Dog toilet problem

smoggy11

Hi all,

My female terrier cross, who is about 18 months old (I'm not 100% sure, we found her) and healthy and happy in every other way, has recently started urinating and defecating far more than usual. Last night, During a 6 hour period she pooed 3 times! As well as that, she had already been around 3 times during the day.

She is also drinking far more than usual which made me think kidney infection, but would the pooing come into this? The pee is always dark in colour and does not affect the mammoth amount of water she is drinking.

She eats 1 can of dog food per day and has dried to food in her bowl all day to eat when she feels like it. (Or when the cat comes too close to her bowl! )

Any advice would be appreciated as I don't want to get robbed for a vet visit for them to tell me it's fine!

Thanks in advance (hopefully!)

RoryMurphyJnr

No vet by any stretch of the imagination but I would change to dry food.
We've a Golden Retriever, he get's one bowl of dry food (measured) each day, plenty of fresh water and he poos once maybe twice per day.

Again not saying this is the answer but might be worth a try
R

sophie1234

again not a vet but maybe leaving dry food out all day isnt a good idea the dog could be over eating i give my dog wet food in the morning dry at night anything thats not eaten is removed after 15 mins or so! i wouldnt leave down dry food all day!

andreac

Have you changed her food at all recently? Different brand or given her something different?

Its best not to feed that canned food,as its full of crap and has no real goodness in it for a dog. Its ok to mix in a little as a taster but not as actually their daily ration.

I would get rid of the canned food and get a good quality dried complete food, found in the pet shop. Stay away from the supermarket stuff like Pedigree and Bakers as they are very low quality.

Its not recommended to leave food down all day either. Leave the food down for 15 mins and take back up when shes finished.

dvet

Hi OP!

Don't want to overload you with questions, but there a few important things to ask to get a better idea what could be going on. Firstly, has this been a sudden change in her toileting behaviour or has it developed over a long time?

Is there a possibility that she is going to the toilet a normal amount, but that you've been more aware of it than before? (i.e. are you at home more often these days? Or has she been brought inside after previously being outdoors, and therefore being observed more often?). And how long have you actually owned her (did you only get her recently?) Has her food changed? Is she particularly stressed at the moment (fireworks, new pet, travel? etc)? Has she had any accidents recently - been hit by a car, injured her back etc? Has she had any access to poisons (e.g. anti freeze/coolant or the likes)? Is she on any medication?

Also, have you noticed anything unusual about her defecating and urinating other than its frequency? E.g. pain/straining/blood in her faeces or urine? Does she have any signs of incontinence (dripping urine/not aware of her own urination)? Any signs of vomiting or weight loss? Is her appetite normal/decreased/increased?

Sorry if I've overloaded you with questions! But even if you haven't noticed anything else unusual, there are a lot of possible medical causes behind symptoms like this. It may be something relatively simple, but if she really has suddenly began defecating/urinating/drinking more often than it would definitely be worth a trip to your vet. He/she will probably have a lot more questions like this, and a medical exam could reveal a lot.



Edit: I would be more worried about increased urinating/drinking than about the defecating issue, although it is worth looking into both of course! Maybe try to measure the amount of water she is drinking in a day before going to your vet? This can give them an idea if there's a true problem present or not, because it is often hard to judge.

portgirl123

would dark urine not be a sign of dehidration?

smoggy11

okay, just though I would update you all!

I took Molly off the wet food and she seems much better for it. Elimination is down to a normal level, as is fluid intake.

She is back to being a happy pooch and I'm a happier owner as I'm not greeted to doggy Armageddon when I get up in the morning!

Thanks for all the advice guys, it was very helpful.