Personaly I would get a second opinion from another vet and run some blood work as well.

 

What animalcraker said.

Increased thirst and lack of urine concentration could indicate kidney insufficiencies. Is there any chance that Luca could have had any of foods from that big recall this past spring?

 

This question made me really think. Hmmm....if he were human, he'd be on the right track. Drinking lots of water is supposed to be good for us and peeing water means we're keeping ourselves cleaned out.

It does seem odd that less water for him also means less food. In people, it would be just the opposite (more water - less food). I'd be interested in knowing what food you're feeding. I'm wondering if the food makes him thirsty and since his water is intake is being lowered, he's somehow not wanting to eat too much. I think a second opinion would be good also.

 

Hi Val, we are feeding him Nutro Ultra for puppys.

I've been experimenting with his water intake for a little while. The vet suggested around 1 oz. of water per lb of weight is more than enough. So I would give him 6 -7 oz. a day in total, spreading it out in maybe 3 or 4 batches. Yesterday for some reason I ended up giving him 4 oz. in the morning. He seemed very thirsty after his walk. This was a pleasant surprise. About an hour after drinking he went to his food corner and just sat there. He normally eats only once a day, in the evening, so I was confused at first. When I gave him sone food he ate it all up and seemed very happy. I tried the same routine in the evening. 4 oz. of water followed by food an hour later. He finished his food again. I am extremely happy at this new development. Today I kept the same routine and it worked like a charm. I guess 6 oz. just wasnt enough for him and he was too thirsty to eat. This schedule gets rid of his thirst and he feels more of a need for food.

I appreciate all the help everyone gave here. I'll still take him to another vet and get the blood work done as someone suggested. But I think things are looking much better.

 

I'm glad to hear everything's working out. Finding the right schedule can be tricky sometimes but it sounds like you found what works for your puppy.

 

You could try feeding some canned (wet) food, too, if you're concerned about him eating enough. That has high water content, so you could even give him less water, and he shouldn't be "too thirsty to eat." Also, you might want to try spreading it out a bit. Zoe gets water with every meal (3x a day still), during walks/trips to the park (here, she gets as much water as she'll drink), and after we come in from in a walk. Other than that, she'll get an ice cube or two to go with a kong or as a treat.

Of course, you first need to rule out medical issues, but these are things to try if he's healthy. It's summertime too, so he might be hot. On hot days, Zoe will drink almost twice as much water as on cooler days. She then pees a lot more too, but I let her drink because she's just so thirsty when she's hot. So you could see if his thirst goes down a bit when the cooler weather comes!

 

Excessive drinking is cause for some concern, and further testing is warranted, IMHO. In dogs, there are more than 65 different medical conditions that can stimulate excessive water intake, including diabetes and an over active thyroid gland. Since a UTI has been eliminated, it might be wise to check the other two most common, that being diabetes and thyroid.

There are a number of simple things that can stimulate more drinking. Most of these quickly correct themselves or can be handled by diet and common sense. The list includes more salt intake than normal (like woofing down that bag of fries that you left on the table), a lot of exercise, hot weather, or even stress (from adding another pet to the household to having gregarious Uncle Pete and jolly Aunt Lolly come for a visit).