Does wet dog food make dogs pee more? This question may arise when your pup suddenly pees more than usual while consuming damp food.
But is wet food a common culprit causing your dog to pee more? What should you do to stop this problem?
Keep reading this article to seek the right answers!
Does Wet Dog Food Make Dogs Pee More?
Yes, it does. Wet dog food contains high moisture, supplying your dog with more water than normal.
Thus, dogs consuming a lot of damp food tend to pee more and thirst faster.
What Foods Make Dogs Pee A Lot Besides Wet Food?
Aside from wet food, kibble also makes your pup produce a lot of urine.
On average, dry food only contains about 8 to 10% water, unlike fresh wet food, which includes about 75% water.
Thus, your pet needs to drink more water when eating dry kibble. This also leads to peeing more than usual.
Thus, whether dry or wet dog food results in increased water intake and causes constant urination.
Besides, a diet with high salt or salty food also affects your pup’s urination.
This is due to high salt consumption in meals that require adequate moisture content to allow your pet’s kidney to function properly.
So, dogs may feel thirstier and require more water, which causes them to produce and excrete more urine.
Is Your Dog Peeing A Lot Normal?
No, it isn’t. It is abnormal if your pup urinates a lot. On average, a healthy adult dog only pees about 3 to 5 times daily.
Also, the interval between urinating times is about 6 – 8 hours.
If your pet urinates more than the recommended times, consider the alarming problems, such as illness, infection, medical side effects, stress, or other serious diseases.
Why Is Your Dog Suddenly Peeing Too Much?
Hormone Response & Age-Related Incontinence
Hormone response is one of the common causes that make female dogs pee a lot.
Yet, this also occurs in neutered male dogs after the actual procedure by months or years, most in larger dog breeds.
Furthermore, age-related incontinence resulting from the normal aging process also causes your pup to produce more urine.
The incontinent dogs may leak large or small urine amounts while sleeping, walking, or standing daily.
Age-related incontinence is due to the side effects of medications, certain diseases, or spaying.
Dogs become susceptible to diseases or weakened muscles when they become older. This makes it difficult for them to manage their urination.
Marking Behavior
Peeing a lot also originates from urine marking behavior in unspayed or unneutered dogs.
This marking is an instinct serving multiple purposes, from marking territory to enticing mate.
The dog’s urine contains pheromones, a special chemical that allows them to communicate with other dogs about their gender, health conditions, and productive status.
Both female and male dogs use their urine in different places to mark walls, fire hydrants, or other vertical surfaces.
Diabetic Issue
Frequent urination may directly result from diabetes with typical signs, such as kidney issues or urinary tract infections, vomiting, appetite or water loss, or lethargy.
Normally, diabetic dogs tend to consume more water than usual. Thus, they may produce large amounts of urine and pee more.
Cushing & Kidney Disease
Dogs with Cushing syndrome often overproduce the hormone cortisol, leading to increased thirst and production of urine.
Besides, Cushing disease also increases appetite, bladder infections, and poor skin or coat.
In addition, dogs with kidney disease also pee more overnight or any time of the day.
This is because your pup’s kidney is exposed to the harmful bacteria and toxins that make it malfunction, leading to excessive water intake.
Urinary Tract or Bladder Infection Problems
Excessive urination in dogs also happens due to bladder infection or urinary tract.
These problems stem from various causes, such as bacteria, side effects of medication, and several diseases.
Urethra Blockage
Another cause of regular urination is urethra obstruction, which makes it more difficult for your pup to empty the bladder.
This problem is due to the accumulation of stones in the urethra, hindering urine from the bladder from passing through the tube to the outside of the pet’s body.
Also, a urinary blockage generates the force built up to form leaking.
You can detect this problem through some typical signs as your pup takes more time to attempt to pee without having urine or urinating with a urine amount less than normal.
When To Worry and What To Do?
You will feel nervous when your dog pees too much because this may be the common sign warning of more serious diseases or severe dilemmas.
Don’t ignore when you find your pet’s typical symptoms, such as suddenly decreased or increased appetite, excessive thirst, bloody urine, straining to urinate, but nothing happens, diarrhea, or vomiting.
To stop this problem from developing further, apply simple treatments to your pup, including proper medications and hormone alternative therapy.
Besides, you must consider giving your pet the right diet with sufficient nutrition to help balance the health and refill the lost liquid due to constant urination.
Plus, bathe your pup for the best hygiene and health to avoid harmful germs or dangerous elements.
When to Call a Vet If Your Dog Pees Too Much?
If your pup frequently urinates with unusual signs, such as discolored urine, abnormal urine color, lethargy, pain while peeing, or poor appetite, contact a vet for the best medical condition support.
The vet will help you examine the root cause of peeing too much in your pet and apply the right remedies, such as medications or surgery, to cure your dog of frequent urination.
Also, the vet gives you advice on your pup’s health status and recommends the proper care and diet to improve the frequency of urination and reduce the risks of dangerous diseases.
Conclusion
Does wet dog food make dogs pee more?
The answer is yes. The damp food contains high moisture that can give dogs complete hydration and make them pee more, leading to thirst faster.
It is abnormal when your dog pees too much. This may indicate some diseases or health issues in your pup.
Thus, you shouldn’t ignore and consider choosing the proper methods to stop peeing a lot and improve your pet’s health.
