They have a Rottie, purchased from a breeder. Who pee's for England. But he also drinks for England. He can finish off a bowl of water and then go and drink out of plant pots, puddles, even licks the dew off the grass. They have taken him to a vet, who states normal????The breeder says this is normal??? He is on a good quality food. His behavior  is frantic to say the least. This is their forth Rottie

just  fed dried food ?

How old is he? How long have they had him? Did his last home remove water, so he didn't have it 24 hours a day?

Is he fed on dry food as he will need to make up for the last of moisture.

He may just like to drink a lot and if the vet can find no health problem then I would just keep an eye on him.

I had a bitch returned many years ago and the main complaint was that she always peed. It turned out they hadn't house trained her right and had lifted the water as soon as she had eaten and taken a drink so that she didn't pee as much, it was only put down when she had eaten. When she was returned she went crazy with the water bowl, never leaving it alone for a week or so until she learned that it was always there and that water was always available.

I knew of a dog (None of mine I hasten to add) who drank loads of water even compared to my Munster's - who can drink a lot at the best of times -  the owner's own veterinary practice said there wasn't a problem.   So they went to a different practice where Cushing's disease was diagnosed.

He is five months old. They did remove the water bowl for a short time until he started drinking out of the house plant trays. He is fed a mixture of dried food and wet food (mixed). He also behaved very badly when the water was removed, biting, growling whinning etc. They have made an appointment with another vet, reluctantly as they have add the same practice for 20 years with all of their Rotties.   They are at there wits end bless them.

My rott boy drinks a lot but I figure that as he is the same size as a human adult he needs the same amount of liquids as an adult would need.  I often drink 4-5 pints of water/juice a day so I am not surprised that he drinks a lot too.

Has the vet actually run any tests or just said he's normal?

Also, have they measured how much he's taking in over 24 hours?  That question would come up in any investigations, I've been through this a couple of times with Remy as he will drink loads of water in one go.  Tell you what, it's hard to measure how much one dog is drinking when you've got 8 of em :-P

In his case, he just doesn't drink often so when he does - usually after activity - he'll drink a ton, but over a day it's a normal amount.  But if he was drinking every bit of water in sight I would be concerned.

What is a lot of water? What I mean by this is how big is the bowl and how often do they top this up? Is the heating on in the house and to what temperature?

Is water down for him to have access to 24/7? I have water bowls in different rooms so the dogs always have access and also in the crates.
Is he actually drinking it all too? I know some dogs to leave huge amounts all over the floor.

> He is fed a mixture of dried food and wet food (mixed).

Do they soak the dry food or is it fed dry?
If fed dry, have they tried soaking it and if so did they notice a difference in his water in take?

If they dont'/haven't soaked the dry food, that would be my first test.

Still worth following up with the vet check, but it would be usefull for the vet to know if feeding soaked food (as opposed to dry) makes any difference.

If they are concerned then it would help if they can put into volume how much the dog drinks per day, by measuring.

If it is a behavioural thing then they need to somehow record how many times the dog goes to the bowl, how long he drinks for, and also how many times a day he pees. Plus the volumes of water, that would help more.

Hard to know if this is a medical thing or a habitual thing, but if they were happy to do a bit of recording it would probably help.

For the record my rescue girl drinks loads - she is always drinking it seems (and dribbling water over the floor) plus when on walks she pees every 30 seconds.... yet she can also go 12 hours or more without a pee... and sometimes it's a full scale performance to get her to wee when you know she must be bursting! She is raw fed too, so she gets lots of moisture from her food yet still drinks a great deal. So I would say in her case, it's psychological - perhaps in her past she was deprived of water.

My other dog whom I have had since a puppy and is now raw fed, seems to rarely drink water except when he is out & about and running & getting warm. He is a good example of a dog who has never known water deprivation, and indeed he is great at smelling out water sources by himself when we're out walking, if he is thirsty. He also knows the word 'drink' and will either look for water, drink on command, or come to me for water if needed.

At 5 months old peeing frequently could be lack of maturity re bladder control.

My last two pups were slow to be able to hold water for any length of time,a and if they needed to go they needed to go, both liked to drink a fair bit.  I have had other pups with seemingly cast iron bladders.  Most have these by a year old.

It could simply be that his housetraining hasn't sunk in and eh goes as often as he feels the least urge instead of holding on until he can go in an appropriate place (outside).  I bet doors are now kept closed more often, and it is warmer inside, which may mean less opportunity and less inclination to toilet outside (as he doesn't liek teh cold/wet/dark?).

my rottie is nearly 5 and he does not have a off switch where water is concerned been like this from little, he will just drink and drink and drink and then come into the house and vomit most of it back up over everywhere, we had all the tests done on him as this used to worry us when we first noticed it, but he was ok for whatever the tests where can't remember now so long ago, he is terrible when he sees us filling the bowls up, it is as though he needs to empty them all quickly , we hear him drinking and after we think that is enough we tell him, and he comes away and that has worked, he is allowed to drink do not get me wrong we would never not let him have acess to water but he has to be watched, he is fed raw all his life and he loves water, be it puddles,lakes,hydro, he is a water baby.
with regard to bladder control, if you central heating is going all the time and he is thirsty due to the dry air in your home, and he will proberly need to be let out more often than normal, if he does not like the cold ,the wet,the dark, you will have to stand with him so keep a coat near the door and when you see him looking like he needs to go out you both go so you can also make sure that he goes and then plenty of praise when he does go, i know winter puppies can be cold and hard work but it is worth it.

Deleted because I didn't realise you said he was 5 months.

I will be nipping round there at the weekend, both households have suffering with this Christmas cold. I will take the laptop and ask all the relevant question. But you have been so helpful thank you so much xx