Ask Dr. Paola - HELP! My Elderly Dog is Drinking and Urinating A Lot! (October 19, 2026)
Welcome to our "Ask Dr. Paola" series, where every Monday we bring expert advice straight from Dr. Paola Cuevas (MVZ) to help our readers better understand their dog's health and well-being.
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HELP! My Elderly Dog is Drinking and Urinating A Lot!
“Dear Dr Paola,
When my boss passed away, I took in his older Red Heeler, Bob, so he didn’t end up in the pound. I've been giving him turkey tail for his lumps, and he is overweight.
It’s hard to walk him when it's 100 degrees out. For the last couple of months, he has been drinking so much water and urinating way more than usual. He mostly stays inside, and when I take him out to pee, the first thing when he comes back in is head for the water bowl, like he wants to replace what he just got rid of!
Any suggestions on what I could try?”
- Beverly
Dear Beverly,
You have done something very kind by giving Bob a home after losing his person. It sounds like he is a senior boy who has already been through a lot, and it is wonderful that he has someone looking out for him. The increased drinking and urination you are seeing, especially since this has been going on for a couple of months, is something I would have checked rather than assuming it is just his age or the hot weather. Older dogs can develop several conditions that cause this combination of signs, including diabetes, kidney disease, and Cushing's disease.
I would schedule a veterinary examination and ask for some basic lab work, particularly blood tests and urinalysis. These can give us information that we simply cannot get from looking at Bob. Bloodwork can tell us about his blood glucose, kidney and liver function, electrolytes, and other changes that may help identify what is going on. A urine sample is just as valuable. It can show whether his kidneys are concentrating the urine properly, and can also detect glucose, ketones, protein, blood, inflammation, and other abnormalities. Depending on those results, his veterinarian may recommend some additional tests.
Please do not limit his water, even if it seems like he is drinking right back what he just urinated. In many of these conditions, the excessive thirst is the body's way of trying to replace fluid that is being lost. Taking water away can actually make him dehydrated and much sicker. Keep fresh water available at all times, and because of the heat, try to take him out during the cooler parts of the day. If you can, measuring approximately how much water he drinks in 24 hours would also be very helpful information for his veterinarian.
I would also recommend that he has the lumps properly checked rather than relying on turkey tail or other supplements. Some lumps are harmless, but others can be more serious, and we cannot tell the difference just by feeling or looking at them. A fine needle aspiration can often collect cells from a lump with very little discomfort and may give the veterinarian a much better idea of what it is. With Bob being overweight and having difficulty walking in the heat, getting his medical issues sorted out first will also make it much safer to work on his weight and mobility.
He has clearly found someone who cares about him, and sometimes the most loving thing we can do for an older dog is simply to find out what his body is trying to tell us.
Best wishes,
- Dr. Paola
This article is a part of our weekly Ask Dr. Paola series
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Dr. Paola Cuevas is our Senior In-House Veterinarian at Dogster and Pangolia. She has over 19 years of experience working with an array of species and loves sharing her knowledge and experience with our readers and aims to provide assistance with any issue presented by your non-human family members. She received her degree from the University of Guadalajara, Mexico.
Her passions are animal welfare and preventive medicine, and has skills in the fields of nutrition, microscopy, clinical pathology, diagnostic imaging, and endoscopy. Paola frequently contributes pet care insight to various media outlets like PetMD, The Daily Record, Parents.com, etc.
Paola is also an animal behaviorist with extensive experience in positive reinforcement animal training.
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