Results in for Puds and we think it is the above which is quite rare in dogs. The other alternative is that she has a mental disorder but knowing how steady and not a dog that stresses that the DI is the probable cause so she is going to start medication next week as the drugs have to be ordered specially.

Has anybody had a dog with this as would like to know how you get or got on with the medication and how successful was it ?

Thanks
Lucy

Sorry to hear this, Lucy :( As you know Bramble had tests earlier this year as he was drinking excessively, but no problems urinating fortunately. We couldn't get to the bottom of it and the vet concluded it was due to stress/old age and not Cushings/diabetes/kidney failure. He is drinking less now, so back to normal, thankfully :) Hopefully the medicine will be what Puds needs and her weeing will get under control - what a nightmare :(

Fingers crossed she will be back to normal soon and you can relax :) :)

A friends Boxer in Ireland had this it was controlled by eye drops if I remember correctly.
I think she got cancer in the end but her medication for DI worked fairly well.
It was a few years ago but again at that point it was still quite rare.

Yes there is possibility there could be a tumour but so long as the treatment controls the symptoms I can't see the need to investigate any further as I wouldn't want her to go through any treatment for it if she did die to her age.

Fingers crossed it will work and she feels happier that she isn't messing herself.

It is pretty rare in humans too,only saw 2 cases in nearly 40yrs and the latter 25 was nursing medical patients. Treatment consisted of squirting something up the nose a few times a day that was kept in the fridge,that is the sum total of my knowledge of the condition.

I hope you get the treatment soon and it works.

I lost my Archie [Giant Schnauzer] to Diabetes Insipidus two years ago. His was caused by a brain tumour.
He started leaking wee and drinking abnormal amounts and after being tested for everything else [Cushings etc], he had a MRI in may 2010 which showed a brain tumour on the left hand side of his brain.
I was told that there was no cure and that the life he had left depended on how quick the tumour would grow.
He died 3 months later, in which point the cancer had spread all over his body, but he was only really poorly for a week or so.
I don't want to upset you until you have diagnosis so I won't go to any details about those 3 months, but if you have any question please ask away here or send me a private message. I'm happy to help.

It is funny as the limp Puds has been suffering with over the last few months  that she was put on Tramadol for, we talked about how it developed and the few months of on off symptoms and we did talk about bone cancer because it was not typical of an injury or arthritis.

I am keeping an open mind at the moment as so long as she is as happy as happy as she always is and gives me her Pudley paw ( she comes up to me gives me a nudge then extends her right paw onto my leg ) then I will be happy.

She is such a happy girl and I will know if things change and will know what I need to do no matter how hard it will be.

I knew a dog some years ago who was diagnosed with DI. Desmopressin Solution was very successful treatment for her.
I know at the time it was quite an expensive drug if purchased from the vet, but could be purchased far cheaper from the chemist with a vets prescription.
It comes as a nasal spray which needs to be decanted into a dropper bottle and applied as eye drops.

Archie had eye drops but I stopped giving them to him after a while because it was very clear he was not going to be with us for long and he hated the drops being put in his eyes. He was 7 when he went over the bridge.
Writing these messages has actually brought it all back and it still hurts :(

My vet is currently considering this as a diagnosis for my poor Melvin :-(  He's drinking and peeing excessively, and doesn't seem to be concentrating his urine.  Do any of you have information about the tests that your vet did in order to get a diagnosis?  I'm a bit worried it's one of these situations where, if they can't find anything else, it's  'probably' DI. 

Lucy, I hope Puds responds well to the drugs.  I'd really be keen to know how you get on!

Thanks,

Clare

> Do any of you have information about the tests that your vet did in order to get a diagnosis?

Bramble had basic urine tests and blood tests for diabetes and kidney failure and then the blood tests for Cushings. His tests were all negative and we have assumed that it is just old age (he is 14+). One thing we did do was measure how much he was drinking in a 24 hour period. He was drinking around 1 1/2 litres of water. My vet said that he would only be concerned if it was nearer 2 litres. This all happened in January and he is fine and not drinking quite as much and his health generally is still fine. Apparently stress, changes in routine etc can cause the excessive drinking, although we couldn't think of anything like this, so have jusy put it down to old age :)

Poor Melvin. Has he been on any medication recently ?

Puds had full bloods tests done which came back normal which ruled out infection or normal diabetes. They then did tests for Cushings which came back negative.

She then had a full Urianalysis done which showed that the output was very diluted it was almost just water.

She was consuming about a water bowl and a half a day plus water from the stream.

The update on Puds is that she hasn't had the meds yet but yesterday was her first dry day and also her water consumption has reduced drastically. The same today do I hope this was down to medictation induced rather than anything else sinister like a tumour.

Relieved but will only be certain if she remains like this no for a while.

Hope you get to the bottom of things for Melvin

Hi Daisy,
Archie had lots of blood tests and urine tests [different time a day to see whether his kidneys were concetrating the urine, which they weren't] but in the it was the MRI scan that confirmed the tumour on the pituatury gland.
Basicly because of the tumour the pituatury gland was unable to produce the hormone that regulates the kidneys, hence his wee wasn't concentrated and he was constantly thirsty because everything was just flushing through.
In the end his only purpose in life was to find water, anywhere and everywhere.
I don't know if you want to find out whether he's got a tumour or not, but that's a sure way of knowing.

Did it gradually and inconsistently come on with him ?

Melvin's only 3.5 years old, so it's a bit of an odd one :-(  He was recently neutered, and this did all start after that. He's not on any medication.  He hasn't been tested for Cushings, they're checking his thyroid on Monday and if that comes back clear I think I'll ask for a Cushings test (although that's another rare one in younger dogs, I think).  Melvin drinks 2 or more bowls of water a day, and considering he's fed a raw, moist diet, that's a lot of water.  I think (but I've read too much, brain frazzled) that there's an idiopathic/congenital DI which means there wouldn't necessarily be a more sinister cause... can't bare to think about the alternative at the mo :-(

Glad Puds has had a good couple of days - fingers crossed she's on the mend!!

> In the end his only purpose in life was to find water, anywhere and everywhere.

No - Bramble isn't that bad, fortunately - just drinking from his bowl more than normal

>I don't know if you want to find out whether he's got a tumour or not

No - he's very fit otherwise and I wouldn't do any invasive procedures anyway - while he's a happy chappy, that's fine :) :)

> Melvin drinks 2 or more bowls of water a day, and considering he's fed a raw, moist diet, that's a lot of water

Bramble is raw fed too and only 19kg. That said, he is 14+ and we are prepared to leave well alone as he is otherwise very healthy - he had a check at the vets in September when he had his boosters (!) :) :)

Must be a worry for you as Melvin is so young :( Fingers crossed it isn't Cushings etc and just something psychological maybe :)

Puds is raw fed as well.

Yes there are I think 3 different causes ( probably read S much about it as you !)

Have you spoken to K about it as just wondering if she had any ideas ?

LJS, Archie started leaking wee end of april and he had the MRI [which is not invasive btw, just a GA] mid may. The specialist said that the tumour had probably been in his head for a while, but it'd started growing more rapidly in that point.
I was completely numb and in shock after he died, because I never expected him to go downhill that fast. On the hindside I think it's better that he went quickly, but at the time it was horrendeous, as you all know who've lost a special friend.