How much water should A Jack Russell drink ? General Chat

Hi, folks
this is my first post so be gentle with me !.

Monty my 20 week old Jack Russell was still weeing through the night so a few weeks ago we asked the vets advice. He told us to cut down the amount of water we gave him.
I looked on the net and it was suggested approx 300ml per 5kg of bodyweight. We've tried this and although it stopped him weing through the night he seems to drink any water he comes across such as puddles.
Can anyone give me an idea what their JRT consumes.
He eats dry kibble type food.

Tricky one! I know that dogs eating dried food need more water than others, but I don't know whether your vet has already taken that into account. Did you tell them what he was eating when you saw them about this?

One way to compromise on this would be to offer ad lib. water until a couple of hours before bedtime, so hopefully he'd get all his piddling done before you leave him for the night. Bear in mind that he is still pretty young, and he could get better at holding it. Do keep an eye on how much he's drinking though. If it really is excessive it could indicate a medical problem, so you'd need to get him checked over again.

By the way, that is one very cute puppy in your avatar! Make sure you post in the introduction section, because people here won't thank you for keeping him to yourself

THANKS!, he has got quite a fan club in the local park and is doing his best P.R job he can for jack russells. Its amazing how many people seem to have preconcieved ideas about them

Can't you just get up during the night to let him out for a quick pee?

he dosn't bark to wake us up, he just goes on his wee mat. I find it hard enough waking up in the morning yet alone the middle of the night

I agree- 20 weeks of age is too young to hold a bladder full all night. At that age I would get up at 2-3 AM to take my pup outside for a pee. By about 7/8 months my JR could hold it til about 6 AM..;-)

Get an alarm clock then, and gradually get up a bit later to take him out and before you know it hes gone thru the night!

As someone said you just can't expect a puppy so young to go thru the night without 'accidents'.

I guess by your remarks that you;ve not had a pup before- u shouldnt expect a pup to hold it all night- sorry- but do your homework- get yur butt outta bed at 3 AM- I did - nearly killed me but a pupppy is like a baby-their needs come FIRST

Me? i've had a good few and one at 10months now that still gets up at 6am, i don't see the point in getting a puppy if you're not prepared to put the effort in it can't housetrain itself!

(i'm thinking you quoted mine unintentionally zeta )

SORRY !! I meant to quote the originator of this post.... Sorry again !!!!!!

Cath

Heh Sarah my JR is 3 years old and still wants up at 6 am for a pee;-)

Ours got into a routine as hubby gets up for work at 6am so they all go out for a pee then come back to bed and will even lie in till 10am so its worth doing (especially for that all important sunday lie in!)

The mats that pups can wee on often make life a bit harder in the long run. When you are house training them the desired behaviour is that they toilet outside and not indoors.

If you use the mats you are actually encouraging them to go indoors and so then you eventually have to teach them all over again so that they learn to go outdoors.

We were really lucky with our pup and he was house trained at around 13 weeks old but it did take a lot of effort and many a cold wet hour outside in the garden in the middle of winter.

If you look in the articles section I think there may be one on house training that would be of use.

Personally I would never cut down on water - ever. An animal will only drink what it needs unless it's ill and I'm guessing since you've seen your vet recently there's nothing wrong with your pup.

At 20 weeks your pup will probably be too young to hold it all night, so you have two options - get up half way through the night or use paper/puppy pad during the night so the pup can have a wee.

It's up to you really, personally I've nothing against puppy pads. If that's what suits you, use them! However I wouldn't use paper as it may confuse your pup (puppy pads are scented, paper isn't).

Also, as someone else has said, dogs on dry food need more water so he may drink more than you think is necessary.

Remember 20 weeks is still very young, don't expect too much too soon. ;-)

no not had a puppy before, first time for everything, THATS why i;m seeking advice. A neighbour of ours who has had a collie from apup suggested that he should be dry through the night which is why we mentioned it to the vet when visiting him with an eye infection.
The vet also inferred that he should be weeing less ( there were 2-3 wees in the night).
Having had two kids I am no stranger to getting up in the night and putting the needs of smaller livining entities first.

yes i was very suprised it didn't come ready house trained, it also refused to come when called, sit, lie down and stop barking when we got it, maybe its a faulty one and i should sent it back to the factory.

Great! There's plenty of it to be had on here, and we weren't all born with an encyclopaedic knowledge of how dogs function and what to do with them when they don't!

People on here can get a bit touchy about people not bothering to find out about how best to care for their dogs, but I would have thought that they'd be pleased when a newbie is here and trying to get the best information now! :? Please don't take it personally, and don't be put off coming to ask questions. Most people on here are only too willing to share their wealth of experience

Back to what your neighbour said, it may well be true that her pup was dry throughthe night at 5 months. Lots of pups are, but lots aren't. My mum used too say that with the titchy ones and the enormous ones it takes a bit longer for things to develop, so that might fit with yours being a bit slower than your neighbours (medium sized) collie. All dogs are individuals too, and certainly the puppy-pads can make a difference - why train your bladder to hold it when relief can be instantaneous. I'd say rethink your attitude to house-training, have a look at the links to articles posted before, make it worth your pup's while to pee in front of you in the garden, and be patient.

From one of your previous posts I can see that you've kept a sense of humour about this, which is really your top priority with a pup You might not know it all yet, but by the time your little darling's all grown up, you'll be the one posting advice on here for the first-timers

thanks duboing.

We have got monty to be ''busy'' outside on command which we take as a positive sign in bladder control. Our vet suggested cutting down his fluid as it seems that he'll drink anything put in front of him ( dog not vet), so i was trying to find out a ball park figure for consumption. Obviously there can be variation but a jrt consuming an extra 100ml of water is obviously more significant than a lab !

The best thing to do I think now that some people have shared their experinences with me is to carry on monitoring his fluid intake and not to panic for another 3-4 months .
My main concern was to whether he could be diabetic

Yep, I guess that's the big worry with a dog that drinks too much. Presumably though, it wasn't the first thing to come to your vets mind, otherwise he would have wanted to get some tests done, so try not to let it prey on your mind.

Keep an eye on your pup's hydration, as dehydration can lead to them going downhill pretty quickly. If he gets a bit listless or out of sorts test how elastic his skin is by pulling back on the skin on his back. It should feel fairly loose and spring back quicly when you release it. If it's tight, or if it stays where you left it for a couple of seconds, get him to the vets quick. Just as a note, you can test people for this in the same way, by pinching the skin on the back of their wrists.