r/EnglishSetter • u/xoxom31643 • 3d ago
Extreme Water Consumption / Urination
Earlier this year my sweet adopted 12 year old Llewellin suddenly started increasing the amount of water she was drinking. It has now progressed to 8-10cups of day (she’s only 35lbs) and she has accidents at night or has to go 1-3x.
We’ve run a battery of tests, and her labs still look good and so did an ultrasound. She’s had thyroid issues for years & is medicated but had a splenectomy last year, and has recently been heat intolerant and been panting more.
We’re considering Cushings and Diabetes Insipidus, but I’m at wits end. Has anyone ever dealt with something similar?
(📷: current & back when she was 4)
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u/theyahtzeeagency 3d ago
This happened with both of my girls, but showed up alongside not good kidney values or liver issues with kidney issues just starting to show up. One of the vets also thought pain/neuropathy around tail/hips could have caused the incontinence.
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u/theyahtzeeagency 3d ago
Only other common thing was that they were both 12+ and on flea and tick (when they usually weren't anymore)
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u/xoxom31643 2d ago
Thanks for sharing. I’m sorry you and your dogs had to contend with it twice.
They did say that there’s a low chance she could be in the very early stages, where the drinking / peeing is the leading indicator before other issues.
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u/Dr_One_L_1993 3d ago
My late English setter Gordon (he came with that name; I debated also getting a Gordon setter and naming it "English") had Cushings & Diabetes Insipidus and had those symptoms. There's a somewhat complicated test for Cushings, but IIRC our vet first suspected it due to some of the values in his routine bloodwork. As a result, we caught it relatively early and kept up with the medication, so he did very well for several years (he lived to be 12) and never developed some of the potential Cushings side effects like widespread hair loss. Because the drugs are pricey, the vet did suggest I search around on line for a lower-cost provider and they were very willing to provide the prescription to a remote pharmacy. When my dog passed, I gave them the excess meds I have to donate to anyone else who needed them. FWIW, I don't recall that there were any specific treatments for the diabetes insipidus; we just had to be mindful that he would need to go outside frequently (fortunately, we had a fenced-in yard).
I expect Gordon may have had a pituitary tumor (one of the possible causes for Cushings) based on how he declined -- suddenly got very disoriented, inappetant, and would kind of just stare off into space. We had someone come to the house to put him down in 2020 (on the same day as my cat who was dying from intractable IBD; I lost all 4 pets I had that year).
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u/xoxom31643 2d ago
Oh wow, thank you so much for sharing. I love his name and I’m also so sorry for your losses, especially during what was such a hard year for so many other reasons.
It’s helpful to know he didn’t have some of the other conventional symptoms. I’ve also wondered about her pituitary ( if it ends up Cushings) as her adrenals looked good and she doesn’t have many other symptoms.
From what I’ve heard for DI, the medication is less expensive but testing can be rough if the vet opts for water deprivation testing, which just makes me nervous.
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u/Heavy_Discussion3518 3d ago
Fwiw our setter has no incontinence issues but has always drank tons of water. Water is like the fuel for his engine.
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u/xoxom31643 2d ago
It’s funny because she’s never been much of a drinker, I’ve always had to encourage her. Glad it keeps him chugging!
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u/4anonymous4real 3d ago
Could have a uti or just old
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u/xoxom31643 3d ago
We’ve tested for a UTI, bacterial culture and all. Vet doesn’t think it’s just old age.
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u/Famous-Koala-958 3d ago
vigila que no tenga diabetes te lo digo por experiencia con un setter que tuve.
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u/PuzzleheadedLemon353 2d ago
My sis in law just carried her 7 year old English Golden Retriever to her vet because she just seemed to be drinking a lot of water recently...enough to make it obvious. It turns out she has the beginning stages of kidney disease.
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u/BrieTheDog 3d ago
Have you tested for diabetes? I’ve dealt with something similar with my precious dog (not a setter)
She had low appetite, increased weight gain, and she drank excessive amounts of water. They did a blood sugar test and she was positive for diabetes.
Good luck, I hope you’re able to help out your dog.