My 9 year old boxer wants to go out 2-3 times during the night. I don't know if this is recent. She drinks about three bowls of water during the day. I work and she doesn't have this problem during the day. Any suggestions?

When you say 3 bowls of water a day, how big is the bowl?

If you dont let her out at night, will she have an accident? If your getting up to let her out she's just going to keep doing it.

Also, if it is recent, haev her checked for a UTI.

She drinks three large bowls of water. A friend told me to take the water away when she's not eating. Unlike a lot of large dogs she only eats a little at a time. I would feel guilty about taking her water away.

When my daughter was still living at home she was up late nights and may have allowed her to get into the habit of going out at night.

Tigger is very persistant about going out during the night. I'm not sure if she would have an accident or not. But, I'm not getting enough sleep so I think I will try it tonight.

What are signs of UTI?

Im assuming she's an average sized boxer (so 50ish pounds) I have two boxers and they will drink and drink and drink. Period. I have to limit how much they drink. She wont suffer if she has to wait for water. I have a big water bowl and I fill it up twice a day and thats for FOUR dogs. 3 large bowls a day is way too much water for one dog.

Also, its not good to free feed a dog. If she doesnt eat her food in one sitting, take the food away until the next meal. Trust me, she wont starve herself...especially being a boxer!

[CorkyMax]

A symptom of kidney disease is drinking a lot of water and of course excessive urination. And if it is a kidney problem--never take the water away! Will quote from my vet book: Most cases are caused by an ascending bladder infection. There may be a predisposing blockage or congential malformation of the urinary tract. Occasionally the infection is blood borne. (That is what it says for kidney infection) I doubt it is kidney INFECTION unless you see some of these symptoms---fever, loss of appetite, vomiting and pain in the lower back. A stiff-legged gait and a hunched-up posture are characteristic. Some dogs exhibit signs of painful urination. Then there is
kidney FAILURE: Defined as the inability of the kidneys to remove waste products from the blood. The buildup of toxins produces the signs and symptoms of uremic poisoning. Kidney failure can appear suddenly (acute kidney failure) or come on gradually over months. Most cases are of the gradual onset type, and are caused by nephritis and nephrosis. I can not copy this whole subject--PLEASE put words--nephritis/dogs and nephrosis/dogs in your browser!!---IMPORTANT TO KNOW ABOUT!! Back to quotes---CAUSES OF ACUTE KIDNEY FAILURE INCLUDE: 1. Complete urinary tract obstruction caused by a stone. 2. Rupture of the bladder or urethra.
3. Shock, with inadequate blood flow to the kidneys. 4. Congestive heart failure with low blood pressure and reduced blood flow to the kidneys.
5. Poisoning, especially from antifreeze. There is a lot more so am posting this 1st part now and coming right back (now) with Signs of Kidney Failure and a 'summary' of sorts on treatment----You should put kidney failure/dogs in your browser too.

What time do you go to bed? Lets say you are in bed by 10:30pm, pick-up the water at 7pm. She will be able to drink during the day and won't be in danger of dehydration but will be able to empty out before bed.

Being an older dog I think a trip to the vet is a MUST... what you are describing can be a sign of a UTI or something more serious including kidney problems, diabeties, etc.

She may just be spoiled and wanting an un-nessary trip outside. But the vet is your first step and then picking up the water so she is not drinking right before bed.

Also as SwayRaines mentioned... free feeding is very bad and is very often the cause of house training problems (which this is if it is not medical).

Keep us updated when you get back from the vet.

[CorkyMax]

SIGNS OF KIDNEY FAILURE: One of the 1st things you may notice is that your dog drinks and urinates more than usual and indicates his need to go outside several times a day. If not allowed to do so, the dog may begin to make mistakes in the house. These symptoms are due to failure of the kidneys to concentrate the urine. This results in a large urine output over which the dog has no control, with subsequent dehydration and thirst.
As kidney function declines, the dog retains ammonia, nitrogen, acids and other chemical wastes in his blood and tissues. This is called UREMIA. The degree of uremia is determined by measuring serum blood urea nitrogen (BUN),
creatinine and electrolytes.
Signs of uremia are apathy and depression, loss of appetite and weight, a dry haircoat, a brownish discoloration to the surface of the tongue and an
ammonia-like odor to the breath. Ulcers may occur in the mouth. With the NEPHROTIC SYNDROME (put that in browser with /dog) the dog develops ascites (loss of fluid INTO the abdominal cavity) and edema (loss of fluid INTO the legs). Vomiting, diarrhea and gastrointestinal bleeding may occur. At the end stages of failure, the dog falls into a coma.
A condition called RUBBER JAW may be seen with chronic kidney failure. It is characterized by loosening of the teeth and ulcerations of the mouth and gums.
I'm just going to mention briefly what it says about treatment-----If you look up about kidney failure/dogs ----I'm sure you will find more about treatment, but want to hit on a few important things--especially about NOT restricting water!! Restrict salt--helps prevent edema, ascites and hypertension. Restrict protein intake which is poorly metabolized by dogs with kidney failure. Read about what to do about protein--what kind, etc on the web! Restrict phosphorus intake.
It is extremely important to provide fresh water at all times. The dog must be able to take in enough water to compensate for his large urine output. B vitamins are lost in the urine of uremic dogs. These losses should be replaced by giving vitamin B supplements. Sodium bicarbonate tablets may be prescribed by your vet to correct an acid~base imbalance.
A dog that becomes dehydrated because of illness or failure to drink enough water may decompensate suddenly, a condition called a uremic crisis.
The dog should be hospitalized and rehydrated with intravenous fluids and balanced electrolyte solutions.

I hope this problem has nothing to do with kidney failure, but from the little I read in your posts make me very suspicious about it possibly happening. Your dog is getting up there in age---eats small meals (Does it have an appetite?) drinks a lot of water,,urinates a lot. I hope you take it to the vet and check things out and get blood work done to see how the kidneys are doing. If it does have kidney problems--This is critical to get it controlled before it is too late--very critical!! Hope I'm wrong and best of luck!

Assuming everything checks out with the vet, and your dog is found to be in good health, continue to provide fresh water all day, then either pick it up at night, or replace it with ice cubes instead (a trick Victoria Stillwell uses).

My dogs go out at night too, but I have a doggy door installed, so they can. Of course, sometimes they just go out for some fresh air, especially during the spring and summer. They will even sleep outside sometimes....

However, I think you may be on to something when you mentioned that the person who had the dog before was a night owl. Dogs, like people, will tend to schedule their natural bodily functions into their usual sleep/wake patterns. For example, someone who works graveyard shifts and sleeps days is going to need to get up in the night to use the bathroom, even on his nights off-- but may not go at all during the day. This person may not be hungry at all during the day, when he's off, but will be needing to snack a lot during the night.

Another similar example is when I was a teen, I seldom drank any water during the day--certainly not as much as I should have, anyway. But at night I always took a glass of water to bed with me, and got up at least once or twice more during the night to refill my glass. As a result, I also needed to get up several times during the night to use the bathroom too. I was just mixed up.

If your dog is found to be in sound health, get creative and try to help her gradually adjust her biological rhythm, so she is doing all of her getting up and going earlier in the day/evening, rather than at night.

Is your dog fed before you go to work or when you come home?

Could be a sign of diabetes, they will drink alot of water and will need to urinate more and may have some leakage, the water drinking helps rid the body of excess sugar. I would check with your vet.

Originally Posted by Beverly

My 9 year old boxer wants to go out 2-3 times during the night. I don't know if this is recent. She drinks about three bowls of water during the day. I work and she doesn't have this problem during the day. Any suggestions?

How about changing her food?

Thought Corky/max has good points about kidney disease, this could just be a "boxer problem". I have two boxers and I have yet a meet a boxer that is not a water hog. I could fill up my tub and I swear they would drink as much as they could, throw up, then drink some more. They lick the bowl clean everytime they get a drink. But I would have a urinalysis done.