Your will to be there and do anything for your diabetic dog has landed you here to find out answers for your quest. Anyways, are you worried about your dog who is on insulin and drinking a lot of water?
In this guide, we will discover all about your dog which is on insulin yet drinking a lot of water.
Polydipsia
There’s a term for everything in this world, here’s a slightly less known term called Polydipsia although its meaning is quite a familiar one.
So, what actually is Polydipsia?
Polydipsia is used to define an extreme need for water or when someone feels thirsty more than usual.
In summers, this is a common phenomenon, to feel thirsty. Be it humans or animals, the sweating process is increased hence leading to more need to drink water.
However, polydipsia is rather a medical term, hence not something you should be taken lightly.
If your dog has polydipsia, you need to find out what is causing it or more importantly, what you can do to fix it.
Cause of Polydipsia
There can be several reasons why polydipsia is being caused.
Oftentimes, polydipsia is caused when the body is dehydrated, which makes absolute sense. Low body fluids will automatically lead your dog to the need for more water. Sweating a lot? It soon will need water.
For your dog, find out what is causing this.
Whatever form it might be in, your dog’s body will ask to be re-hydrated. Give it whichever fluids are required.
Some people also relate polydipsia to urinary problems. So, sweating may not be the only cause of this need for water.
If your dog has been peeing more than usual, it will definitely be facing polydipsia sooner or later.
That’s not all, diabetes and polydipsia are often linked together. In fact, polydipsia has been seen as one of the early symptoms of diabetic dogs. Which leads us to our concern, why your dog on insulin is still drinking a lot of water?
Calculate Your Diabetic Dog’s Daily Diet
Diabetic dogs drinking too much water: safe or not?
If your dog is diabetic, you will notice how it feels like the need to go outside and pee more often than usual. Its water bowl will be emptied earlier than it does on normal days.
Excessive need for water is a sign of diabetes in dogs. If your dog has been consuming more water than usual, chances are that your dog’s sugar levels have been increased.
On days like these, you would wonder if your diabetic dog consuming more water is safe or not.
Let’s say, diabetes in your dog has not yet been diagnosed. This means you are not self-injecting your dog with insulin, which is a must for it.
In order for this spike of glucose in your dog’s blood, something must be done to help get it back to normal. This is when your dog will automatically feel thirsty. It will keep drinking lots of water, time after time.
So, what does water do?
Generally, for a normal dog with no diabetes, there’s a simple formula for a dog’s daily water requirement. For each pound, it needs an ounce of water. Ten pounds would require 10 ounces of water, fifteen pounds would require fifteen ounces of water.
However, when a dog is diabetic, to push down and flush away the excess glucose, your dog will drink more water. This excessive need for water is actually important for your diabetic dog.
Can insulin be causing an excessive need for water?
Once your dog has been diagnosed with a high blood sugar level, it will be prescribed insulin.
The insulin is supposed to get your dog’s life and yours, back to normal.
This normally includes a controlled amount of sugar in your dog’s blood, a good night’s sleep, diet, and everything in between. This normal should also put a stop to your dog’s excessive need for water.
Except, it is doesn’t, then it is a problem.
As we said, diabetes causes dehydration, not insulin. So, why is the insulin-making your dog dehydrated?
Something could be wrong
Insulin and its usage should only be conducted as prescribed by a medical professional. Be it a dog, or any animal, no medical decisions should ever be performed unless you have been given the authority to do so.
This speaks for adjustments and alterations in the amount of insulin you are giving your dog.
So, we agreed above on the fact how insulin should not be the problem because it isn’t supposed to make your dog so thirsty. One of the problems in this regard could be your dog’s wrong insulin dosage provision.
Low insulin dosage
Every diabetic dog has a different insulin dosage requirement. There’s not a one rule fits all thing that works in this regard. Depending on your dog’s blood sugar level, the vet will prescribe your dog the necessary dosage.
If in case this dosage falls short, meaning, if the prescribed dosage of insulin is somehow still less, it could be the reason why your dog is feeling thirstier than usual.
Again, the blood glucose level would not be back to normal, which is why your dog’s body would need something to flush out the excess sugar. If the insulin is not doing the complete job, this would be done through urination.
This would ultimately lead to your dog needing more water as it would get dehydrated again.
And so, the cycle would just keep repeating.
Missing a dose
Another reason why your dog has been feeling thirsty even after being on insulin could be because it is missing its daily required dose.
Generally, two daily doses of insulin are prescribed. If your dog is one of them and you sometimes miss one of the daily doses, it could contribute to your dog’s increased thirst.
Fixing the Problem
Every problem has its solutions. This one certainly does, too.
They say, where there’s a will, there’s a way. If you have been constantly worried about your dog asking you to refill its water bowl every now and then, we certainly sense a will. This is why we came up with a way.
In case any of the above-mentioned problems could be a reason why your dog has been feeling thirstier, here’s what you have to do: consult a vet first.
Tell the vet what the problem is and what you think the reason could be. If the reason is a low dose then it is required for the dog, the vet will run the necessary tests and if your suspicion had been right, the daily insulin dosage will be increased.
If you had been unconsciously missing one of your dog’s daily doses, you must fix that.
How much water does your diabetic dog need?
On average, as said earlier, one ounce of water is needed for each pound of your dog’s body.
Diabetic dogs who are yet not on insulin need more water than normal dogs do. If that is the case, you must not, under any conditions refrain your dog from the water. If you do that, you could be putting your dog in danger.
However, if your diabetic dog is on insulin, you can limit this water access by withdrawing its water bowl from time to time. In any case, make sure not to keep your dog away from its water source for a longer period of hours.
Bottom line
While there’s a lot we can learn from this guide, we can also sum it up by taking notes that the correct usage of insulin will not cause your dog to be thirsty. Since that is sorted, why not get to what is it that could be doing?
Now that we narrowed it down to this, your next steps will be a lot easier and simpler. That is your cue to do whatever is necessary for your child, aka your dog.
Also, remember, whatever the case may be, taking your dog away from its water source is not the answer.
Very helpful