets aren't aware of this. Otis has never been sick, but does have a habit of bringing up water after drinking, which may be the start of laryngeal paralysis, this is sadly linked to hT. Free free to pm me if you want any more info, and don't worry Once controlled, if it is hT, Daisy will be much happier in herself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hedgehog Posted May 9, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2006 Thanks so much. Daisy's going in for a blood test at 5pm today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hedgehog Posted May 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 Just to update... Daisy's hypothyroidism was confirmed today and she's starting a 10-day course of the tablets tomorrow and then it's another blood test. Thanks again to everyone for their replies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessC Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 Just to update... Daisy's hypothyroidism was confirmed today and she's starting a 10-day course of the tablets tomorrow and then it's another blood test. Thanks again to everyone for their replies Glad that you have a diagnosis. I hope the soloxine does the trick Out of curiosity, what were her T4 levels in the end? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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