My canine is consumed with drinking water

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exactly how can I stop my canine from drinking so much water?

My canine has a drinking problem. No, not that type of problem. Ace does like booze, however we’ll save that for one more publish ?

What I’m referring to is Ace’s obsession with drinking water, as well as exactly how I’ve handled to train him to believe he’s not expected to drink any type of water at all.

Ace concerned me with a few OCDs – retrieving as well as drinking. He does not have an “off switch” as well as will actually keep on drinking water up until it’s gone unless somebody takes it away or tells him to stop.

He has drank an entire toilet bowl of water on a number of occasions, as well as he throws up practically daily from drinking mass amounts of water so quickly. I’ve seen him try to drink all the water from our kiddie pool as well as all the water from my mom’s fountain.

My “command” for Ace to stop drinking water has always been “that’s enough!” This works, however his obsession is so poor that I have to state it in an upset voice in purchase for him to “hear” me. typically I really am mad since I’m ill of cleaning up his drool as well as puke ?

I was sitting on the couch just recently as well as Ace was lying on the floor crying. I might not figure out what the huge infant wanted. I took him outside as well as he didn’t have to go.

Sometimes he cries if he’s hungry or if he wishes to play ball, however he had already eaten as well as there wasn’t a tennis sphere in sight. then I realized he was dealing with his full water dish.

My canine was crying since he believed he couldn’t drink water without my permission!

I stated “OK!” as well as he ran over as well as tried to drink the whole bowl.

My canine believes he has to wait on a command to drink. Or, he waits up until I leave the space as well as he can “sneak” some water.

My canine is consumed with food, too

I’ve always made Ace wait up until I state “OK” before he eats, as well as now he believes the exact same idea applies to drinking. This doesn’t noise like such a huge deal, but the second I go upstairs or into the garage, I can hear Ace run to his bowl as well as try to drink all the water as quick as he can before I get back! I’ve made my dog’s water obsession even worse.

Ace will eat any type of amount of food I provide him. My canine is always hungry. If I were to provide him six cups instead of his typical 1.5, he would eat the entire 6 cups. If I spilled a whole bag on the ground, Ace (and a specific fat feline I know) would attempt to eat every last piece.

Dogs are dependent on us as well as conditioned to eat whatever we put in front of them. They do not stop to believe about the amount of food. They just eat whatever is there since it’s there.

My canine is the exact same method with water. He doesn’t comprehend the idea of drinking up until he is no longer thirsty. He only understands to drink up until the water is gone. If I fill the bowl up again, he drinks everything immediately.

How to stop my canine from drinking so much water

Since “correcting” Ace for drinking as well much water has confused him, a much better method for this situation is to utilize positive reinforcement. I will reward him whenever he walks away from the bowl on his own before the water is gone. The reward might be food or a tennis sphere or perhaps a walk.

This won’t occur naturally at first. Instead, I’ll “just happen” to have some treats in my hand when I fill his water bowl. We’ll see what happens!

Techniques that did not work to stop my canine from drinking as well much water

1. utilizing a command stop my canine from drinking water

Using the command “that’s enough!” to signal Ace to stop drinking is not a service to the issue since this makes him dependent on me to tell him when to stop drinking. If I’m not in the room, he drinks the whole bowl. It does work as a short-term service if I occur to be in the exact same room. I typically state “that’s enough” complied with by “go to your bed.”

I selected not to utilize “leave it” or “no” since I didn’t want Ace to believe water is completely off limits. certainly this didn’t work since my canine believes “that’s enough” implies “don’t you attempt drink water in my presence.”

2. keeping a huge container of water offered whatsoever times

With a ton of water always available, I was hoping Ace would recognize the water wasn’t going anywhere so there would be no requirement to drink it all. This concept did not work since Ace believes all water is implied to be consumed immediately. When I left the whole container out, he tried to drink all the water as well as I had to ultimately state “that’s enough.”

Some pet may choose to drink from a fountain. Seemy PetSafe Drinkwell pet water fountain review.

3. utilizing a water bottle

I got a travel water bottle for Ace developed to hang inside his kennel (thanks, Tawna!). The water bottle is a big version of what a hamster utilizes to drink from. It’s developed so the canine can drink from the “straw” without spilling water in his crate. It likewise needs the canine to drink extremely slowly.

I tried utilizing this as Ace’s only water source for a few days however he didn’t utilize it frequently enough, as well as he wasn’t getting sufficient water. It made him even much more obsessive when I lastly did put a bowl out again.

4. DogPause bowl

The DogPause bowl (pictured, top) is developed to sluggish the canine down while eating, as well as it is what I utilize for Ace’s water. 

The bowl is split into four compartments so Ace has to drink each one, pausing between each. He still drinks the entire bowl, however it does sluggish him down slightly. You may be thinking about my evaluation on the DogPause Bowl.

A dog’s water obsession might be a indication of a physical problem

I do want to mention that if your canine all of a sudden starts drinking a ton of water, it might be a indication that something is physically wrong, particularly if this is not typical habits for him. medications like prednisone make dogs incredibly thirsty, as well as enhanced thirst can likewise be a sign of kidney problems or diabetes. speak with your dog’s vet if you have any type of concerns.

I talked with Ace’s vet about his water issue, as well as we wrapped up that it is many likely just one more one of his OCDs. now that I’ve put much more believed into it, I’d like to speak with the vet once again as well as think about some tests just to make sure.

Do you have any type of concepts for stopping a canine from drinking so much water?

Have you inadvertently trained your canine to do (or not do) something?

Let me understand in the comments!

Aug. 9, 2011 update: Ace drinks less water these days as long as I keep a huge bowl of water offered whatsoever times. He still drinks a great deal of water at once, however he’s less obsessive about drinking the whole bowl.

As long as there’s always water available, he doesn’t try to drink everything at once. I still have to tell him “that’s enough” sometimes. as well as if he’s had a great deal to drink, I have him stay on his canine bed for a great 20 minutes. This has decreased his throwing up practically completely. instead of cleaning up canine puke every day, I clean up canine puke about twice a month.

2018 update: Sadly, Ace has passed away however he lived a long, pleased life.

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